Most readers of this site probably caught that news over the weekend that the Georgian government demolished a 150-foot high Soviet era memorial honoring soldiers who served in the Great Patriotic War.  Not only did they demolish it to clear way for a new parliament building, they blew the thing to kingdom come with dynamite – hurtling hunks of concrete high into the air, which resulted in the accidental death of a nearby mother and her daughter in the courtyard of their home.

It was a clear thumb to the nose toward Russia, who reacted with the expected anger.  The whole incident echoed the experience of Estonia simply moving, not destroying, the Bronze Soldier statue.