More Rubbish for History's Ash Heap

From the Associated Press:

TBILISI, Georgia – Authorities in Georgia have torn down a monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in his birthplace of Gori to make way for a memorial to the fallen in the Russian-Georgian war of 2008.

Gori is just a few kilometers from the separatist enclave of South Ossetia, where Russian forces crushed the Georgian army in a brief conflict in August 2008.

Officials say the overnight dismantlement of the towering bronze statue, approved last week by the city's parliament, was spurred by the appeals of a younger generation who have embraced Western ideals of freedom.

"A memorial to Stalin has no place in the Georgia of the 21st Century," President Mikhail Saakashvili said in televised comments.
Zvaid Khmaladze, chairman of the local legislature, told The Associated Press the monument will be relocated to the town's Josef Stalin Museum.

"It's about time, too," local teacher Iya Kotetishvili said. The 31-year-old expressed regret that pervades the town that its most famous son wrought great suffering upon millions.