Introduction

On the eve of Latvia’s independence from the Soviet Union, its succession-minded government decided to fly the country’s interwar flag from Riga Castle. In a telling gesture, the leaders enlisted as flag-raiser an old man of nearly one hundred years who had been a popular actor and public figure during the brief flowering of Latvian independence between World War I and World War II. Soon after this, leaders of the Soviet Republic of Georgia resolved to make the same symbolic gesture. The situation there was far more complex, however. It had been nearly three-quarters of a century since Georgia had last enjoyed independence, and that period had been very brief. Worse, Georgians inherited several different flags from their past, and each carried a different meaning for the present. Nonetheless, the Georgian government found a few living links with the days of Georgia’s brief independence and enlisted these people for the task of raising the old colors.