On the 163rd day of Georgia’s uninterrupted anti-government protests, thousands of citizens rallied in Tbilisi to mark Europe Day with a symbolic march along the riverbank and a large gathering on Europe Square. Protesters demanded the release of all political prisoners and called for snap elections, as Georgia’s pro-European movement shows no signs of abating.
As demonstrators waved EU flags and celebrated Georgia’s European aspirations, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili used the occasion to echo Russian propaganda, referring to World War II by its Soviet-era name — the “Great Patriotic War” — and criticizing efforts to reframe the legacy of May 9.
"For the past 80 years, the celebration of May 9 has been our inseparable tradition — a living reminder of who we were yesterday, where we stood, what we fought for, and who we are today,” Papuashvili wrote. “Today, we see people who have made it their life’s mission to belittle Georgia’s history, our past, and Victory Day itself.”
He accused critics of attempting to “rewrite history,” foster guilt over life in the Soviet Union, and “dismantle national identity” under the pretext of historical reflection. In his words, “perpetual appeals to questions like which date is correct — the 8th or the 9th of May — or whether Stalin can be mentioned, are not aimed at understanding the past but at rewriting it. This is fertile ground for implanting a pseudo-European, artificially constructed ideology through foreign influence.”
Papuashvili concluded his remarks by parroting the Soviet narrative:
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