“February 25 and April 9 are not mourning days, but the days of our victory as today we are an independent Georgia. Russia could not do anything and would not be able to do so,” Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said today at an event dedicated to the memory of cadets who died defending Tbilisi against the Red Army in 1921.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, alongside Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, and Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze, laid flowers at the memorial of Georgian junkers (cadets).

The President stated that “the cadets actually won and set an example for future generations,” adding that “February 25 is also a day of reflection. Every day we should achieve our country to be worthy of the cadets who fought on Mount Kojori.”

Today, #WeRemember the cadets who died defending Tbilisi against the Red Army in 1921. pic.twitter.com/9sa2PnSIKI

— Orbeliani Palace (@OrbelianiPalace) February 23, 2022

The Red Army invasion of Georgia aimed to overthrow the Georgian government and establish the Bolshevik regime in the country, took place from 15 February to 17 March 1921. According to the resolution of the Parliament of Georgia of July 21, 2010, February 25 has been declared the day of Soviet occupation.