The Secretary General, Givi Mikanadze hosted the media tour at the Museum of Georgian Parliamentarism in the Parliament named after Ekvtime Takaishvili.

The idea of establishing a museum was elaborated in the IX Term Parliament a year ago, amid celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia.

The concept of the Museum of Georgian Parliamentarism united the period from 1919 to the present.

"The Parliament is characterized with its openness. For the citizen involvement, a number of events have already been implemented and some are still ongoing. In the format of the Open Government Council in the Parliament, a concept of citizen involvement was developed, one of the goals of which was to create a museum of the history of the development of Georgian Parliamentarism, which would raise awareness of citizens, pupils, students and foreign guests", - Givi Mikanadze remarked.

According to him, the museum is named after Ekvtime Takaishvili, a Georgian public figure and Deputy Chairman of the Constituent Assembly.

"The museum serves to provide in-depth information to any interested person about the activities of the Parliament diachronically", - the Secretary General noted.

According to Givi Mikanadze, the museum embraces 5 halls with each having a certain period of history. Such is the hall, which reflects the period from 1919 to 1921 and bespeaks about the history of the First Republic and the Constituent Assembly.

In another hall, museum visitors will be able to learn about the lives and activities of members of the Constituent Assembly who emigrated, including materials about the work of E. Takaishvili.

Another space of the museum is dedicated to the Soviet period and the Night of April 9, 1989, where among the exhibits is the outfit used by representatives of the Soviet law enforcement agencies against peaceful protesters. In addition, visitors to the museum will see materials depicting Soviet repression.

Another hall is dedicated to the exhibits of the first President, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, where the history of 1990-1991 is reflected through the Act of Restoration of Independence by Georgia, the Restoration of State Independence of Georgia.

The Secretary General also responded to media reports, explaining once again that the museum reflects different periods in the history of the development of parliamentarism.

"There is some information in the society that a Soviet museum was allegedly set up in the Parliament. This is not the case - this is the history of the development of parliamentarism from the perspective of different periods. I would like to emphasize that each period is an integral part of our history and therefore, there are separate halls dedicated to the important moments of Georgian parliamentarism: 1918-1921, Constituent Assembly, starting of the National Movement, as well as the hall depicting the 70 years of miserable period, when one-party elections were held in Georgia and this period ends with the most tragic but important historical event for us - April 9, when the occupying army raided our brave compatriots claiming the lives of many Georgians during this vandalistic act", - Givi Mikanadze stated.

According to the Secretary General, the work on the idea and concept of the museum was carried out with the wide involvement of specialists, including the staff of the Parliament, National Library, National Archives, Archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Tbilisi State University Library and the Soviet Past Research Laboratory.

Omar Tushurashvili, former Director of the Archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, David Tsvariani, designer and Giorgi Kldiashvili, Executive Director of IDFI also talked to the participants of the media tour.

As G. Mikanadze stated during the meeting with the journalists, the opening of the museum is scheduled in the near future.