| Ronald Reagan statue unveiled in Tbilisi A statue to former US President Ronald Reagan, the symbol of the end of Cold War was unveiled in downtown Tbilisi by President Saakashvili and the US congressional delegation on November 23. The unveiling ceremony of the US president fighting against the "evil empire", in Tbilisi symbolically coincided with the 20th anniversary of disintegration of the USSR. The bronze statue, depicting a smiling Reagan sitting on a bench with crossed legs, was unveiled in the Rike Park. The Georgian leader said at the ceremony that the statue was symbolizing the difference between the ideologies of Georgia and its northern neighbor. "Leader of our invader state has announced that the collapse of the Soviet Union -- the Soviet Union which was collapsed by Ronald Reagan -- was the 20th century's biggest geopolitical catastrophe," Saakashvili said during the unveiling ceremony, referring to Russia's PM Vladimir Putin. "Several days ago in the north from us creation of Eurasian Union was announced, which has been bluntly declared to be a new version of the Soviet Union," Saakashvili said. He was referring to a ceremony in the Kremlin last week during which Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan presidents signed agreements aimed at boosting economic ties, which Russian President Dmitry Medvedev described as "a new and very powerful step on the path to forming an Eurasian Economic Union." "Russian Orthodox Church, which is directly the Kremlin's branch ... |
