| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Georgian first President's tomb moved to Tbilisi from Chechnya |
| 2006-07-17 |
Negotiations are being held with Russia for moving the first President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia's tomb to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi from the Chechen capital of Grozny.
| Zviad used to term himself "The Saddam Hussein of the Caucasus." |
Georgia's foreign ministry spokesman Nato Chikovani told the APA's Georgia bureau that the first president's spouse Manana Archvadze-Gamsakhurdia and his sons appealed to the Ministry for moving the grave to Tbilisi. The reason why is because Russian representative office in Chechnya warned about building of a government residence in the place where the grave is. Chikovani said Georgian Foreign Ministry sent a note to Russian Foreign Ministry for delaying the construction of the government residence in Grozny in the period of negotiating and until the place of Gamsakhurdia's grave is determined in Tbilisi. "But we have not yet received any reply from Russia," the spokesman said.
Georgian Patriarch has also joined the process of moving the first President's tomb to Tbilisi. The then President Gamsakhurdia was buried in Chikashkari as he was born in Georgia but his spouse MananaArchvadze-Gamsakhurdia insisted on moving his tomb to Grozny later on. |
| Posted by:Fred |