A STORY OF ONE SOVIET HERO

Not so long ago, on May 9 Russia pompously celebrated another anniversary since the "Victory Day." Traditionally, all over the country Russian officials had uttered pretentious speeches, remembering the "feat of Soviet veterans." 

Man with a flag on the photo is Meliton Kantaria, a Georgian by nationality. He was one of those three Soviet soldiers, who raised a red flag above the Reichstag in May 1, 1945. After the war, the veteran had been living in Abkhazia. In 90's Kantaria was forced to leave his home since Abkhazian separatists, being backed by Russian forces, launched mass ethnic cleansing against Georgian population throughout the region.

Meliton Kantaria's house in Ochamchire (Abkhazia, Georgia), destroyed by Russian occupants

Meliton Kantaria, one of the symbols of modern Russian propaganda and a hero of the Soviet Union, died on 27 December 1993, in the age of 73 in the status of a refugee from Russian invasion. I wonder if anyone remembered this fact in his speech? A rhetorical question.