Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument, Monument along Georgian Military Highway in Kazbegi Municipality, Georgia.
The Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument is a semicircular stone-and-concrete structure on the Georgian Military Highway between Gudauri and the Jvari Pass, overlooking Devil's Valley. Its concave inner wall carries a continuous mosaic frieze of Georgian and Russian history, flanked by two narrow stone towers. A panoramic platform beside the arch stands at 2,384 metres.
The monument was built in 1983 to mark the bicentennial of the Treaty of Georgievsk, signed in 1783 between the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Georgia. This treaty represented a crucial moment in relations between the two powers during that period.
The mural inside was painted by Zurab Kapandze, Zurab Lezhava and Nodar Malazonia, not by the monument's designer Zurab Tsereteli or architect George Chakhava. It carries lines from Shota Rustaveli's poem in Georgian and Russian translation: "A faithful friend will help a friend, misfortune does not frighten him; he will give his heart for a heart, and love is a star on the way."
The site sits roughly 120 kilometers north of Tbilisi on the Georgian Military Highway between Gudauri ski resort and Jvari Pass, accessible by car or public transportation. The location on this major mountain road means it works well as a stop during travel through the region.
The monument is one of three linked works by Zurab Tsereteli; its Moscow counterpart, "Friendship Forever", was unveiled the same year on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Street. A third, "Bonds of Friendship", stood at the Tbilisi exit toward the Georgian Military Highway until it was blown up in 1991 on the orders of Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Tsereteli said the form was suggested by the love story of Alexander Griboyedov and Nina Chavchavadze.
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