As midnight approached, the crowd keeping vigil on the front steps of the government building in Tbilisi, capital of the Georgian Republic, suddenly burst into song. The anthem was an ancient call to battle, glorifying freedom as "the sweetest of words." As its haunting harmonies echoed down nearby Rustaveli Prospect, tens of thousands of Georgians thrust clenched fists into the air. One year ago to the day, on April 9, 1989, Soviet troops had broken up a peaceful demonstration on the very same spot with tanks, shovels and poison gas, killing 20 people. Last week residents gathered in the streets again...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
