Memory and Disinformation Studies

28 May 2017

Preserving the Prison Archive

IDFI expressed interested in the Ortachala Prison archive as early as in 2013. The organization requested clarification from National Archives of Georgia, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Corrections. The Ministry of Justice responded by forwarding the mail to the Ministry of Corrections, and National Archives stated that documentation was not kept in their system.

18 May 2017

Congressional Delegation in Georgia: Meeting with President Gamsakhurdia’s Opposition

IDFI continues to publish declassified secret documents from U.S. institutions. This time we present document sent from U.S. Embassy in Moscow to the State Department in September 1991. The document describes meeting of the congressional delegation with the representatives of the opposition.

11 May 2017

CIA Documents

For the first time, IDFI publishes these documents, allows general audience and scholars, interested in studying modern Georgian history to access CIA documents from June-September 1991.

18 April 2017

Byzantine Politics Thrive in Soviet Georgia

This time IDFI published second report prepared after Poloff’s visit, which is available at the WIKILEAKS Public Library of US Diplomacy. The document describes political situation in Georgia at the beginning of 1991. The WIKILEAKS Public Library of US Diplomacy is the largest online collection of US open and secret diplomatic communications. As of 2013, it holds more than 2 million publications.

31 March 2017

Gamsakhurdia Continues to Challenge Moscow

Today is the birthday of the first President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Furthermore, on March 31, 1991 the referendum was held on the issue of Georgian statehood. The overwhelming majority of Georgians supported the restoration of the independence of Georgia. In connection to this date, IDFI continues to publish declassified archival documents. This time, the report sent form US Embassy in Moscow to US Department of State is released.

27 March 2017

Human Rights in Georgia: 1991

The document titled the “1991 Country Human Rights Report for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic” was sent from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to the State Department. The document discusses political and human rights situation in USSR and its member republics. The August coup and its aftermath, ending of 70-year communist rule, independence of Baltic States, killing innocent civilians in Riga and Vilnius, and Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is only a short list of topics discussed in the report. Below, IDFI provides information regarding Georgia of that period.

20 March 2017

The Letter of President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia to United States Secretary of State James Baker

IDFI continues to publish declassified documents kept in US archives. This time, we are publishing a letter of the Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia to US Secretary of State James Baker dated December 12, 1991. This letter is a response to the criticism expressed by the US towards President Gamsakhurdia.

25 February 2017

February 25, 1921 is the Day of Occupation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia

February 25, 1921 is the day of occupation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. In order to honor the memory of political prisoners who were arrested and shot in the years following the occupation, IDFI and Society Memorial organized an exhibition in front of the Parliament building titled "Results of Sovietization in Georgia - Photos and Lists of the Repressed". The exhibition presented the lists of prisoners executed in 1921-1924 (1,350 persons) and people arrested by the secret police (‘Cheka’) in 1921-1922 (2,734 persons), letters sent from exile, group photos, and various print material published by prisoners and the repressed, such as newspapers, magazines, dictionaries and mor

27 May 2016

IDFI - Classified Document on Georgia's Independence

IDFI congratulates every citizen and supporter of Georgia with the Independence Day. To mark this occasion, we decided to publish a formerly classified document kept in the archives of the USA. This document is an analytical report on the events taking place in Georgia on 24 April 1990, at an early stage of the Georgian independence movement, prepared by the US Directorate of Intelligence.

20 May 2016

IDFI - Event in Honor of Georgian Officers Executed by Russian Bolsheviks

On May 20, IDFI in cooperation with Tbilisi City Hall, Ministry of Defense and the Archive of Ministry of Internal Affairs organized an event in honor of Georgian officers executed by Russian Bolsheviks in 1923. The event was opened with the Georgian anthem performed by the Defense Ministry's military orchestra. This was followed by a welcoming speech by IDFI director Giorgi Kldiashvili, who spoke about the contribution of the repressive officers to their homeland and their importance of both the past and the future of Georgia.