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| Stalin statue removed in Georgia | Stalin statue removed in Georgia |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The statue was hoisted away in the middle of the night | The statue was hoisted away in the middle of the night |
| Authorities in Georgia have taken down a statue of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that stood in the central square of Gori, his home town. | Authorities in Georgia have taken down a statue of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that stood in the central square of Gori, his home town. |
| The six metre (20ft) bronze statue was removed unexpectedly in the middle of the night, reports said. | The six metre (20ft) bronze statue was removed unexpectedly in the middle of the night, reports said. |
| The statue will be moved to a museum in Gori dedicated to Stalin, said the head of the city council, Zviad Khmaladze. | The statue will be moved to a museum in Gori dedicated to Stalin, said the head of the city council, Zviad Khmaladze. |
| It will be replaced by a monument for the victims of Georgia's 2008 war with Russia. | It will be replaced by a monument for the victims of Georgia's 2008 war with Russia. |
| The statue of Stalin had stood in central Gori since the early 1950s. | The statue of Stalin had stood in central Gori since the early 1950s. |
| A journalist told Reuters news agency that police had tried to prevent reporters from filming the removal of the statue. | A journalist told Reuters news agency that police had tried to prevent reporters from filming the removal of the statue. |
| "A new monument dedicated to victims of the Russian aggression will be erected" in the central square, said Mr Khmaladze. | "A new monument dedicated to victims of the Russian aggression will be erected" in the central square, said Mr Khmaladze. |
| Gori was bombed by Russian forces during the brief 2008 conflict. | Gori was bombed by Russian forces during the brief 2008 conflict. |
| The statue of Stalin in Gori - where the former Soviet leader is still widely admired - was one of the few left standing in the former Soviet Union. | |
| After Georgia gained independence in 1991, crowds tore down statues of Stalin and Lenin across the country, but hundreds of people gathered in Gori and refused to let the statue there be touched. |