Pavle Ingorokva Street

Pavle Ingorokva Street before and now

When we get to the end of Kikodze street, we again find ourselves in Leonidze street. While crossing the street we get Ingorokva street (former street of Peter the Great, at Soviet times - Dzerzhinski street). The first thing you can see in this street is the house of the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia, the former central committee of the Communist party of Georgia. Just opposite it there is the Linguistics Institute named after Arnold Chikobava (Ingorokva 8). Before the Soviet power there was a governor-general's office in this building.

Built in the 19th century, the building at 22 Ingorokva has had a violent history. It was original the home of the Selikov family and became a school for boys from noble families in 1892. In 1906, however, police stormed the building in retaliation for a terrorist attack that wounded the head of the police. Teachers were beaten and one, Shio Chitadze, was killed. In 1918, the building was home to several government ministries, including the Ministry of Defense. The Soviet government turned it into the Transcaucasian Emergency Commission and, between 1926 and 1934, the rooms on the first floor were used as prison cells while torture and executions took place in the basement.

The former building of the Transcaucasian Emergency Commission, 22 Pavle Ingorokva