Georgian art destroyed in Moscow

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/6076648.stm

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An exhibition by an ethnic Georgian artist at a top gallery in Moscow has been destroyed by a gang of masked men.

Marat Guelman, the owner of the gallery, said the men burst in, "made the girls stand against the wall [and] began smashing everything down".

He said he was beaten up and his face was "smashed into meat".

The attack came amid a crackdown on Georgians in Russia following a diplomatic dispute. Mr Guelman has been targeted in the past by neo-Nazis.

The gallery owner has been listed as an "enemy of Russia" on several nationalist web sites, for his Jewish last name, his promotion of non-traditional art and his campaigning against neo-fascists, the Associated Press reports.

He said about 10 raiders - "militarised characters, fighters" - broke up an exhibition by ethnic Georgian artist Alexander Dzhikia.

Television pictures showed art works torn from their frames and scattered across the floor.

Mr Guelman said the attack on Saturday came only a day after customs officers had confiscated caricatures of Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President George Bush and al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

But he said he did not believe the incidents were linked.

Police and government agencies have launched a crackdown on Georgian business interests in Russia, which they say are funding militarisation in Georgia, and have deported Georgians they accuse of immigration offences.

The relationship between the two countries deteriorated when Georgia expelled four Russian officers it accused of spying.