← Joseph Grishashvili Private Collection

Public Proclamation of the Peasant Emancipation Manifesto, Sighnaghi, 1864

Public gathering in Sighnaghi during the promulgation of the Peasant Emancipation Manifesto, 1864.

This photograph documents a large public gathering in the town of Sighnaghi, Kakheti, held in connection with the promulgation of the Peasant Emancipation Manifesto in 1864. The image captures townspeople assembled in a central square, surrounded by stone buildings characteristic of the region’s urban landscape. The event reflects the public communication of major imperial reforms and illustrates the social atmosphere of the period in eastern Georgia.