Georgian PM pays homage to cadets fallen during 1921 Red Army invasion

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday paid tribute to the memory of the young military cadets who fell defending the country during the February 1921 Red Army invasion that put an end to the three-year First Democratic Republic of Georgia.

Highlighting the devotion of the cadets to their homeland in a social media post, the head of the Government stressed their struggle for the country’s independence was not yet complete. 

The unification of our country still remains as a major concern and a task for all of us, [along with] strengthening of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and its return to the European family”, Garibashvili said. 

The Red Army invaded Georgia between February 15 and March 17, 1921, with the goal of overthrowing the Georgian Government and annexing the country into the Soviet Union.

During the clashes that followed the invasion, Georgian cadets won a defensive battle near the village of Tabakhmela, outside the capital Tbilisi, while seeing 118 of their ranks killed.

In the overall campaign, the Red Army ultimately prevailed through a multi-pronged assault that occupied the capital and the rest of the country, and forced its Government into exile.