Yesterday, on the first anniversary of the war between Russia and Georgia, Rustaveli Avenue, the main artery through Tbilisi, was blocked off. A government-sponsored group, RE: action, installed various displays on the street, showcasing 226 years of the chequered history of the relations between Russia and Georgia. The open air exhibition opened with a display of documents detailing the Russian assistance for Georgia against a Muslim assault in 1783 and closed with images from the recent war.
It also included a mock Russian checkpoint and a simulated occupation of the Georgian Parliament by Russian forces. A somewhat original way to commemorate last year’s war…
2 comments:
According to todays "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (8.8.09) this installation is commemorating an incident which took place 20 years ago: The soviet general Igor Rodijonow issued the order to disperse a demonstration where the georgian dissociation from the Soviet Union was postulated. 20 people have been killed in the resulting panic by soldiers using folding spades.
yes, but that was only part of the installation... there was also a facsimile of a signed document from 1783 between Russia and Georgia offering assistance against marauding Muslims... and there were at least a dozen displays with photographs from last year's five day war... but please keep the FAZ article for when I return home :-)
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