Russian-occupied Tskhinvali town given additional, Soviet era name ‘Stalinir'
The Russian-occupied Tskhinvali town bore the name of Stalinir between 1934 and 1961. Photo: cominf.org.
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De facto president of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region Anatoly Bibilov has signed a degree on restoring the Soviet-era name of Stalinir for the region’s main town of Tskhinvali.
The decree says that the town will be called Stalinir along with Tskhinvali, in deference to prominent Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin.
Bibilov also instructed the de facto government members to popularise the name.
Local media outlets report that the name Stalinir will be used during the upcoming festive events in the region, including Victory Day (May 9).
It was common practice in the Soviet Union to name cities or towns after communist leaders like Stalin, Lenin and others.
Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions of Georgia are now occupied by Russia.
The Russian-controlled de facto leadership of Tskhinvali has closed the Razdakhani crossing point for Akhalgori population, which was opened for pensioners only on January 24, 2020, after almost a five-month illegal closure.Local civic activists say that a small portion of those who were allowed to leave the Russian-occupied district decided to stay on the Tbilisi-administered territory either for treatment or to spend the winter with relatives.
The Russian-controlled Tskhinvali leadership has allowed pensioners living in the occupied Akhalgori district to visit the rest of Georgia once in two months, to receive their pensions, REC news agency reports.Humanitarian situation in Akhalgori is severe as the de facto authorities of Georgia's occupied region closed crossing points with the rest of Georgia in early September 2019, depriving locals from receiving timely and quality medical treatment or buy everyday items they need.
De facto authorities of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region has temporarily opened the crossing point between occupied Akhalgori district and the rest of Georgia for pensioners only after an almost five-month closure, which has created a severe humanitarian situation on the ground. Local civic activist Tamar Mearakishvili reports that the crossing point opened earlier today for pensioners “whose only income is the pension issued by the central government” of Georgia.
De facto President of Georgia’s Russian-controlled Tskhinvali region Anatoly Bibilov has stated that he is against the reopening of crossing points with the rest of Georgia which have been closed since September 2019 and which has created a severe humanitarian situation on the ground.
A group of civic activists have dumped hundreds of flyers using a drone with inscriptions and the image of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin near the Stalin Museum in his hometown, Gori. The first page of the flyer is an excerpt from Joseph Stalin’s letter sent to Vadimir Lenin written in February 28, 1921.