April 9 tragedy

April 9 Massacre
April 9 Massacre
Part of Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, Revolutions of 1989, and Dissolution of the Soviet Union
	Photos of the April 9, 1989 massacre victims, mostly young women, on a billboard in Tbilisi (2008)
Date	4–9 April 1989
Location	Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Caused by	Political repression Nationalist sentiment
Goals	Civil rights; Restoration of Georgian Independence; Opposition to the Abkhaz separatism;
Methods	Protest march, picketing, street protesters, Flag waving.
Resulted in	First multi-party elections, end of the communist rule; Restoration of Georgian independence via referendum; Recognition of Georgia’s membership of the Soviet Union as an illegal occupation;
Parties
Soviet Union 4th Motor-Rifle Regiment ODON (Moscow); OMON (Perm and Voronezh); Militsiya Higher School (Gorky); Airborne Regiment;	National Democratic Party; All-Georgian Society of St. Ilia the Righteous; Ilia Chavchavadze Society
Lead figures
	Mikhail Gorbachev; Igor Rodionov; Jumber Patiashvili Merab Kostava Zviad Gamsakhurdia Giorgi Chanturia and others
Number
2,550 soldiers and law enforcement; 6 BTR (armored personnel carriers); 8 BMD (combat paratrooper carriers); 4 fire engines; 2 ambulance vehicles;	8,000-10,000 civilians
Casualties and losses
	Deaths: 21 ; Injuries: 100+; Arrests: 100+

April 9 Tragedy (also known as the massacre of Tbilisi or Tbilisi tragedy) refers to the events in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, on April 9, 1989, when an anti-Soviet, pro-independence and nationalist demonstration was crushed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 21 deaths and hundreds of injuries. April 9 is now remembered as the National Unity Day (Georgian: ეროვნული ერთიანობის დღე, romanized: erovnuli ertianobis dghe), an annual public holiday.