Rare Footage of Post-Soviet Georgia Captures Beginnings of Civil War (1991)

On 13 September 1991, ITN's cameras recorded scenes of political turbulence, excitement, and unrest in the Georgian capital of Tblisi, just five months after the country's secession from the collapsing Soviet Union. Georgia's first democratically-elected president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, spoke to the world's press about the problems facing his government, in particular the worsening conflict in South Ossetia. The previous month, the Georgian National Guard had mutinied against Gamsakhurdia over the government's military intervention in South Ossetia, while demonstrations in Tblisi in early September saw a number of opposition leaders arrested, their offices raided, and their newspapers closed down. Nevertheless, opposition activities continued: the same afternoon that Gamsakhurdia held his press conference, ITN's cameras filmed a rally held by a coalition of opposition parties demanding Gamsakhurdia's resignation. The president himself later addressed his supporters outside the Georgian parliament. ITN's footage of one day in Tblisi captures something of Georgia's descent into civil unrest amidst an explosion of political expression. Just three months after this footage was filmed, a violent coup d'etat against Gamsakhurdia's government, known as the 1991–1992 Georgian coup d'état or the Tblisi War, would mark the beginning of the multifactional, multifront civil war that would devastate the country over the next two years.

#Georgia #Georgian #USSR #SovietUnion #Soviet #SovietWave #ColdWar #Russia #CivilWar #1991 #PostSoviet

To license the footage featured in this clip, follow the link below:

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/videos/...

To search the ITN Archive collection on Getty Images, follow the link below:

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/footage...

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel (tap the bell icon and stay up to date with all the latest ITN Archive videos!) -    / @itnarchive  
🎥 Follow us on Twitter -   / itnarchive  
🎥 Like us on Facebook -   / itnarchiveitnp  
🎥 Check out our TikTok -   / itnarchive1955