Today Georgia is celebrating the Day of Victory over Fascism, which is a public holiday and an official day off. This holiday is traditionally celebrated in Tbilisi's Vake Park, where several hundred veterans and their families gather every year. Representatives of the Georgian public, politicians and members of the government come there to congratulate the veterans and lay flowers at the memorial to the Unknown Soldier.

In order to congratulate today's heroes - veterans of the Great Patriotic War and their families - the Minister of Defense of Georgia came to Vake Park Levan Izoria and Mayor of Tbilisi David Narmania, together with members of parliament and public figures, they laid wreaths at the monument to the Unknown Soldier.

“Congratulations to Georgia, war veterans on the 72nd anniversary of the Victory over fascism. Georgia made a special contribution to this victory. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians became victims of this war. We bow before them and are proud of their names. And the future generation will be proud of this heroism,” Izoria said.

Representatives of the ruling party and the opposition also addressed the Georgian public.

“Georgia made a great sacrifice in World War II. Together with the international coalition, a great evil in the form of fascism was defeated. The whole world celebrates this day. I congratulate the veterans and once again bow to those heroes who fell on the battlefield in the Patriotic War,” said an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party. Georgy Volsky.

According to the leader of the opposition party "Democratic Movement", the former speaker of parliament Nino Burjanase, "it was mankind's greatest victory over evil." “It is a pity that every holiday we see that there are fewer and fewer veterans. Unfortunately, we did not appreciate them the way they deserve,” she said.

According to the Georgian media, in 2016 there were 1,296 WWII veterans in Georgia, as of May this year, their number was 922 people. To support veterans, by decision of the President of Georgia George Margvelashvili, veterans participating in the Second World War will be given vouchers for medicines, for which up to 38 thousand lari was allocated. “At the initiative of the President of Georgia, money has been allocated from the Presidential Reserve Fund, and in partnership with the Aversi company, 922 veterans will receive a voucher of 140 lari, which will help them purchase medicines,” the head of the presidential administration said. Giorgi Abashishvili.

In addition, a concert was held as part of the Victory Day celebrations, and in the afternoon, a gala dinner will be held for veterans on behalf of the government and cash prizes will be given.

Today in Tbilisi, for the first time, the action "Immortal Regiment" was held, in which the descendants of WWII veterans, veteran organizations of Georgia and other NGOs took part. The initiator of the action was the public movement "Anti-Fascist Coalition of Multinational Georgia", which signed an agreement with the All-Russian Public Civil-Patriotic Movement "Immortal Regiment of Russia".

“Many of those whom we invited to the action expressed a desire to once again honor the memory of the dead, walk in a small procession to eternal flame with portraits of their grandfathers, fathers, who fought in the Great Patriotic War, show young generation that the memory of the soldiers who gave freedom to the whole world is not forgotten,” said the chairman of the Anti-Fascist Coalition Revaz Gogidze.

During the Great Patriotic War, Georgia lost up to 10% of the country's population, giving up to 700,000 soldiers to the front, of which only 300,000 returned home. Tens of thousands of Georgian residents were awarded government awards, 167 of them became Heroes Soviet Union. The most famous among them is junior sergeant Meliton Kantaria(1921-1993), who, together with a sergeant Mikhail Egorov hoisted the banner of victory over the Reichstag in May 1945.

Today Georgia is celebrating the Day of Victory over Fascism, which is a public holiday and an official day off. This holiday is traditionally celebrated in Tbilisi's Vake Park, where several hundred veterans and their families gather every year. Representatives of the Georgian public, politicians and members of the government come there to congratulate the veterans and lay flowers at the memorial to the Unknown Soldier.

In order to congratulate today's heroes - veterans of the Great Patriotic War and their families - the Minister of Defense of Georgia came to Vake Park Levan Izoria and Mayor of Tbilisi David Narmania, together with members of parliament and public figures, they laid wreaths at the monument to the Unknown Soldier.

“Congratulations to Georgia, war veterans on the 72nd anniversary of the Victory over fascism. Georgia made a special contribution to this victory. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians became victims of this war. We bow before them and are proud of their names. And the future generation will be proud of this heroism,” Izoria said.

Representatives of the ruling party and the opposition also addressed the Georgian public.

“Georgia made a great sacrifice in World War II. Together with the international coalition, a great evil in the form of fascism was defeated. The whole world celebrates this day. I congratulate the veterans and once again bow to those heroes who fell on the battlefield in the Patriotic War,” said an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party. Georgy Volsky.

