Georgia marks 147th birthday of national hero, first commander-in-chief Kvinitadze
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Today Georgia marks the 147th birthday of the country’s national hero and the commander-in-chief of the first Democratic Republic of Georgia, General Giorgi Kvinitadze, whose remains were returned home from France only earlier this year.
Born on August 21, 1874 Giorgi Kvinitadze received military education in Tbilisi and Saint Petersburg. He was actively involved in the development of the Georgian armed forces and had contributed to the establishment of the first military school in Georgia in 1919.
General Kvinitadze passed away in France in 1970 where he had emigrated after the Soviet occupation.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that ‘General Giorgi Kvinitadze will always be a role model for everyone who values their country the most.’
Dozens of countries around the world have illuminated their iconic buildings in red and white – the colours of Georgia’s national flag to mark the 30th anniversary of Georgia’s independence from the Soviet Union. To celebrate the Independence Day of Georgia, the Olympic stadium in Wroclaw was lit in red and white. The Georgian national anthem was also performed during the event.
The granddaughter of General Giorgi Kvinitadze, the Commander in Chief of the army of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia, said it was a "dream come true" to see the historical figure's remains laid to rest in Tbilisi on Georgia's Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday, 100 years after the general was forced into emigration by the Soviet invasion of Georgia.
From the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi to the highland Georgian town of Mestia, the country is celebrating Independence Day today, commemorating May 26, 1918 – the day when the Act of Independence was adopted, establishing the First Democratic Republic of Georgia. The main location of the ceremony was Freedom Square in central Tbilisi. However, the ceremony also took place in Svaneti, Adjara, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti regions.
The remains of Georgia's national hero and commander-in-chief of the first Democratic Republic of Georgia, General Giorgi Kvinitadze, have been returned home from France. His remains will be laid to rest at the Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Independence Day on May 26.
General Giorgi Mazniashvili, leader of armed forces in the tumultuous years of Georgia’s First Democratic Republic, has been celebrated by the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili as a “great military leader” on an anniversary of the historical figure’s birth on Wednesday.
On Sunday the anniversary of the birth of General Giorgi Kvinitadze, the historical figure and the Commander in Chief of the army of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia, is celebrated by the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili by saying that his name will remain “forever” in the history of Georgia and in the memory of “each Georgian”, as well as “future generations”.