Freedom Square or Liberty Square is located in the center of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, at the eastern end of

Rustaveli Avenue Rustaveli Avenue ( ka, რუსთაველის გამზირი, ''Rust'avelis Gamziri''), formerly known as ''Golovin Street'', is the central avenue in Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli. The avenue s ...

. (In

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

, it is თავისუფლების მოედანი ''Tavisuplebis moedani'', pronounced ). Under

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

it was known as Erivansky or Paskevich-Erivansky Square (

: ერევანსკის მოედანი, ''Erevansk'is moedani'',

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Эриванская площадь, ''Erivanskaya ploshchad''.) While part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, it was Beria Square (

: ბერიას მოედანი, ''Berias moedani'') and Lenin Square (

: ლენინის მოედანი, ''Leninis moedani'').

History

The square was originally named after

Ivan Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Паске́вич-Эриванский, светлейший князь Варшавский, tr. ; – ) was an Imperial Russian mi ...

, Count of Erivan, a general in the Russian Imperial Army of

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

descent, who earned his title in honor of his conquest of Erivan (present-day

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

) for the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. During the Soviet era, the square was renamed twice: first to "

Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

Square", and then "Lenin Square". The location was first named Freedom Square in 1918, during the foundation of the First Georgian Republic following the collapse of the Russian Empire. The Freedom Square was the site of the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery. The Freedom Square has also been the site of various mass demonstrations including those for

's independence (from the

), the

Rose Revolution The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...

, and others. In 2005 the Freedom Square was the location where

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and Georgian President

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

addressed a crowd of around 100,000 people in celebration of the 60th anniversary marking the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During this event, Georgian-Armenian

Vladimir Arutyunian Vladimir Arutyunian ( ka, ვლადიმერ არუთინიანი; hy, Վլադիմիր Հարությունյան; born 12 March 1978) is a Georgian national who attempted to assassinate United States President George W. Bush a ...

threw a live grenade at President Bush while he was speaking in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate him.

Monuments

Abutting the north side of Freedom Square is a small open space with a fountain and a bust of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

. Nearby the famous communist

Kamo The name Kamo may refer to the following: Places Japan (Note: ''kamo'' ( 鴨), is the common word for ''duck'' in Japanese, but the following names do not necessarily mean ''duck'' and are not necessarily written with that character.) * Kamo, N ...

(

Simon Ter-Petrossian Simon Arshaki Ter-Petrosian (russian: Симон "Камо" Аршакович Тер-Петросян; hy, Սիմոն «Կամօ» Տէր Պետրոսեան; 27 May 1882 – 14 July 1922), better known by his '' nom de guerre'' of Kamo, was an ...

) was once buried, but during Stalin's rule his remains were moved to an undisclosed location.Sebag-Montefiore, Simon (2008). "Prologue: The Bank Robbery". ''Young Stalin''. Random House, Inc. p. 370

Tbilisi City Assembly The Tbilisi Sakrebulo ( ka, თბილისის საკრებულო, tr) is a representative body in the city government of Tbilisi, Georgia. It is also known in English as the Tbilisi City Council or Tbilisi Assembly. Sakrebulo ...

is situated on the square. Other buildings include the former

Bank of Georgia , logo = Bank of Georgia logo.png , image = , image_size = , image_caption = Bank of Georgia , type = PLC , traded_as = , area_served = Georgia , key_people = Mel Carvill(Non-Executive Chairman) Archil Gachechiladze (CEO) , industry ...

head office and the

Courtyard by Marriott Courtyard by Marriott is a brand of hotels owned by Marriott International. One of Marriott's mid-priced brands, the hotels are primarily targeted to business travelers, but also accommodate traveling families. Rooms have desks, couches, and fre ...

Tbilisi. The square will also accommodate the

Old Tbilisi Old Tbilisi ( ka, ძველი თბილისი, ''dzveli t'bilisi'') was an administrative district (raioni) in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, from 2007 to 2013. Although the term "Old Tbilisi" has long been used to denote a historical part ...

local government office, the building works of which are already started. During the Soviet period, the square featured a large statue of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, which was built in 1956 and symbolically torn down in August 1991. On November 23, 2006, the Liberty Monument depicting

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

slaying the dragon, created by

Zurab Tsereteli Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli ( ka, ზურაბ კონსტანტინეს ძე წერეთელი, russian: Зураб Константинович Церетели; born 4 January 1934) is a Georgian-Russian painter, sc ...

was unveiled in the same place. Branching out from this square are six streets: Rustaveli Avenue, Pushkin Street, Kote Apkhazi Street, Shalva Dadiani Street, Galaktion Tabidze Street and Giorgi Leonidze Street.

Gallery

File:31 - Tbilisi - 1976.jpg, Lenin Square in 1976 File:Freedom Square, Tbilisi.jpg, Freedom Square in 2000s File:Roses at Liberty Square.jpg, Roses at Liberty Square, Tbilisi File:St. Georg monument Tbilisi.jpg, St. George monument File:2OP 30.JPG, Demonstration for Rose Revolution in Freedom Square

References

Citation

Biography

* {{Authority control Squares in Tbilisi National squares 19th-century establishments in Georgia (country) Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917)