Stalin’s statue dismantled in Georgia

Stalin’s bust has been bashed in by the local administration in Ateni village of Gori, Georgia.

Local residents, who celebrated the Victory Day on May 9, erected the bust without permission from officials. The statue was paint bombed by some anti-Stalin people ad after it was dismantled by the local authorities.

Mamuka Shatakishvili, a local resident said, “As it often happens, no one cared about the people’s opinion this time too. If there is freedom of expression, locals of Ateni could have the bust. We respect Stalin’s personality, but nobody cares about our opinions. This fact should not have happened and we categorically oppose it”, Interpressnews.ge reports.

The Gori region is Stalin’s hometown. Stalin supporters periodically visit here to see his birthplace. Some discussions are going on to erect a new statue of Stalin although half of the local residents are against to this initiative.

Recently, Georgia Communist Party members gathered near to Stalin’s house in the city of Gori on the May 9, Victory Day.

People shared communist party symbols, pictures of Stalin and red flags to media members. Group members wanted Georgia to create good relations with Russia and to rebuild Stalin statue in the city. The group accused the media to not mention the real role of Stalin during the world war in their publications. Group members called all people to visit Stalin’s hometown.