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August 09, 2009Russia Remembers Georgia War
This weekend marks the one year anniversary of the war between Georgia and Russia. With the post-conflict assessments varying differently in the West and Russia itself, both combating sides are reviewing the war and blaming each other for triggering the hostilities and its aftermath. Gleb Pavlobsky, one of Russia's leading policy analysts, told in an interview to the Internet publication Russia.ru that the events of August 8, 2008 war caused Russia to enter world politics as an independent player "for the first time in history." In his view, the country will need to re-learn how to behave professionally in this great game, especially in the context of the likely continuation of the Russian-Georgian conflict.
"Luck in war is elusive, no military victory is truly final, with the only exception of full unconditional surrender by Germany in WWII. This is now impossible to achieve in the modern world," said Pavlovsky.
The key point, according to political scientist, was "Saakashvili's monstrous stupidity": "If Saakashvili did not behave so stupidly in shelling Russian barracks with gunfire, killing Russian peacekeepers, the tensions may have continued further, 'till something more terrible may have taken place." Pavlovsky is sure that all subsequent events were a response to his country's military aggression by Georgia.
"This is the main effect of Medvedev's presidency. We are not talking about triumph here - moreover, there was no triumph. After making its choice, Russia found itself in a new situation: we are now a country that must have global policies. Prior to this war, we only talked about peace. Now we must have a global strategy and a global policy - we are now playing in the "big boys" territory" - underlines Pavlovsky. He noted that Russia could no longer be bypassed, although some parties still do not understand that. "Russia has become a real hub of global politics, and President Dmitry Medvedev has to deal with this situation. His EuroAtlantic orientation raises tough questions about national security. Russia does not feel secure, and therefore insists on a new system in which its interests were taken into account. If we can not agree on this with NATO, European countries and the United States, we would then have to construct our own security system. This is a new situation. It is more dangerous and risky, but it motivates Russia to move forward," concluded Pavlovsky.
For his part, Russian President Medvedev does not feel any regret about his decision to defend Georgian breakaway province of South Ossetia, since Russia had no other choice at the time. On the night of August 8, 2008, Georgian troops attacked South Ossetia and destroyed part of its capital, Tskhinval, forcing Russia to protect Ossetain civilians and Russian peace keepers by moving its armed forces to Georgian territory.
"We acted precisely, and those decisions that were taken by me as the Supreme Commander in Chief have been effective. And most importantly - they have protected the lives of people. Returning to the events of that night is not easy, but I think at that time our country has acted decently and responsibly," said Medvedev, stressing that he was not ashamed of his decisions a year ago, as they have been honest and responsible.
Medvedev said that on a personal level, the memories of the night of August 8, 2008 will be most dramatic for him for the rest of his life. "I still, of course, remember everything for that time, my telephone calls with the Minister of Defense, who reported on the current situation and consequences of our decisions, our responses to the ugly aggression, which was took place on the night between 7 and 8 of August 2008."
According to Dmitry Medvedev, when reviewing the events of that time, he was once again convinced that Russia had no other choice in the situation. "On the other hand, the events unfolded in a hard and mournful scenario," said the President. Russian government was confident until the end that the Georgian regime would have enough honor and decency "not to commit fatal errors that will lead to the loss of life and to very serious geopolitical consequences": "Unfortunately, we were mistaken. These errors were committed by the regime of Saakashvili. And these errors immediately turned into a crime. People were killed, large numbers of people. And the Russian Federation had to take tough retaliatory measures, which have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and restored peace in the Caucasus - peace that is under threat," said the President.
Medvedev once again stressed that Russia will not leave South Ossetia and Abkhazia - territories that it has officially recognized - without Moscow's full support. "Like it or not, we will build official relations with South Ossetia, and Abkhazia. For us, it is a matter of decisions already taken," said Medvedev. "Of course, we'll help them solve these problems, we will implement programs of support, assistance, investment projects will be organized. We will defend the security of these states, will assist them in addressing a number of pressing economic problems," assured the head of the Russian State.
The investigating committee in Russia's Public Prosecutor's Office is completing a criminal case against Georgia on the genocide and massacres of civilians and peacekeepers during the events in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict in August 2008. The Public Prosecutor's Office acknowledged the death of 67 Russian soldiers, while the Deputy Head of General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn acknowledged that the loss of 64 Russian troops.
According to the Prosecutor's spokesman Vladimir Markin, the office has completed the collection and analysis of evidence of crimes committed by Georgian armed forces in South Ossetia, which now consists of 380 volumes. "As a result of Georgian aggression on the territory of Tskhinvali and other localities of South Ossetia, 655 houses were completely destroyed and burned, while 2,139 more dwellings suffering partial destruction - dwellings populated predominantly by Ossetians" - he said. The results of the investigation were also based on material abandoned by the fleeing Georgian army - more than 600 papers in the Georgian language, including detailed aerial photographs and topographic maps with symbols of the tactical environment, as well as military plans and orders. According to the Prosecutor's Office, these documents show careful preparation of Georgian armed forces for the attack.
In turn, Edward Kokoity, President of South Ossetia, is firmly convinced that in the near future, other countries will officially recognize South Ossetia, and the republic will never again be part of Georgia. "I am confident that the recognition of other states will soon follow. This is an inevitable process. When we had parliamentary elections, observers from Europe and Latin America have recognized that all took place at the highest level. It shows the state of South Ossetia, despite its youth, is well ahead of democracies in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, where there are crises all the time. They need to learn democracy from South Ossetia and Abkhazia," said Kokoity.
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