The excursion marked the end of the latest Georgian history competition “30 Years Since the End of the Soviet Rule” and further introduced the participating students and teachers to various aspects about Georgia’s Soviet past and beyond. The unique curriculum commenced with a visit to the Museum of Soviet Occupation which exhibits materials depicting the Soviet era from 1921 to 1991 of the Caucasian country. The students were then encouraged to present each other their winning essays during a visit to the Soviet Past Research Laboratory (SovLab), one of the partner organisations of the competition. There, the participants not only met to discuss their works - facilitated by SovLab researcher Rusudan Kobakhidze - but also got the opportunity to take a look at the winning publications of previous Georgian history competitions and got acquainted with the host’s activities.

To round up the first day of the programme, SovLab director Irakli Khvadagiani presented the students and teachers with the city tour “Topography of Red Terror” and showed samples of Soviet architecture. During the trip through Tbilisi, they visited local sites related to Stalinism and learned more about the mass repression that the Soviet era is associated with.

The second day was opened with a visit to the Stalin Museum in the city of Gori where the former Soviet leader was born. To further deepen the students' knowledge about the Soviet past and the history of Georgia in general, the group explored the antique town Uplistsikhe – a cave town cut into rock 15 kilometres east of Gori. The town is considered an important cultural, religious, and political center from as early as the 4th century B.C. onward, which is on the tentative list to be considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.