TBILISI, Georgia - President Bush, before a cheering crowd of tens of thousands of people, said today that the former Soviet republic of Georgia is proving to the world that determined people can rise up and claim their freedom from oppressive rulers.

"Your courage is inspiring democratic reformers and sending a message that echoes across the world: Freedom will be the future of every nation and every people on Earth," Bush said in speech from the Freedom Square that symbolizes the city's democratic pursuits.

In a line that appeared directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush declined to support the bid of two separatist regions aligned with Moscow to gain independence from Georgia. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected ... by all nations," Bush said.

Bush spoke to a massive crowd that filled the square - known as Lenin Square during Soviet rule - and spilled out into the roads that feed into the plaza. The buildings around the square were freshly painted for Bush's visit, the first from a U.S. president.

Bush hoped the speech would balance his presence a day earlier at a World War II victory celebration in Moscow's Red Square and close his four-nation trip on a high note.

Estimates of the crowd size - in the square and the surrounding streets - varied wildly, from less than 100,000 to more than 300,000. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said it was by far the largest gathering ever in the country, and it was certainly one of the largest Bush has ever addressed.

Saakashvili, who led the Rose Revolution in 2003 that overthrew a corrupt government, praised Bush as "a leader who has contributed as much to the cause of freedom as any man of our time. ... We welcome a freedom fighter."

"You stood with us during our revolution and you stand with us today," Saakashvili said. "On behalf of my nation I would like to say, `Thank you.'"

Saakashvili was elected president in a landslide in January 2004 after leading mass street protests against a fraudulent election.

Seeking to shed Kremlin domination, the 36-year-old Saakashvili is looking West for help as he tries to remake a nation that gained a reputation under Soviet times and afterward as a poor, corruption-plagued backwater.

Ongoing fights in violent separatist regions, military campaigns against terrorists in the Pankisi Gorge and the recent abductions of foreigners presented security challenges that required Bush to deliver his open-air speech from a podium surrounded by a high wall of a clear bulletproof screen with sharpshooters on rooftops surrounding the square.

"You are making many important contributions to freedom's cause, but your most important contribution is your example," Bush said. "In recent months, the world has marveled at the hopeful changes taking place from Baghdad to Beirut to Bishkek. But before there was a Purple Revolution in Iraq or an Orange Revolution in Ukraine or a Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, there was the Rose Revolution in Georgia.

In the crowd was something that would have been unthinkable before independence - a sign of protest. In black letters, written on sheet, "U.S. in Azerbaijan - Profits or Principle," a reference to American interest in the energy-rich nation that borders Georgia on the south.

While Bush has faced large protests during his visits to other foreign nations, the crowd in Freedom Square was overwhelmingly enthusiastic to host the U.S. leader.

Nino Gabriashvili, a mother of four daughters, said she was inspired by Bush's call for all nations to respect Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty. "That means something coming from the American president - the Russians will have to listen," she said.