According to the leader of the opposition party "Democratic Movement", the former speaker of parliament Nino Burjanase, "it was mankind's greatest victory over evil." “It is a pity that every holiday we see that there are fewer and fewer veterans. Unfortunately, we did not appreciate them the way they deserve,” she said.

According to the Georgian media, in 2016 there were 1,296 WWII veterans in Georgia, as of May this year, their number was 922 people. To support veterans, by decision of the President of Georgia George Margvelashvili, veterans participating in the Second World War will be given vouchers for medicines, for which up to 38 thousand lari was allocated. “At the initiative of the President of Georgia, money has been allocated from the Presidential Reserve Fund, and in partnership with the Aversi company, 922 veterans will receive a voucher of 140 lari, which will help them purchase medicines,” the head of the presidential administration said. Giorgi Abashishvili.

In addition, a concert was held as part of the Victory Day celebrations, and in the afternoon, a gala dinner will be held for veterans on behalf of the government and cash prizes will be given.

Today in Tbilisi, for the first time, the action "Immortal Regiment" was held, in which the descendants of WWII veterans, veteran organizations of Georgia and other NGOs took part. The initiator of the action was the public movement "Anti-Fascist Coalition of Multinational Georgia", which signed an agreement with the All-Russian Public Civil-Patriotic Movement "Immortal Regiment of Russia".

“Many of those whom we invited to the action expressed a desire to once again honor the memory of the dead, walk a small procession to the eternal flame with portraits of their grandfathers, fathers who fought in the Great Patriotic War, show the younger generation that the memory of the soldiers who gave freedom to the whole world , is not forgotten,” said the chairman of the Anti-Fascist Coalition Revaz Gogidze.

During the Great Patriotic War, Georgia lost up to 10% of the country's population, giving up to 700,000 soldiers to the front, of which only 300,000 returned home. Tens of thousands of residents of Georgia were awarded government awards, 167 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union. The most famous among them is junior sergeant Meliton Kantaria(1921-1993), who, together with a sergeant Mikhail Egorov hoisted the banner of victory over the Reichstag in May 1945.

To the fronts of the Great Patriotic War More than 700 thousand Georgians left - this is one fifth of the population of Georgia in the 40s, half of them did not return.
According to data for 2016, 1296 veterans of the Great Patriotic War lived in Georgia. Now, according to the Union of Veterans of Georgia, 948 WWII veterans remain in the country.

In Tbilisi, the main celebrations take place in Vake Park at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Veterans come to the park early in the morning, in full uniforms and awards.

Representatives of the country's leadership, political parties, public figures.

Georgians in battle

Among those who went to the front in the very first days of the war there were many volunteers.

The Georgians were among those who, on the early morning of June 1941, were the first to meet the blow of the Nazis. Over a hundred Georgian soldiers took part in the defense of the legendary Brest Fortress. Only a few people were seriously wounded, unconscious, were captured, and the rest of the defenders of the fortress fell in battle.

Hundreds of soldiers from Georgia served under the command of Major Urtmelidze in the 333rd Infantry Regiment, which almost completely died on the banks of the Western Bug in the first days of the war.

In the first battles, senior lieutenant artilleryman, Hero of the Soviet Union Kharazia distinguished himself. The artillery unit under his command destroyed many tanks and dozens of firing points.

In six months since the beginning of the war, the squadron of Major Tsurtsumia destroyed six regiments, seven German and Romanian ships, 200 tanks, 1.2 thousand vehicles with military equipment, shot down 14 aircraft, and bombed 10 enemy airfields. She completed a number of serious tasks for the command to bombard the most important military installations in Bucharest, Ploiesti and Constanta. On December 30, 1941, Major Tsurtsumiya died, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

And this is only the beginning of the war. But then the sons and daughters of Georgia fought on all sectors of the Soviet-German front - from the Barents to the Black Seas.

Georgian soldiers participated in all significant battles - in the battles near Moscow, in the defense of Leningrad, in the battle for Stalingrad and on the Kursk salient.

During the Great Patriotic War, several national Georgian divisions were formed on the territory of Georgia, participating in the battle for the Caucasus, in the battles for the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, Crimea.

They were not only called up by the military registration and enlistment offices, they volunteered, demanding immediate dispatch to the front, of which, in the first three months of the war, people's militias were formed, which joined the active army.

The feat of the Soviet soldiers Yegorov and Kantaria, who hoisted the red banner over the Reichstag, will also remain in history. And now, decades later, the monument to Meliton Kantaria will be erected on May 10 in Tbilisi.

