2017 will see the 40th anniversary of the Tbilisi conference and declaration which, at the time, we seen by many to be full of promise for a better future. We shall no doubt be urged to remember Tbilisi and celebrate the event, even though it was a T+35 conference a mere 5 years ago.
I spent week in Tbilisi around the Millennium (well after the eponymous event). As this was before I started blogging, the world was spared a running commentary on my never to be forgotten experiences which included disenfranchised millers, chained bears, and the world's best bread. I did write a fragment in 2012, however.
But how to remember Tbilisi? I suppose it depends whether you want to celebrate it as a landmark event which changed how we see the world, or whether you want to use the opportunity for a sober analysis of how effective / ineffective an event it was at changing the world. You could do both at a pinch, but the hurrahing might drown out the sober analysis. In very many ways the world might be said to be a better place than in 1977 (and a worse one), but was this anything to do with Tbilisi?
Expect much more on this as the year unfolds. Meanwhile, click here to see a Soviet video nasty about the original. Much better with the Russian commentary turned off.
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