Soviet-Era Monument Demolished In Georgia
![The Glory Memorial, a Soviet-era monument by sculptor Merab Berdzenishvili - Georgian officials ordered the Glory Memorial to be razed to make way for a new parliament building. The memorial, dedicated to the thousands of Georgian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the USSR in World War II, stood in Kutaisi, Georgia's second-largest city.](https://gdb.rferl.org/67a3ce9c-e8b9-46e7-9a89-dabc10c13b7b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The Glory Memorial, a Soviet-era monument by sculptor Merab Berdzenishvili - Georgian officials ordered the Glory Memorial to be razed to make way for a new parliament building. The memorial, dedicated to the thousands of Georgian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the USSR in World War II, stood in Kutaisi, Georgia's second-largest city.
![A billboard shows plans for the new parliament building, scheduled to be completed in 2012. - The government of President Mikheil Saakashvili had hoped to move the government center from Tbilisi to Kutaisi as a way of boosting economic development in western Georgia, but the plans met with resistance among Kutaisi residents.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1f7ab30b-6b92-4d6c-9907-7fd8ee2a109a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A billboard shows plans for the new parliament building, scheduled to be completed in 2012. - The government of President Mikheil Saakashvili had hoped to move the government center from Tbilisi to Kutaisi as a way of boosting economic development in western Georgia, but the plans met with resistance among Kutaisi residents.
![Explosives were used to topple the 46-meter-tall memorial. - An 8-year-old girl and her mother were killed by flying chunks of concrete caused by the blast. In response to the tragedy, Saakashvili dismissed the regional governor and the demolition crew.](https://gdb.rferl.org/1e8d2724-e06d-4ca8-af7d-0214f9a728ea_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Explosives were used to topple the 46-meter-tall memorial. - An 8-year-old girl and her mother were killed by flying chunks of concrete caused by the blast. In response to the tragedy, Saakashvili dismissed the regional governor and the demolition crew.
![Soso Jincharadze, whose wife and daughter were killed in the memorial blast - A presidential spokeswoman said the government will compensate the victims' relatives.](https://gdb.rferl.org/f4afd57d-ee17-4d13-8a19-62cc4141b258_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Soso Jincharadze, whose wife and daughter were killed in the memorial blast - A presidential spokeswoman said the government will compensate the victims' relatives.