Freedom Square, Tbilisi

History

The square was originally named after Ivan Paskevich, Count of Erivan, a general in the Russian Imperial Army of Ukrainian descent, who earned his title in honor of his conquest of Erivan (present-day Yerevan) for the Russian Empire. During the Soviet era, the square was renamed twice: first to "Beria Square", and then "Lenin Square". The location was first named Freedom Square in 1918, during the foundation of the First Georgian Republic following the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Freedom Square was the site of the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery. It has also been the site of various mass demonstrations including those for Georgia's independence (from the Soviet Union), the Rose Revolution, and others. In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili addressed a crowd of an estimated 100,000 people to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. During this event, Georgian-Armenian Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live grenade at the two presidents in an unsuccessful assassination attempt.

Monuments

Abutting the north side of Freedom Square is a small open space with a fountain and a bust of Alexander Pushkin. Nearby the famous communist Kamo (Simon Ter-Petrossian) was once buried, but during Stalin's rule his remains were moved to an undisclosed location.

Tbilisi City Assembly is situated on the square. Other buildings include the former Bank of Georgia head office and the Courtyard by Marriott Tbilisi. The square will also accommodate the Old Tbilisi local government office, the building works of which are already started.

During the Soviet period, the square featured a large statue of Vladimir Lenin, which was built in 1956{{cite news | access-date = 2010-12-02

Branching out from this square are six streets: Rustaveli Avenue, Pushkin Street, Kote Apkhazi Street, Shalva Dadiani Street, Galaktion Tabidze Street and Giorgi Leonidze Street.

Gallery

File:31 - Tbilisi - 1976.jpg|Lenin Square in 1976 File:Freedom Square, Tbilisi.jpg|Freedom Square in 2000s File:Roses at Liberty Square.jpg|Roses at Liberty Square, Tbilisi File:2OP 30.JPG|Demonstration for Rose Revolution in Freedom Square

References

Citation

Biography

References

1. Frederiksen, Martin Demant. A Gate, but Leading Where?’ In Search of Actually Existing Cosmopolitanism in Post-Soviet Tbilisi. Post-cosmopolitan Cities: Explorations of Urban Coexistence, Berghahn Books, August 1, 2012. p. 125
2. Rydel, Christine. The Ardis anthology of Russian romanticism. Ardish Publishers, 1984. p. 335
3. Kavkaz Newspaper, #186, August 18 (31), 1910
4. "Площадь свободы".
5. (11 January 2006). "Georgian jailed for Bush attack". BBC News.
6. Sebag-Montefiore, Simon (2008). "Prologue: The Bank Robbery". ''Young Stalin''. Random House, Inc. p. 370