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

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday laid a wreath at the Memorial of Cadets who fell in battles of Kojori-Tabakhmela against the 1921 Red Army invasion near the capital Tbilisi, the Government Administration said.

Kobakhidze said the heroism of the young cadets “brought our country’s independence to this day”, adding it was “our duty to honour their memory”.

They [the cadets] are heroes who sacrificed themselves for the independence of the country, for the fight for independence and, of course, it is our duty to pass down the memory of their heroism to future generations”, the PM pointed out.

Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze also paid tribute to the memory of the young military cadets.

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

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

118 Georgian cadets lost their lives during the clashes that followed the invasion. 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.