Sept. 16, 2025, 5:58 p.m.
(PHOTO: Intent)
A street exhibition dedicated to the memory of journalist Georgiy Gongadze has opened in the city garden in the center of Odesa.
According to an Intent correspondent, the exhibition is a collection of quotes with explanations about the events of 2000.
Similar expositions "Diary of Giorgi Gongadze" were opened simultaneously in Kyiv and Lviv and will be available throughout the Memorial Week.
Giorgi Gongadze was a Ukrainian public figure, opposition journalist, radio and television host, film director and translator of Georgian origin, known for his critical anti-government speeches. He was the founder and first editor-in-chief of the online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. The murder of Gongadze caused a wide resonance in Ukraine and is considered one of the most high-profile criminal cases in the country today. According to the most widespread version, high-ranking officials close to Leonid Kuchma, who allegedly personally ordered the abduction of Gongadze, were involved in the journalist's capture and murder.
During the opening of the exhibition, Valeriy Bolgan, editor-in-chief of Intent, reminded that Georgiy Gongadze's father Ruslan also had a difficult fate and was not respected by the authorities of his country, Georgia.
"Not so long ago I learned that not only Giorgi Gongadze had a difficult biography, but also his father. He did not live to be 50 years old and was declared an enemy of the people by the then almost dictator of Georgia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were people who tried to make journalists and activists enemies of the people, and Ruslan Gongadze was not someone who was against Georgia, but he was against the oligarchs, against corruption, and he was also a journalist. So when Giorgi came to Ukraine, he continued his father's work to a certain extent. And recently, I realized that I am already older than Giorgi (Giorgi Gongadze was killed at the age of 31) and we did not have time to meet him personally, but he continues to influence all of us," Valeriy Bolgan emphasized.
According to the Decree of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko of August 23, 2005, Georgiy Gongadze was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the State (posthumously) for selfless service to the Ukrainian people, civic courage in defending the ideals of democracy and freedom of speech, and loyalty to the journalistic cause.
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