Rustaveli: Georgia’s Road Of Protest
Protests that have rocked Tbilisi in recent days broke out on a historic street that has become the “political heart” of modern Georgia.
1
Protestors shoot fireworks toward police on December 4 amid protests along Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue.
The current unrest over the Georgian government’s decision to halt EU accession talks has centered around this thoroughfare in Tbilisi. It is the latest in a long list of political upheavals the street has endured.
The current unrest over the Georgian government’s decision to halt EU accession talks has centered around this thoroughfare in Tbilisi. It is the latest in a long list of political upheavals the street has endured.
2
Today’s Rustaveli Avenue photographed in the 1910s when it was named Golovin Prospect after a Russian general.
The thoroughfare was built in the 1840s by Russia’s viceroy to the Caucasus when Georgia was part of the Russian Empire. The tsarist authorities sought to transform the Georgian capital “from a Persian-style city into a new European metropolis.”
The thoroughfare was built in the 1840s by Russia’s viceroy to the Caucasus when Georgia was part of the Russian Empire. The tsarist authorities sought to transform the Georgian capital “from a Persian-style city into a new European metropolis.”
3
A sidewalk on Rustaveli Avenue photographed in the early 1900s.
The avenue was named after Georgia’s 12th-century poet Shota Rustaveli and was distinctive for its fine hotels and wide footpaths that showcased the fashions of the day.
The avenue was named after Georgia’s 12th-century poet Shota Rustaveli and was distinctive for its fine hotels and wide footpaths that showcased the fashions of the day.
4
Rustaveli Avenue, with Georgia’s National Gallery, photographed around the turn of the 20th century.
Rustaveli’s role in modern politics began when exiled Azerbaijani nationalists declared the independence of their country, which was then occupied by Bolshevik forces, from the Hotel Orient on today’s Rustaveli Avenue, in May 1918.
Rustaveli’s role in modern politics began when exiled Azerbaijani nationalists declared the independence of their country, which was then occupied by Bolshevik forces, from the Hotel Orient on today’s Rustaveli Avenue, in May 1918.
