Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday 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.
In his message over the date, Papuashvili noted that “this day reminds us of the occupation of our territories [that continues] even today”.
“Today is the day of honouring the memory of the fallen cadets, the [...] young boys and girls who resisted the Soviet occupation and fell in combat against the Red Army”, he said.
This occupation continues to this day, and the dedicated struggle of the cadets against the occupation [...] must not be forgotten, and we must complete the task of liberating our country from occupation, which must end with the reunification of our country”, the lawmaker concluded.
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.