Georgian Prime Minister lays wreath at Memorial of Cadets fallen in 1921 Soviet invasion

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday laid a wreath at the Memorial of Cadets who fell in battles of Kojori-Tabakhmela against the 1921 Red Army invasion near capital Tbilisi, commemorating the young citizens.

Marking the date of the Soviet invasion of the country, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, Defence Minister Irakli Chikovani, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze and Parliament officials also paid their tributes to the memory of the young military cadets, the Government Administration said. 

The officials also attended a memorial service for the heroes at the Khareba Chapel in the Parliament. 

The Red Army invasion of Georgia took place from February 15 to March 17, 1921, and was a military campaign by the Soviet forces that aimed to overthrow the Georgian government and annex the country into the USSR.

During the clashes that followed the invasion, 118 Georgian cadets lost their lives. They won the defensive battle near the village of Tabakhmela outside Tbilisi, however the Red Army ultimately prevailed through a multi-pronged assault that occupied the country and forced its government into exile.