Georgia marks Mother Language Day, commemorating 1978 protests

Georgia is marking Mother Language Day on 14 April, a national observance established in 1990 to commemorate the events of 1978, when mass protests in Tbilisi led Soviet authorities to reverse a decision affecting the status of the Georgian language.

On 14 April 1978, demonstrations were held in response to an attempt by the Georgian Communist Party to amend the constitution and remove Georgian as the state language.

The protests began at Tbilisi State University, where thousands of students gathered before marching towards Rustaveli Avenue, the capital’s central thoroughfare. Contemporary accounts estimate that up to 15,000 people initially took part in the march, including students and members of the intelligentsia.

As the demonstration progressed, more citizens joined, and the crowd on Rustaveli Avenue grew to nearly 100,000 people.

In a rare outcome for the time, the Soviet authorities backed down, marking one of the first instances in the history of the Soviet Union where sustained public protest forced a reversal of official policy.