Fire Destroys National Gallery In Georgia's Breakaway Region

Firefighters and artists rushed to save artworks after a fire at the National Gallery of Paintings in Sukhumi, the administrative center of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, on January 21. The region's authorities say that more than 4,000 paintings -- almost the entire collection -- were destroyed in the blaze. Firefighters suspect the cause was a short circuit. Abkhazia has been run by Russian-backed separatists since the early 1990s.