April 9, 1989: Soviet Crackdown In Tbilisi

Months before the peak of the protests, young people were already staging hunger strikes to demand independence for Georgia. Here, a banner states "Day 5 of the hunger strike" in front of the Georgian parliament building on November 28, 1988.

By April, the protest movement had swelled. Here, pro-independence demonstrators sit on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi on April 8, 1989. A small faction protesting against separatism in the Georgian Black Sea region of Abkhazia was also present.

Soviet tanks stand in front of the Georgian government building after troops violently broke up the pro-independence protests.

Soviet troops stand guard on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue on April 11.

Soviet tanks flank a main thoroughfare in Tbilisi on April 11.

People gather near the Georgian government building on April 12 in the aftermath of the violence.

Thousands gather on April 16, 1989, for the funeral of those who died during the crackdown.