Monument to dictator Joseph Stalin to be reinstated in GeorgiaDecember 21, 2012 - 19:56 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A dismantled monument to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin will be reassembled and put back in place in his hometown of Gori, the regional administration said on Friday, Dec 21, according to RIA Novosti. Funds for the project have been earmarked in Gori’s 2013 budget as a separate line item, the administration said on its website. The monument was dismantled in 2010. Georgian authorities said at the time it would be relocated to the Stalin museum and replaced with a memorial to victims of the Georgian-Russian war of August 2008 and Stalin-era reprisals. However, the monument was later found lying on the ground outside a decrepit building several miles from Gori. In October, local residents gathered 5,000 signatures under a petition to return the monument to its original site in the city’s central square. Born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in 1878, Stalin lived for the first four years of his life in a modest wooden house in Gori, a small city some 40 miles from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. His former home now stands in front of the two-story State Stalin Museum, opened by the dictator’s security chief and fellow Georgian, Lavrenty Beria, in 1937, at the height of the Great Terror, in which millions died. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |