Freedom Square, Tbilisi
Encyclopedia
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
: ერევანსკი მოედანი, Erevansk'i moedani, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Эриванская площадь, Erivanskaya ploshchad) under Imperial Russia and Lenin Square under the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, is located in the center of Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
at the eastern end of Rustaveli Avenue
Rustaveli Avenue
Rustaveli Avenue - is an avenue in central Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli. The Avenue starts at Freedom Square and extends for about 1.5 km in length, before it turns into an extension of Kostavas Kucha...
.
History
The square was originally named after Ivan PaskevichIvan Paskevich
Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich was a Ukrainian-born military leader. For his victories, he was made Count of Erivan in 1828 and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831...
, the Count of Erivan, a Russian general who earned his title in honor of his conquest of Erivan (present-day Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
) for the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. Under the Soviet Union, the square was renamed, first "Beria
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
Square", and then "Lenin Square".
Freedom Square was the site of the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery
1907 Tiflis bank robbery
The 1907 Tiflis bank robbery, also known as the Yerevan Square expropriation, was an armed robbery by Bolshevik revolutionaries of a bank cash shipment in the Georgian city of Tiflis . The robbery occurred on 26 June 1907 in Yerevan Square...
. Freedom Square has been the site of various mass demonstrations including those for Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
's independence (from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
), the Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
, and others. In 2005 Freedom Square was the location where U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
addressed a crowd of around 100,000 people in celebration of the 60th anniversary marking the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Monuments
Abutting the north side of Freedom Square is a small open space with a fountain. Buried between the bust of Alexander Pushkin and the fountain is KamoKamo (Bolshevik)
Kamo, real name Semeno Aržakovitš Ter-Petrossian , was a Georgian revolutionary of Armenian descent, and an early companion to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin...
(Simon Ter-Petrossian). Kamo was once a celebrated communist, but now his grave has been paved over and is unmarked.
Tbilisi City Hall
Tbilisi City Hall
Tbilisi City Hall is a clock-towered edifice situated in the southern side of Freedom Square , Tbilisi, capital of Georgia...
is situated on the Square. Other important venues include Bank of Georgia
Bank of Georgia
JSC Bank of Georgia is a leading Georgian universal bank, providing a full range of commercial and investment banking, wealth management, insurance, trade finance, leasing and card processing services to its corporate and retail clients...
central branch, and Marriott International
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
branch. The square will also accommodate Old Tbilisi
Old Tbilisi
Old Tbilisi is an administrative district in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. Although the term "Old Tbilisi" has long been used to denote a historical part of the city, it was only in 2007 that it became a distinct administrative entity to incorporate several historical neighborhoods formerly...
local government office, the building works of which are already started. Freedom Square is also the location of the British Embassy to Georgia.
During the Soviet period, the square accommodated a large statue to Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, which was symbolically torn down in August 1991. On November 23, 2006, the Liberty Monument
Freedom Monument (Tbilisi)
The Freedom Monument , commonly known as the St. George Statue, is a memorial located in Tbilisi, Georgia, dedicated to the freedom and independence of the Georgian nation. Unveiled in 2006 in Tbilisi's central square, the monument of granite and gold is high and is easily spotted from any point...
depicting St George slaying the dragon, created by Zurab Tsereteli
Zurab Tsereteli
Zurab Konstantines dze Tsereteli is a Georgian-Russian painter, sculptor and architect who holds the office of President of the Russian Academy of Arts.- Life :...
, was unveiled in the same place.
Branching out from this square are six streets: Rustaveli Avenue, Pushkin Street, Leselidze Street, Shalva Dadiani Street, Galaktion Street, and Leonidze Street.