On January 11, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament hosted a ceremony of opening of a photographic exhibition marking 90th anniversary of the 1921 Constitution of Georgia. The exhibition depicts creation of the first Georgian republic in 1918, its democratic achievements such as abolition of death penalty and the universal suffrage, international recognition of the republic and the adoption of the constitution in 1921, days before the occupation of the country by the invading Red Army. Rt. Hon. Dennis MacShane MP, the Chairman of the All-Party Group on Georgia and the former Europe Minister, Rt Hon Liam Fox MP, former Defence Secretary, Ms Emma Reynolds, Shadow Europe Minister, Mr Giorgi Kandelaki, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia and the exhibition author as well as H.E. Mr Giorgi Badridze, Ambassador of Georgia to the UK addressed the attending audience of MPs, scholars and representatives of the Georgian community in London.

Rt. Hon. Dennis MacShane stressed democratic achievements of the first Georgian Republic which – such as abolition of the death penalty and the right of women to vote – were enacted by older democracies only later.

Rt. Hon. Liam Fox recalled the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia and the support then opposition leader and now Prime Minister David Cameron showed to the people of Georgia by travelling to Tbilisi during the height of the crisis. He also stressed continued support for Georgia’s aspirations to become a full-fledged member of the Euro-Atlantic community of nations from across Britain’s political spectrum.

The Georgian Ambassador to the UK, HE Giorgi Badridze thanked the attending audience and stressed the European nature of Georgia’s heritage.

In conclusion, the author of the exhibition Giorgi Kandelaki pointed out that re-thinking this less known page of the recent Georgian history can help to better appreciate context of events in and around Georgia today.