Georgia had been part of the Russian Empire since 1800. Following the Russian revolution and the defeats in the First World War, movements within Georgia pushed for independence from Russia and on May 26th 1918, Georgia declared itself an independent democratic republic. 

Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, was Georgian. 

May 26th had been celebrated as a public holiday until Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922. Celebrations of regional public holidays were suppressed across the Soviet Union and it wasn’t until 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet regime that this day regained its public holiday status. 

Georgia seceded from the Soviet Union on April 9th 1991 and April 9th is now celebrated as a national public holiday, the Day of National Unity.