Photo Story | People’s Spring Has Come?

Large crowds took to the streets in Tbilisi on March 31, Day 124 of non-stop Georgian protests, to mark the arrival of the “People’s Spring” – a reference to a famous line in the popular anti-oligarchy chant. The day fell on the 34th anniversary of the historic referendum to restore the independence Georgia lost to Soviet occupation in 1921. Rustaveli Avenue, the epicenter of the ongoing protests, was packed as groups of demonstrators joined various marches.

Salome Zurabishvili addressed the crowd with a long speech, announcing, among other things, a resistance platform open to all pro-European political groups. The atmosphere at the rally was noisy and dynamic, including the group that leads the daily Public Broadcaster rallies performing the anti-oligarchy chant with a large crowd. The demonstrators also set off fireworks, a symbol of the ongoing resistance.

Rally comes amid growing anger over the controversial investigation into the 2008 Russo-Georgian war by a commission in the Georgian Dream one-party parliament. Portraits of Georgian soldiers killed in the August war were brought to Rustaveli Avenue to honor their sacrifice.

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