Georgian lawmakers approve law on Day of Soviet Occupation

Georgia’s Parliament approved Wednesday, July 21, a law on marking the Day of Soviet Occupation on February 25, Russian Interfax agency reported. It wasn’t detailed how many lawmakers voted for and against the bill. 

From now on, February 25 will be marked by dipping the state flags; besides, a minute of silence will be observed this day.

In addition to the law on marking the Day of Soviet Occupation, the Georgian Parliament approved another resolution on marking the Mourning Day for Victims of Totalitarianism on August 23. This day in 1939, the Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact was signed.

It’s worth mentioning that the Museum of the Soviet Occupation opened in Georgia in 2006, and is dedicated to the history of Georgia’s Soviet-era times and memory of victims of repressions and anti-Soviet activists of Georgia. Recently, Georgian government has made a decision to remove Joseph Stalin’s memorial from the square in Gori, a town where he was born, his ‘little motherland’, and place there a memorial to victims of Stalin-era repressions and Russian occupation. Stalin’s memorial has been moved into the territory of the Stalin Museum, which is located nearby.