Uprising on Texel Island

The selfless struggle of the Georgians against the German invaders is still remembered and honored on the distant Dutch island of Texel.

The island was one of the important points of the defensive Atlantic wall and was sufficiently fortified. There, in early April 1945, a large anti-fascist uprising of Georgian prisoners of war unfolded.

During the "Georgian uprising", as the inhabitants of Teksel called these events, more than 560 Georgians died.

The battle continued even after Germany surrendered on 8 May. Until May 20, Canadian units could not stop the "Last Battle of Europe". The Georgian cemetery and the monument to warriors from distant Georgia is one of the local attractions to this day.

Defense of the Caucasus

German troops did not enter the territory of Georgia, although the plans of the Nazi leadership included a quick capture of the Caucasus.

In the summer of 1942, the German command sent a specially trained mountain division "Edelweiss" into the region, which was supposed to pass through the Caucasian passes and capture Georgia, and then the entire South Caucasus. But already in the autumn they were driven out of there and thrown back over the Main Caucasian Range.

The list of Georgian heroes taking part in the war is endless. But suffice it to recall that among them were more than 224 thousand awarded various orders and medals, and 164 of them became Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Rear

Speaking about the heroes of the war, we must not forget about those who, without getting enough sleep and malnutrition, did a titanic work, strengthening the rear and helping the front.
Before the war, Georgian industry did not produce weapons, ammunition, or military equipment at all.

The restructuring of the economy on a war footing turned out to be very difficult for Georgia. The priority was the extraction of minerals necessary for the military industry. Many enterprises and factories switched to the production of weapons, military equipment and uniforms. IN in large numbers artillery shells, machine guns and mortars were manufactured. In 1941, the Tbilisi Aviation Plant was launched, which produced fighter planes.

Thousands of women and teenagers worked tirelessly at military enterprises.

By "compacting" many civilian institutions, hundreds of buildings were handed over to the military units stationed in Georgia. And for the evacuation hospitals, which began to be created from the very first days of the war, sanatoriums, rest homes, other medical institutions and some schools were assigned. Thousands and thousands of wounded soldiers were treated in 72 such hospitals.

Today, all this is history. For someone it is very distant, but for someone it has become a part of life, although there are fewer and fewer of them every year.

Every year on May 9, Georgia celebrates another anniversary of the victory over fascism. On the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the victory over fascism in World War II, festive events are being held in the country.

Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II served a memorial service at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Tbilisi's Vake Park.
War veterans and members of their families, politicians and representatives of the government of Georgia traditionally gather in Vake Park in the center of Tbilisi in the morning. They bring wreaths to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and congratulate veterans on May 9th.

Today wreaths were laid at the monument to the Unknown Soldier by Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria, Tbilisi Mayor David Narmania, members of the ruling party and representatives of the opposition. Politicians congratulated the veterans on the anniversary of the victory.

“Georgia has made a significant contribution to this victory. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians died in this battle. We bow before their names, we are proud, and the next generations will also be proud of their heroism. I wish the veterans health and live in a united Georgia,” Izoria said.

“Georgia made a great sacrifice in World War II. Together with the international coalition, a great evil in the form of fascism was defeated. The whole world celebrates this day. I congratulate the veterans and once again bow to those heroes who fell on the battlefield in the Patriotic War,” said Georgy Volsky, MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party.

“All civilized mankind united to fight not against a separate country, but against fascism and achieved a historic victory. I am glad that there are many Georgian veterans here today. I wish them well and for long years life,” said Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the United National Movement party.

“It was the greatest victory of mankind over evil. It is a pity that every holiday we see that there are fewer and fewer veterans. Unfortunately, we did not appreciate them the way they deserve,” said Nino Burdzhanaze, former speaker of the parliament, leader of the Democratic Movement party.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who is on an official visit to the United States, also published his congratulations on May 9 on his Facebook page.
“For the sake of this victory, our compatriots fought selflessly - we have many famous and many nameless heroes. I want to honor the memory of our heroes and their immortal names. With special respect, I congratulate our veterans, participants of the Second World War on this day and bow to them,” writes Kvirikashvili.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili laid a wreath at the memorial to those killed in World War II in the city of Zugdidi.

In Zugdidi, the head of the Georgian state awarded the 91-year-old war veteran Olga Tsalan with an order of honor for her personal contribution to the victory over fascism and the movement of World War II veterans.
“I congratulate the veterans and all those people who fought for victory over fascism and overcame this terrible disease of mankind. I congratulate and thank them for the fact that the world did not drown in this terrible whirlpool and the ideas of humanism triumphed,” Margvelashvili said.

