Account opened for donations to rebuild war memorial destroyed in

MOSCOW, March 4 (Itar-Tass) --The Foundation for the Preservation and
Restoration of Monuments to Great Patriotic War Heroes "Historical
Heritage" has been created and registered in Russia in order to raise
money for rebuilding in Moscow the war memorial that was destroyed in
Kutaisi, Georgia, last year.
"The foundation was created by a decision of United Russia that was
adopted for the implementation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's proposal
and at the initiative of the Union of Georgians in Russia, some public
organisations, individuals and parties. The head of the Executive
Committee of United Russia's Moscow branch, Moscow City Duma Deputy Viktor
Seliverstov has been appointed Director-General of the Foundation," the
party's Moscow office said on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, the events in Kutaisi are not the first case when
monuments of heroes of the Great Patriotic War are demolished on orders
from short-sighted and zealous 'rulers'," the office said. "The party has
always adhered and will adhere to a position of principle on this issue:
destroying this sacred memory means committing treachery in respect of
those who defended the country."
A symbol of the war memorial destroyed in Georgia will be created and
installed at Moscow's Poklonny Hill in 2010-2011. Public tenders will be
announced. Construction will be financed out of donations made mainly by
members of the Georgian community in Russia. But all contributions will be
welcome.
"We have no doubt that the new memorial will become a place of
veneration and worshipping for those who perished on the battlefields,"
the party's Moscow office said.
The war memorial in Kutaisi was blown up on December 19, 2009. A woman
and her eight-year-old daughter were killed during the demolition.
-0-zak/