Ronald Reagan in Tbilisi

Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States of America, and actor, has found a comfortable seat in Rike (Rikhe) Park in Tbilisi, Georgia. Reagan (1911-2004), a Republican, was President from 1981-1989. It was during the Reagan presidency that the Soviet Union collapsed. Georgia declared its independence on 9 April 1991.

The statue of Ronald Reagan in Tbilisi was unveiled on 23 November 2011 during the Mikheil Saakashvili presidency in cooperation with the US congressional delegation of Republican David Dreier, Republican Ed Whitfield, and Democrat Donald Payne on the 20 year anniversary. November 23 is also St. George’s Day. It is the work of Georgian sculptor Avtandil Moadelidze.

Reagan, in a suit, sits cross-legged, facing away from the river, and toward the old neighbourhood of Tbilisi – toward Georgia’s presidential palace – and toward Russia. The bronze statue appears quite gold under the sunlight! Reagan sits close to one edge of the seat, so there is plenty of room to sit next to him.

MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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