Georgia

The dark side of South Ossetia

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:34:19 +0200

Just after Russian forces stormed the South Ossetian capital, celebrated Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who grew up in Ossetia, gave a concert to honour the victory. Our Observer there managed to photograph the event with his mobile.

Gergiev gave the concert in Tskhinvali on 21 August. At the same time, the capital of South Ossetia lay in ruins, and Russian troops were rumoured to be carrying out ethnic cleansing just kilometres away from the scene. The conductor arrived on stage with a group of children. In his speech, which was aired live on Russian TV, he condemned Georgia for carrying out a genocide.

A few metres from the concert, Georgian hostages watched the event from the barracks they were being held in. Our Observer managed to access this zone, prohibited to journalists, and take these pictures with his phone. In the foreground you can see the Georgian hostages, and in the back, Gergiev's concert.

Russian blog review: "Looking for nuclear war? Bring it on!"

Ségolène Team Observers — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:20:27 +0200

A photomontage circulating on russian blogs.The crater is on Poland.

The Georgian War and the subsequent missile defense deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic have stirred up Russian bloggers. Many vent their frustration through hawkish comments and nostalgia of Soviet military might.

Picture posted by Stanislav "Afrikanych" Ulyanov.

Writing above: "Our Policy". Writing below: "NATO"

"I want Russians to leave my town"

Ségolène Team Observers — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:09:03 +0200

While the international community waits for Russian troops to complete their withdrawal of Georgia, our Observer in the field tells us that the army is in fact consolidating its position around Poti, her town. According to her, its citizens have begun protesting against this occupation.

"I was in Gori when the Russians attacked"

Julien — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:37:24 +0200

Leli Blagonravova, a Georgian photoreporter, was in Gori on August 8-9 when the Russians attacked. She sent us her personal account and some of her photos. WARNING: some of the photos are graphic.

From Poti, a town under Russian occupation

Julien — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:13:26 +0200

We managed to make contact with our Observer in Poti, blogger Samira Kuznetsova. She tells us about the atmosphere in Poti, a Georgian port on the Black Sea occupied by Russian forces. According to her, and contrary to rumours, the Russians did not loot the town.

A humanitarian mission of the US Navy could be docking in Poti in the coming days.

Amateur video from Poti

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:07:13 +0200

Despite the EU coordinated ceasefire, two Georgian towns - Gori (20km south of South Ossetia) and Poti (on the west coast) - remain under occupation by Russian forces. Few images are coming out of the areas, which journalists are not allowed to enter. Bloggers and NGO members however are doing their best to get around the information blockade by putting photos and videos online.

Communicating with these occupied towns is extremely difficult. There is no press access and communication by phone is almost impossible. We phoned the contributors to this post several times, without being able to get a clear connection.

Will the war in Georgia help boost "commander-in-chief" McCain?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:20:59 +0200

Haditha, Iraq, 16 March 2008. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Erin A. Kirk.

The sudden outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia last Friday was a glaring opportunity for the American presidential candidates to prove their worth in foreign policy. Despite it being one of McCain's strong points, both a Democrat and a Republican tell us that it was Obama who came out on top this time.

The Republican Party has always shown strong support for the small former Soviet state of Georgia, which might explain why, when the Russians responded to Georgian-initiated military action in the breakaway region of South Ossetia, President Mikheil Saakashvili called on the US for help. Unfortunately, the US was busy saving the rest of the world, but French President Nicolas Sarkozy was available and stepped in to broker a peace deal yesterday.

McCain and Obama couldn't miss out on the chance to show their electorate what they would do if their long-term enemy, Russia, started invading Europe. On Monday, McCain spoke about "severe long term consequences" for the country. Later in the day Obama followed suit, with a slightly less threatening speech.

South Ossetia: "without the Russians we’d all be dead"

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:39:14 +0200

Russia has ordered an end to its military operation in South Ossetia, although a date has yet to be set for the withdrawal of Russian troops, which invaded the Georgian breakaway province on Friday. Our Observers in North Ossetia, South Ossetia and Georgia comment on the situation.

Was the election in Georgia fraudulent or not?

Julien — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:24:00 +0100

Although the election results in Georgia have been officially announced, they're still being contested by the opposition. The returning president Mikhail Saakashvili came first with over 50% of the votes, while his rival Levan Gachechiladze got only 25% of the share. While many Georgian bloggers are certain of fraud, others believe that this was the country's most democratic election to date. As well as this report, see the video campaign of Mikhail Saakashvili: where everyone wants him as president; from rugby players to soldiers; folk-singers to school-goers.