Thursday, December 18, 2025

Museum in Stalin's hometown to focus on history of stalinism

Georgia's culture minister Nika Rurua today presents a new concept for the museum in Josef Stalin's hometown Gori. It is to focus on the history of stalinism.

TBILISI, DFWatch – The museum dedicated to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in his hometown of Gori in Georgia will change name to the Museum of Stalinism.

The Ministry of Culture is behind the idea that the museum will offer visitors a historical account of stalinism,

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Dzhioyeva forms opposition party in South Ossetia

Alla Dzhioyeva casting her vote November 27, 2011. She won, but a court cancelled the election. (RES.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – In South Ossetia, the opposition leader Alla Dzhioyeva has decided to set up a new political party.

April 7, an organizing committee for the new party called ‘Iriston – Freedom Square’ met at Dzhioyeva’s headquarters, Ekho Kavkaza reports.

“We

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Ex-KGB officer wins in South Ossetia

Former local KGB head Leonid Tibilov won with 55% of the votes and is the new leader of the breakawy region South Ossetia. (RES.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – A former local head of the KGB in South Ossetia has won the presidential elections in the breakaway region. Leonid Tibilov received about 55 percent of the votes beating competitor David Sanakoyev, presidential human rights commissioner.

The

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South Ossetia to go to the polls again

Voters in breakaway South Ossetia will tomorrow cast their votes for the fourth time in five months to select a new leader. Photo shows voting in the first round of the second election March 25 2012. (RES.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – The de facto republic South Ossetia tomorrow holds the second round of its second presidential elections.

The first election was held in November 2011. The Kremlin favorite and an opposition leader got through to the second round, in which the

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Ombudsman calls for reduced number of prisoners

Ombudsman Giorgi Tugushi raises the alarm about the situation in Georgia's prison system in his latest report to parliament. (Official photo.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Public Defender in Georgia believes the time has come to reduce the number of prisoners in the country.

The ombudsperson said this at a joint session of parliamentary committees to discuss his report about the human rights situation last year.

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Groups call for end to xenophobic slurs

Commentator Zviad Koridze says political rhetoric that makes use of ethnic differences is destructive and can result in very serious civic destabilisation.

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian non-governmental organizations call on Georgian politicians to stop making xenophobic statements and ask the media not to spread such comments.

“The authors of such statements probably try to play on ethnic and religious feelings

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Georgia wants election observers to come immediately

Keti Tsikhelashvili from Liberal Academy-Tbilisi says the government is responding to a demand from more than fifty local groups. (Photo: Mari Nikuradze.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s Foreign Ministry today invited international organizations to send a long-term observation mission ‘immediately’ ahead of the parliamentary elections in October.

Normally, long-term observers would arrive about six weeks before the election,

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Georgia to no longer allow Russian observation flights

A Bear, or Tupolev Tu-95, (right), the iconic Russian bomber and surveillance plane during the Cold War.

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia will no longer let Russia conduct observation flights over its territory, and has suspended its obligations under a post-Cold War treaty which provide countries with mutual openness in each other’s military activities.

The Georgian Foreign

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