• Stalin statue removed in Georgian home town
    55 replies, posted
[quote]GORI, Georgia (Reuters) – Authorities removed a towering statue of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin from the central square of his native city in the dead of the night on Friday, carting away the monument to Georgia's most famous native. The 6-meter-high bronze statue will be replaced by a monument to victims of Georgia's 2008 war with Russia and of Stalin's repression, officials said -- a rebuke to Moscow. In an unannounced operation that began after midnight and was over before dawn, municipal workers and police took the statue down from its stone pedestal in the small city 80 km (50 miles) west of the capital, Tbilisi. The statue's removal drew a mixed reactions in Gori, where it was erected a year before Stalin's death in 1953. "How could they remove it? ... Stalin was a great individual and the most famous Georgian in the world," Irina, who gave only her first name, told Georgian public television. "Stalin's monument was a symbol of our town," she said. Outward signs of Stalin's pervasive personality cult were swept away after his death across Georgia and the rest of the Soviet Union, but he is revered by many in Gori. Another resident, who identified herself as Maya, called it "the right decision. It's more logical to have a memorial to victims of war than a huge Stalin monument." Widely reviled as a dictator responsible for millions of deaths, Stalin is held up as a hero by supporters across the former Soviet Union who say the country could not have defeated Nazi Germany or become a superpower without his leadership. For many Georgians including pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili, the monument was a symbol of Moscow's lingering influence two decades after the small nation gained independence in the 1991 Soviet collapse. Resentment of Russia flared with the five-day war in August 2008. "There is no place for such an ugly idol in Georgia," Culture Minister Nika Rurua said. Officials said, however, that the monument would be moved to the courtyard of Gori's Stalin museum -- not discarded. "A new monument dedicated to victims of the Russian aggression will be erected at this place," Zviad Khmaladze, a city council leader in Gori, said in televised comments. Gori was the hardest-hit Georgian city in the 2008 war. Bombs hit the main square near the statue and buildings nearby. The new monument will also commemorate victims of Stalin's repression, Rurua said. The Kremlin is likely to bristle at a monument equating Russia's current leaders with Stalin, and the 2008 war -- which Moscow says was a morally justified response to Georgian aggression -- with the dictator's crimes. Saakashvili praised the statue's removal when asked about it at a news conference. "I support the decision of the municipality and the Culture Ministry completely, as a museum of occupation and monuments to those who orchestrated that occupation cannot exist in this country at the same time," Saakashvili said. He was referring to a museum that opened in Tbilisi during his presidency on the years when Georgia was a Soviet republic. Russian troops occupied Gori for two weeks after the 2008 conflict, which erupted when Georgia tried to recapture the Russian-backed separatist province of South Ossetia, just north of the city. Russia recognized South Ossetia's independence after the war and has strengthened its grip on the rebel region. Gori hosts some smaller statues and busts of Stalin as well as the museum dedicated to the late leader, who was born in Gori in 1879 and ruled the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death. Mainly elderly supporters gather outside the colonnaded museum twice a year, on his birthday and the day of his death.[/quote] I guess Stalin got Staled! Wow, that was dumb. v:v:v
They're fucked. Estonia removed a russian statue sometime back and it ended in huge riots and a cyberwar from Russia. But Georgia isn't exactly those one who is filled with russian lovers so.. [editline]10:50PM[/editline] But a good way to show that at least they've got balls to fight the 60 years of oppression.
[QUOTE=Paravin;22881069]They're fucked. Estonia removed a russian statue sometime back and it ended in huge riots and a cyberwar from Russia. But Georgia isn't exactly those one who is filled with russian lovers so.. [editline]10:50PM[/editline] But a good way to show that at least they've got balls to fight the 60 years of oppression.[/QUOTE] Russians didn't like Stalin either. Right after he was out of power and the next guy was in, They started to try to erase all the work he did. I doubt anything is gonna happen from this besides maybe some crack job communist bitching about it.