The President of Georgia is in Zugdidi in connection with the discussion of the draft amendments to the constitution.

12:49 — REGNUM Georgian veterans of World War II traditionally celebrate May 9 in Vake Park (formerly called Victory Park). And although there are not many true veterans of that war, this holiday is also considered by former military personnel, as well as participants in wars of a later period. Among those who annually come to Vake Park are some veterans of the wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Politicians, public figures, relatives of the victims come to congratulate the few survivors of the Second World War. Flowers and wreaths are laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Despite the promises of the Georgian authorities not to let the Night Wolves into the country, a small group of Russian bikers nevertheless reached Vake Park. As the bikers told Georgian journalists, they came to Georgia as guests, without violating the Georgian legislation (through a checkpoint legal for Georgia), to congratulate the veterans and honor the memory of the fallen heroes.

“We are not politicians. We are leaving today, we could not help but come here and honor the memory of the heroes, ”one of the members of the Night Wolves told reporters.

In addition to bikers, on the eve of Victory Day, former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov arrived in Georgia, which alarmed the Georgian pro-Western political elite and the media. From their own sources, the journalists learned that Luzhkov and his wife attended a service in one of the churches in Tbilisi on May 7, and before that they had visited Uplistsikhe.

Representatives of the Georgian government immediately denied this visit and told journalists that none of the official representatives of the authorities invited Luzhkov to Tbilisi and that they learned about the visit from the media. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Luzhkov arrived in Georgia on legal grounds with legal documents. The ministry does not have information about his violation of the law “On the occupied territories”, therefore, it could not detain him or impose sanctions on him for this, but launched an appropriate investigation in this direction, since some Georgian media reported about Luzhkov’s violation of this law earlier.

Representatives of the government and the "opposition" reacted differently to the visits of Russian guests. According to the vice-speaker of the Georgian Parliament, a member of the Georgian Dream Georgy Volsky, it is wrong and unbecoming for the country to form people's fears in connection with the visit of the Night Wolves.

The visit of the ex-mayor and bikers turned out to be unacceptable for the leader of European Georgia, David Bakradze, who regarded this event as "the announcement of President Putin's messages and policies in Georgia." He called the presence of representatives of the “occupier country” in Georgia on Victory Day an insult to the sovereignty of the country.

The leaders of the United National Movement (whose party comrades previously were the current leaders of European Georgia) believe that the Georgian government should have been informed about Luzhkov’s visit and must fine him for violating the Law on the Occupied Territories, since he repeatedly visited Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Representatives of both “pro-Western parties” came to Vake Park on May 9 and laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At the same time, they emphasized that the day “Victory over fascism cannot be turned into a holiday of politics modern Russia».

“Victory Day and the fight against fascism should not turn into a celebration of the policy of modern Russia in Georgia, a celebration of those people who actively supported the occupation of Georgia,” David Bakradze told reporters.

On May 9, the President of Georgia is in Zugdidi, where, according to the presidential press service, he met with one of the veterans, 91-year-old Olga Tsalani, and awarded her with the Order of Honor. By the decision of the President, all veterans of the Second World War will receive vouchers for medicines in the amount of 140 GEL. More than 93,000 lari has been allocated for these purposes from the presidential reserve fund.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili congratulated the country on Victory Day over fascism from the USA, where he is visiting.

“Our compatriots selflessly fought for this victory. We have many famous and many nameless heroes whose exploits are still unknown. We honor their memory and the immortal names of our heroes. With special respect, I congratulate our veterans of the Second World War on this day, ”the prime minister’s congratulations, posted on his official website on Facebook, read.

On May 9, Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II also came to Vake Park. He laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and served a memorial service in memory of those who died in World War II.

In Vake Park, a number of events are planned for this day - meetings, concerts, performances, competitions.

Background

Day of celebration of the end of the Great Patriotic War and victory Soviet army. It is celebrated annually on May 9 in Russia, the CIS countries and many others. Festive events often include festivities, military parades, fireworks, and themed performances.

An important tradition of the holiday was the holding of the action "Immortal Regiment", which swept the whole world. On this day, people take to the streets with portraits of their warring relatives and follow a predetermined route, sing war songs or silently pay tribute to the memory of fallen heroes.

The Immortal Regiment has been held annually since 2012. Every year the number of countries in which marches take place " Immortal Regiment"increases.