Analogue of Glory Memorial destroyed in Kutaisi opened in Moscow

Today, on the Poklonnaya Mount in Moscow, an opening ceremony was held of the monument "In Fighting Fascism We Were Together", which is an analogue of the Glory Memorial, exploded in Kutaisi.

Let us remind you that the Glory Memorial, erected in the honour of soldiers who perished in the Great Patriotic War (World War II) was blown up in Kutaisi on December 19, 2009. Already three days later, on December 22, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered to re-establish the memorial in Moscow.

The opening ceremony was attended by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, Vladimir Dolgikh, chairman of the Moscow city council of war and labour veterans, Mikhail Khubutiya, president of the "Union of Georgians in Russia", Nino Burdzhanadze, leader of the movement "United Georgia", and Zurab Nogaideli, leader of the movement "For Fair Georgia".

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the sculpture composition, Vladimir Putin expressed his conviction that the future of Georgian-Russian relations is with good-neighbourly and true partnership ties. He has noted that the joint work of creating the monument had fostered dialogue between civil societies of both countries, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry has treated the opening of the memorial in Moscow as a provocation; however, at the same time, noted the Russia's sovereign right to decide on the monuments in its territory.

The monument "In Fighting Fascism We Were Together" is a sculptural composition depicting hoisting the banner over the Reichstag. The side patterns show Soviet soldiers, throwing Nazi banners to the walls of the Kremlin. The background of the composition is a wall resembling a silhouette of the destroyed Glory Memorial.