( CNN ) -- For a new parliament , it was an inauspicious beginning . While most new buildings are inaugurated with a ceremonial shovel , a gentle turning of the first sod and possibly a brass band , Georgia turned the earth on its new parliament by demolishing a 46-meter-high Soviet-era war memorial with explosives . The blast ended in tragedy when it killed a Georgian woman , her 8-year-old daughter and left several more injured . `` According to preliminary information , safety measures were not met , '' Murtaz Zodelava , the country 's chief prosecutor , stated at the time . Three years later and the glass dome -- a vast structure that would not be out of place on the set of a science fiction film -- is still dogged by controversy . Costing almost $ 83 million , critics see the building as a gigantic folly in an impoverished country . Others say the decision , which effectively takes the seat of power from the capital Tbilisi and puts it in Georgia 's second city Kutaisi 220 kilometers ( 137 miles ) to the west , will mean less rather than more transparency . For the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili , however , the building represents Georgia 's hopes for the future . His pro-Western government , which suffered a defeat at the hands of Russia 's military in 2008 , has continued to defy its giant neighbor . The destruction of the war memorial , which commemorated Russian and Georgian war dead from World War Two , was denounced by Moscow as an act of `` vandalism '' . For Saakashvili , the new parliament sends a potent message to Moscow . `` This new building of our parliament is a symbol of the new Georgia , '' Saakashvili said at the official opening of the yet-to-be finished legislature late last month against a backdrop of marching troops and military hardware . He warned in his speech that Moscow still wanted to `` accomplish its cherished dream : to topple Georgia 's government '' . `` I am confident that the Georgian people will stand guard to save Georgia 's independence , '' he said . `` We have fought so that Georgia would not have a single elite and that the country would not be managed from a single street . '' Meanwhile , opposition groups maintain the construction of the parliament has been shrouded in secrecy and at least $ 45.3 million in public funds has been allocated for the project in a 'totally non-transparent ' manner , according to a report by the Tbilisi-based legal advocacy group , Georgian Young Lawyers ' Association ( GYLA ) , released in April . The GYLA report said papers requested under the country 's freedom of information laws only resulted in the partial release of some documents , while other documents on the public record were not released at all . `` It became obvious from the very beginning of the monitoring that information about construction of the parliament building was totally concealed , '' the report reads . `` The absolutely non-transparent process gives a legitimate reason to conclude that 73.77 million Georgian lari ( $ 45.3 million ) has been handled in an absolutely vague and , possibly , corrupt manner . '' The group also maintains that the move to Kutaisi will sideline the country 's opposition , taking the legislature to the industrial city where it will not be called to account by protests or petitioners . The Georgian government , however , is unperturbed by the critics , saying the move makes a clean break from the brutalist Soviet-era architecture that dominates Tbilisi . The Regional Development and Infrastructure Minister , Ramaz Nikolaishvili , who heads the construction work , recently told foreign media on a tour of the site that the building would raise the bar on Georgia 's levels of visual education . `` We do n't want our children 's taste to be ruined by communist architecture , '' he said . `` We want beautiful buildings and we want the next generation to grow up with good taste . This will help them live in a better and more dignified way . '' CNN 's Eye On series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries we profile . However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports .
New parliament building being constructed away from capital Tbilisi . The new government is led by the Georgian Dream party, which won a landslide victory in last month's parliamentary elections. Critics claim it is an expensive folly in impoverished country . President defends it as symbol of revitalized nation .