Vandals Damage Belarusian Memorial Site

(RFE/RL) Prague, 1 December 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Vandals are reported to have damaged a memorial to victims of Stalin-era repression outside the Belarusian capital Minsk.

The U.S. Embassy in Belarus said a memorial granite bench donated by the United States, and at least a dozen crosses, were damaged recently at the Kuropaty site.

Up to 200,000 people were believed to have been shot and buried in Kuropaty during repressions by Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

(with material from AFP)