CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN DIEGO : Exhibit of Soviet Icons Is Cancelled

Political strife in the Soviet Union has caused cancellation of one of the more highly touted events of San Diego’s Soviet arts festival. “Masterworks of Metal,” an exhibition of 30 rare, sacred pieces of icons from the Republic of Soviet Georgia, was scheduled to open Sunday at a specially constructed exhibit hall at the B Street Pier, but festival organizers and Soviet representatives cited “political difficulties” and “complications related to the Georgian national movement” as reasons for the cancellation. Festival officials said they received a letter from the Georgian minister of culture late Sunday night, after the opening celebration in Balboa Park, informing them of the cancellation.