Georgia has 7 000 veterans from WW2

Around 700 000 Georgians fought in the Second World War, almost one fifth of the entire population of the country at the time. Around 300 000 of these people died. During the recent celebration of the victory over fascism 66 years after the war, rough calculations showed that around 7 000 WW2 veterans are still alive. The major issue for discussion is whether the celebration should take place on May 8 or May 9. The opposition advised the ruling power that instead of a useless debates over the day of victory they should take more care of the physical condition, health and nutrition of the veterans. During the 66th celebration of the victory, veterans received GEL 200 each in one-off assistance. As for their pensions the invalid of first and second category receive GEL 129 a month, the third category invalids GEL 80. Altogether the state spends just over GEL 8 mln on the pensions of veterans. One must take into account that the minimum amount of money required to survive in Georgia per month is around GEL 150-200.