The Golden Fund of Abkhaz artists has been destroyed in a blaze in Sokhumi – more than 4000 pieces of art have been lost.
The so-called minister of culture of occupied Abkhazia, Dinara Smyrni, said the fire that broke out in the central exhibition hall is “an irreparable loss for our national culture”.
Suram Sakania, director of the art gallery, said 4,000 pieces of art were burned or damaged by water in the firefighting process, including approximately 300 works by Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze.
The so-called president of the self-proclaimed republic, Aslan Bzhania, arrived at the site of the fire. He instructed the prosecutor’s office to conduct a thorough investigation of the causes.