[QUOTE=Paravin;22881069]They're fucked. Estonia removed a russian statue sometime back and it ended in huge riots and a cyberwar from Russia. But Georgia isn't exactly those one who is filled with russian lovers so.. [editline]10:50PM[/editline] But a good way to show that at least they've got balls to fight the 60 years of oppression.[/QUOTE] Ah yes, the Aljoša [img]http://paber.ekspress.ee/fotodb/64AEAFD25E9587FAC2256F02003C02A4/$file/tn_pronkss%C3%B5dur.jpg[/img] The Bronze soldier. The Russians rioted in the streets of Tallinn and made ~ 1-2 million USD worth of damage. [img]http://s.ohtuleht.ee/multimedia/images/000084/cb34db61-9530-4da1-9629-2bcfe0fc335f.jpg[/img] - Guy on right holding 2 bottles of vodka [img]http://y.delfi.ee/norm/57581/2492291_1DPK0k.jpeg[/img] - Chef Zenja, who also grabbed pack of Always
[QUOTE=werner;22881504][img]http://y.delfi.ee/norm/57581/2492291_1DPK0k.jpeg[/img] - Chef Zenja, who also grabbed pack of Always[/QUOTE] this is the worst photograph of a person ever taken
Good, Russia needs to wake up.
[QUOTE=MachiniOs;22881681]Good, Russia needs to wake up.[/QUOTE] this is Georgia (not Russia)
[QUOTE=MachiniOs;22881681]Good, Russia needs to wake up.[/QUOTE] This is Georgia [editline]04:18PM[/editline] ninjas
i live in georgia and i've never seen/heard of this statute what's going on
[quote]"How could they remove it? ... Stalin was a great individual[/quote] no he wasn't he was a fucking piece of filth
[QUOTE=JDK721;22881964]i live in georgia and i've never seen/heard of this statute what's going on[/QUOTE] call the government theyll explain it all to you
[QUOTE=wonkadonk;22881608]this is the worst photograph of a person ever taken[/QUOTE] This isn't photoshop, camera uses flash.
I wouldn't mind a Stalin statue. He was an awful guy, but he's a historical figure nonetheless.
[QUOTE=werner;22882069]This isn't photoshop, camera uses flash.[/QUOTE] What exactly do you mean?
Just more of saakashvili trying to appeal to the west.
[QUOTE=Conscript;22882381]Just more of saakashvili trying to appeal to the west.[/QUOTE] Yeah, we should be supporting 31 years of brutal dictatorship is Russia.
[QUOTE=werner;22882069]This isn't photoshop, camera uses flash.[/QUOTE] he didn't say photoshop
I'm surprised it was taken down sooner after Stalin's death, given all the other work they put into erasing him.
[QUOTE=JDK721;22881964]i live in georgia and i've never seen/heard of this statute what's going on[/QUOTE] no one got this reference/joke
I would put that statue into my yard.
[QUOTE=Bulaba0;22882159]What exactly do you mean?[/QUOTE] Whoops, bad reading.
Stalin did terrible things, but still was a badass, even if only as icon. He shouldn't ever be forgotten, if for nothing else, to show how manipulative dictators can fuck shit up.
[QUOTE=Kalibos;22882052]no he wasn't he was a fucking piece of filth[/QUOTE] Good and Great are two different things. "A Great Man" is a person who made impacts, regardless of weather that impacts was good or not. "A Good Man" is somebody who is well intentioned.
Every time the country of Georgia is brought up in the news I think of the state.
[QUOTE=Conscript;22882381]Just more of saakashvili trying to appeal to the west.[/QUOTE] Yeah but that doesn't mean the statue should stay.
Finally they come into their minds. Anyone that DOESN'T live in a country that was occupied by Russia during the Cold War should shut the fuck up and sit in silence.
[QUOTE=lulzbocks;22882696]Yeah, we should be supporting 31 years of brutal dictatorship is Russia.[/QUOTE] That's totally what I said. I've noticed you tend to bring up strawman arguments whenever you quote me. [QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;22883564]Yeah but that doesn't mean the statue should stay.[/QUOTE] Why if so many people in georgia revere him? [QUOTE=Crhem van der B;22883635]Finally they come into their minds. Anyone that DOESN'T live in a country that was occupied by Russia during the Cold War should shut the fuck up and sit in silence.[/QUOTE] Your posts are always so dumb. It only reinforces my view that the right wing is full of idiots.
[QUOTE=Conscript;22883954] Why if so many people in georgia revere him? [/QUOTE] People maybe, but if this is a public statue it has no place there. Kind of like separation of church and state but separation of modern nation and former totalitarian dictator.
For a minute, I thought this was talking about the US state Georgia.
[QUOTE=Conscript;22883954]That's totally what I said. I've noticed you tend to bring up strawman arguments whenever you quote me. Why if so many people in georgia revere him? Your posts are always so dumb. It only reinforces my view that the right wing is full of idiots.[/QUOTE] Fucking prick, supporting Stalin, just as disgusting as anyone supporting Hitler.
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