On February 23, 2024, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) hosted students and teachers of N8 public school of Khashuri Municipality as part of the event dedicated to the Soviet Occupation Day. Within the framework of the meeting, a public lecture "Soviet occupation and its consequences in the memory of Georgia" and a screening of the "Radio Liberty" film "The Cemetery of the Shot Dead in Batumi" were held.

 

Anton Vacharadze, head of the memory and disinformation studies direction of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), spoke about the consequences of the 70-year occupation. At the same time, he focused on the mass repressions carried out in the 1930s, the mass graves discovered in Adjara and the research activities carried out. He noted that it is important to encourage and popularize memory studies of the Soviet past among young people and raise awareness of the Soviet occupation in society.

 

After the public lecture, the "Radio Liberty" film "The Cemetery of the Shot Dead in Batumi" was screened. The film describes the opening procedures of the mass grave N6 found in the territory of the former Russian military base in Batumi, the work carried out by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and the story of the son of one of the repressed.

 

At the end of the event, a discussion was held around the presentation topic, in which, together with the students, the teachers of the school were also involved, and a number of interesting questions were raised.

 

The information meeting was held with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA.