Khloponin slams St George monument's destruction

Alexander Khloponin, the presidential envoy to the North Caucasian
Federal District, called the destruction of a monument to St. George
the Victorious in Karachay-Cherkessia on Tuesday night a provocation
that has nothing in common with religion, RIA Novosti reports.

The police are still searching for the people who vandalised the
statue of St. Georgia the Victorious in the village of Cost
Khetagurov.

This is not the first act of vandalism against Christian holy places
in Karachay-Cherkessia. In early morning on November 1, two Orthodox
churches and a Baptist church in Karachayevskiy City District were set
on fire. A church in Orzhonikidze village burned down, while the
church in Karachayevsk was saved. Leaders of national and social
organizations in Karachay-Cherkessia condemned the acts. The head of
Muslim Council in Karachay Cherkessia and Stavropol Territory Ismail
Berdiyev called the arson attack an attempt to destabilize the
situation and disrupt the inter-confessional peace in the republic.