Georgia marks 37 years since April 9 tragedy

Georgia is marking the 37th anniversary of the April 9 tragedy, when Soviet forces violently dispersed peaceful demonstrators in the country’s capital city of Tbilisi, leaving 21 people dead and hundreds injured.

The events of April 9, 1989 followed weeks of escalating tensions. After the so-called Likhni Assembly on 18 March, where thousands of Abkhaz called for secession from Georgia and the restoration of their Soviet-era republic status, anti-Soviet groups organised a series of protests across the country. They argued that Moscow was using separatism to undermine Georgia’s independence movement.

The protests reached their peak on 4 April, when tens of thousands gathered outside the Government House on Rustaveli Avenue. The demonstrators, led by members of the Independence Committee including Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Merab Kostava and others, staged a peaceful rally and began a hunger strike, demanding both independence and action against separatist movements.

By 6 April, Soviet military officials had arrived in Tbilisi. Following a Politburo decision chaired by Yegor Ligachev, troops from the army and interior ministry were deployed to the city. A plan to disperse the protest was drawn up by senior military officials and local Communist leadership.

In the early hours of 9 April, at around 04:00, Soviet troops moved in to clear the demonstrators using force. Chemical agents, entrenching tools, firearms, armoured vehicles and tanks were used during the operation.

A curfew was declared later that morning, although the public was only informed hours after it came into effect. The crackdown resulted in the deaths of 21 people, while dozens were injured and up to 2,000 individuals were affected by exposure to unidentified chemical substances.

The tragedy became a defining moment in Georgia’s path to independence. On 9 April 1991, Georgia formally restored its state independence, with then-president Gamsakhurdia describing the date as symbolic of the nation’s struggle and sacrifice.

The victims of the April 9 tragedy are remembered as national heroes: Aza Adamia (22), Natia Bashaleishvili (16), Eka Bezhanishvili (15), Nato Giorgadze (23), Tamuna Dolidze (28), Tina Enukidze (70), Nino Toidze (22), Zaira Kikvidze (61), Manana Loladze (34), Tamar Mamulashvili (50), Venera Metreveli (45), Mamuka Nozadze (21), Nana Samarguliani (41), Shalva Kvartriziliashvili (35), Marina Chkonia-Samarguliani (31), Eliso Chipashvili (25), Tamar Chovelidze (16), Nodar Jangirashvili (40), Mzia Jincharadze (43), Manana Melkadze (26), and Gia Karseladze (25).