Mourning ceremonies for Georgia’s first post-Soviet President have been taking place in the town of Mzheta. The body of Zviad Gamsakhurdia has been lying in state in the local cathedral.
Tomorrow, Zviad Gamsakhurdia will be buried in the capital's “Pantheon for prominent Georgians.”His remains were found in Chechnya earlier this month and brought back to his ancestral home to await burial. Gamsakhurdia was an active dissident in Soviet times and a noted writer and scholar. As the Soviet Union deteriorated, he rose to political prominence and was elected President in June 1991.