Parliament of Georgia

Imposing neoclassical parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue

The Parliament of Georgia occupies a large neoclassical building on Rustaveli Avenue, its colonnaded facade presiding over the avenue from behind a small garden. The building dates from 1938 and was built in the Soviet neoclassical style common to important government buildings across the USSR — monumental, symmetrical, intended to convey permanence and authority.

Parliament moved its operations to Kutaisi in western Georgia in 2012 as part of a decentralisation initiative, and then back to Tbilisi in 2018, so the building is still in use. The approach along Rustaveli makes for good photography; the steps and forecourt are accessible to the public.

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A story
The Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue was the site of the April 9, 1989 massacre, when Soviet troops dispersed Georgian independence demonstrators outside the building with spades and toxic gas, killing 21 people — mostly women. The event radicalised Georgian public opinion and accelerated the push for independence. A memorial on the steps of the parliament commemorates those who died.

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