Another opposition rally was held in Tbilisi on Saturday evening. Salome Zourabichvili, whose term as head of state expires in a week’s time, announced at the meeting that she would remain president even after the end of her term.
Zourabichvili said she was not afraid of prison and insisted on holding new parliamentary elections in Georgia. She fully supported the protests, encouraging the protesters in every possible way. She also reiterated that she is not going to leave the post of the President.
Not only adults and students, but also children were seen on Rustaveli Avenue the day before, they stood in a human chain in front of the water cannons and riot police on an equal footing with the adult participants of the rally. In general, the rally was calm, the police did not have to disperse the gathered, one person was detained – he insulted the law enforcers. The protest rally ended early, even before midnight. Many people left immediately after Zourabichvili’s speech.
On Saturday, the president held a meeting with representatives of the opposition and Georgian non-governmental organisations to discuss further actions, including new parliamentary elections. It was the 24th day of protests and local media called it one of the most massive in the entire incomplete four weeks. According to Visioner, more than 186,000 people were at the peak of the action on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.
On December 14, presidential elections were held in Georgia, where former footballer and ruling party supporter Mikheil Kavelashvili was declared the winner. Other candidates did not take part, and the election itself was held for the first time under a new system – through the will of the electoral college instead of universal suffrage.
Historical ties
Most Georgians are resistant to EU membership and insist on maintaining ties with Russia. The reason for this is deep historical roots. Joseph Stalin was the most famous and most prominent leader of the USSR, who was Georgian by nationality.
The birthplace of Joseph Stalin, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in the Georgian city of Gori on Saturday celebrated the 145th anniversary of the Soviet leader’s birth. Members of the United Communist Party (UCP), the youth socialist movement and other participants in the event laid flowers at the birthplace of the Soviet figure. Those who came to the rally said that Joseph Stalin was an outstanding personality. He was generalissimo, diplomat, Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the Great Patriotic War, and the victory in this war is his merit, Nikolai Davlianidze, a Georgian communist, said.
Georgian Communist Nikolai Davlianidze said that supporters from different cities of the country came to the event. He stressed that those who came had gathered to honour the memory of world famous Stalin, the leader of the proletariat, who fought against fascism and as a result managed to unite the people and win the Great Victory.
Participants in the rally said that the political situation is extremely heated. The far-right opposition is artificially aggravating the confrontation, according to them. In case of change of power, it does not matter whether it will be violent or not, the ultra-right pro-fascist dictatorship will be inexorably restored on the background of weakness of socialist forces, they added.
The participants in the event also called on the public to think hard about the tragic fate of Ukraine and to prevent the “Ukrainianisation of Georgia.”
The birthday of the general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee on December 21 is celebrated annually in different cities of Russia and abroad. On the memorable date, it is customary to lay red carnations at the memorial of the Soviet politician.
The current anti-Western course of the majority of Georgians is conditioned, among other things, by the fact that their historical memory is still strong.
