Exhibition “1989” organized by MIA Archive and embassies of Czech Republic and Slovakia was held at national library of the Parliament of Georgia. The event was attended by the Rector of MIA Academy Nukri Gelashvili, Ambassador of Slovakia to Georgia Rudolph Mikhalka, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic Petr Drulak, Ambassador of Czech Republic to Georgia Tomash Pernitski, representatives of Georgian Parliament and Diplomatic Corpse. The event was dedicated to 25th anniversary of events that earned the name of “Velvet Revolution”. Rector of MIA Academy Nukrid Gelashsvili attended the opening ceremony of exhibition and delivered speech. He reviewed important and crucial events in histories of Georgia, Slovakia and Czech Republic.
MIA archive exhibited banners depicting events that took place in April 9, 1989. Embassies of Czech Republic and Slovakia presented banners of events that evolved in the same year in Prague on November 17. Peaceful demonstration of students against the communist regime was violently dispersed in Prague in 1989 which triggered the start of democratic processes and became precondition to gaining independence, similar to events in Georgia that took place in the same year on April 9. The mentioned materials presented on the joint exhibition were based on archive documents stored in three countries.
For the past two years various important joint projects were implemented with participation of MIA Academy, Archive and representatives of Slovakia and Czech Republic, namely: publication on Georgian, Czech and English languages –“Dissident movement in Georgia and Czech Republic”, it is also notable that at MIA Archive, materials on Georgian dissident Revaz Tsintsadze are stored, who was the first to express protest over the soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia; articles of MIA Archive employees are periodically published in scientific magazine of “Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes” of Czech Republic; in October10, 2013 “Prague and Tbilisi from the perspective of Security Services” exhibition was held and moreover, with the aim of getting familiarized with archive funds, ambassadors of Czech Republic and Slovakia pay visits to the MIA Archive on the regular basis.
The mentioned exhibition will last for two days. Similar joint projects and events will also be actively implemented in the future.
