The Vera Descent appeared in 1882 during the construction of the Vera Bridge.
Vera Descent led from Golovin Avenue (the city’s main street, now Rustaveli Avenue) to the crossing over the Kura River.
In 1884, the bazaar that had previously operated on Erivan Square was moved to Vera Descent.
It is possible that in 1893, after working as a conductor, Niko Pirosmani (1862–1918) sold milk there for some time on Vera Descent.
On September 13, 1919, on this street, Arkady Elbakidze severely wounded Denikin’s General N. Baratov (1865–1932) with a bomb; the injury resulted in the amputation of the general’s leg.
Late in the evening of June 13, 1922, the Russian revolutionary Kamo Petrosyan (1882–1922), who was riding a bicycle on Vera Descent, was struck by an oncoming vehicle and killed.
From 1923 to 1999, Vera Descent bore the name of Arkady Elbakidze.
Since 1999, the street has been named in honour of the Georgian writer Mikheil Javakhishvili (1880–1937).