Glory Memorial Explained

The Glory Memorial is a former memorial located in Kutaisi, Georgia and designed by an architect Otar Kalandarishvili with participation of a sculptor-monumentalist Merab Berdzenishvili. It was dedicated in 1981 to the memory of those who died during World War II and featured a soldier on a horse stabbing a German soldier with a spear, an allusion to St. George slaying a dragon.

In the 1990s and 2000s the memorial sustained some damage to its front and two bells went missing. The monument was ordered demolished by then-President Mikheil Saakashvili on 21 December 2009 to make way for a new parliament building, killing two bystanders with falling debris in the hasty process. Due to this, the Governor of Imereti Region was fired.[1] [2] Prison sentences ranging from 2 to 4 years were handed out by the Kutaisi City Court in February 2010 to the management of the Sakpetkmretsvi demolition company.[3] The bronze ornamental features of the monument were removed beforehand with plans to relocate them. The central horseman figure of the monument was re-installed near the parliament building in May 2021 on a new plinth after spending 13 years in storage.[4]

A similarly-shaped Glory Memorial was unveiled in 2010 at a ceremony attended by Vladimir Putin and Georgian opposition leaders Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Noghaideli.[5] Located on Moscow's Poklonnaya Hill, the memorial displays the words, "We were together in the struggle against fascism."[6]

References

42.2636°N 42.6572°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Gachava. Nino. Georgian President Blasted Over Monument's Demolition. 8 February 2014. Radio Free Europe. 21 December 2009.
  2. Web site: 2016-03-10 . Губернатор Имерети уволен из-за гибели людей при сносе мемориала: Бывший СССР: Lenta.ru . 2024-01-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160310091519/https://lenta.ru/news/2009/12/19/dismiss/ . 2016-03-10 . ru.
  3. News: 2010-02-22 . Осуждены виновные за гибель людей при взрыве в Кутаиси . ru . Радио Свобода . 2024-01-04.
  4. News: Chapple . Amos . 2021-05-14 . Georgia's Hypermodern Parliament Building Faces Uncertain Future . en . Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . 2024-01-04.
  5. Web site: 21 December 2010. Russia Unveils New Monument To WWII Victims, Angering Georgia. 8 July 2020. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  6. Karaia. Tamar. 2017. Memory Strategies in Contemporary Georgia. Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne. No. 4. 6.