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Today, 8 August 2012, is the fourth anniversary of the invasion of South Ossetia by Georgian Army forces; memorial events are being held throughout the country and in the capital of Tskhinval. Whilst Mikhail Saakashvili continues to make warlike statements towards Russia, our country remembers its dead. Today, President Putin made some revelations about the conflict and Russia’s relations with South Ossetia. According to the Interfax, one of the events to mark the occasion was an exhibition of paintings that were damaged by Georgian shells and bullets and were placed on display in Tskhinval on Theatre Square in the centre of the city. The exhibition was called titled “War Through Paintings’ Eyes” and features canvasses painted by prominent South Ossetian artists. The tragically-damaged paintings symbolise the tragedy and sadness of those days.
Even before Georgia invaded the South Ossetia, the Russian Federation and the government of South Ossetia were working together in an attempt to prepare the South Ossetian militia in case Georgia decided to make an incursion into the country. The plan was developed by the Army between 2006 and 2007, with the direct participation of President Putin, who, when asked about the plan after holding talks with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday, told Interfax, “It isn’t a secret. There was a plan in place and we were guided by it. The General Staff developed it in late 2006 to early 2007, and it was negotiated with me. We trained South Ossetian militia under this plan”. President Putin also stated, “Although our experts argued that training South Ossetian militia was a hopeless thing, as militia would be weaker than a regular army, even Georgian, it proved more than effective”.
Therefore, despite the fact that the forces of South Ossetia were far weaker and far smaller, they were trained well-enough to mount a noticeable and effective resistance, alongside Russian peacekeepers, against the Georgian aggressors until the Russian Army was able to arrive and drive the Georgian aggressors out of the republic that they had invaded, almost three days later. President Putin said that the experts had been mistaken, saying, “These people (self-defence) proved more than necessary and they courageously defended their motherland, and jointly with the Russian peacekeepers offered resistance to the onslaught from Georgian military formations for three days until the Russian army came”. When asked about his involvement during the invasion when he had been in Beijing {for the Olympics: editor}, President Putin said that he had called Dmitri Medvedev and the defence minister twice, on 7/8 August.
The tragic events were as follows… before midnight on 7 August, the Georgian Army attacked Tskhinval and nearby villages, using rocket and artillery fire and air strikes on the innocent civilians in the villages. This included the villages of Khetagurovo, Dmenis, Pris, Sarabuk, Satikar, Mugut, Didmukha, Galuanta, and others. On the morning of 8 August, Georgian tanks attacked the southern outskirts of Tskhinval, including the Russian peacekeepers’ barracks. The city’s defenders and Russian peacekeepers started fighting back, with fierce street fighting continuing throughout the day. Russia’s leaders decided to force the Georgian aggressors to peace and units of the Russian Army entered the republic. Tskhinval was freed in two days and the Georgian troops were forced far back into their territory.
ITAR-TASS reported that the Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia, Elbrus Kargiyev, pledged that such aggression wouldn’t recur, and that the Russian Federation will guarantee the security of the republic’s population, saying, “Today, we mourn, remember, and grieve over the untimely deaths of women, children, old people, the wonderful young men of Tskhinval, patriots of their country and, certainly, the Russian peacekeepers. However, there’s also a reason for joy… South Ossetia has the opportunity to live in peace and develop. As Russia’s representative, I guarantee that that the children of South Ossetia will never see the horrors of war. The guarantors of this are the Russian Federation and its political leadership, the leaders of our country and the structures, diplomatic and military, that, at the invitation of the republic’s leadership, and with the will of the Ossetian people, have settled in South Ossetia”.
Meanwhile, Tbilisi continues to terrorise the citizenry of the Republic of Abkhazia and stoke the fires of anti-Russian hysteria. In an interview with RIA-Novosti, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin said that the current situation along the border between Georgia and the Republic of Abkhazia is alarming. Mr Karasin stated that Georgian Special Forces regularly penetrate into the Gali District and “persistently terrorize the local population”. He stated that this shows that Georgia is still planning revenge scenarios in the region and that hysteria about Russia’s planned Caucasus 2012 military exercises has been going on for approximately a year. He said there is widespread hysteria about supposed unspecified plans by Russia to destroy Georgian statehood, and he called such talk part on Georgia’s part “propagandistic delirium”.
On Tuesday, General Postnikov told ITAR-TASS, “Our exercise has nothing to do with events in other countries, including Georgia. However, in order to rule out any possibility of speculations on that issue, our military bases in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and even in Armenia will not participate in the Kavkaz-2012 exercise”. According to Mr Karasin, when he spoke about Georgia’s unhinged leader, he said that the international community is used to President Mikhail Saakashvili’s lack of restraint, the Georgian leader makes warlike statements all the time. We should view such accusations appropriately, and take into consideration the “emotionality and provocative nature of the Georgian leadership’s intentions”. We’ll watch the situation closely.
8 August 2012
John Robles
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_08_08/Fourth-anniversary-of-Georgian-invasion-South-Ossetian-militia-was-trained-under-a-special-plan/
Voices from Russia 
As John Robles Sees It… Fourth Anniversary of Georgian Invasion: Special Measures Ensured Proper Training of South Ossetian Militia
Tags: 2008 South Ossetia war, 2008 Summer Olympics, Abkhazia, Beijing, China, Dmitri Medvedev, Georgia, Georgian Armed Forces, John Robles, Mikhail Saakashvili, patriotism, political commentary, politics, Putin, Russia, Russian, Russian history, South Ossetia, Vladimir Putin
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Today, 8 August 2012, is the fourth anniversary of the invasion of South Ossetia by Georgian Army forces; memorial events are being held throughout the country and in the capital of Tskhinval. Whilst Mikhail Saakashvili continues to make warlike statements towards Russia, our country remembers its dead. Today, President Putin made some revelations about the conflict and Russia’s relations with South Ossetia. According to the Interfax, one of the events to mark the occasion was an exhibition of paintings that were damaged by Georgian shells and bullets and were placed on display in Tskhinval on Theatre Square in the centre of the city. The exhibition was called titled “War Through Paintings’ Eyes” and features canvasses painted by prominent South Ossetian artists. The tragically-damaged paintings symbolise the tragedy and sadness of those days.
Even before Georgia invaded the South Ossetia, the Russian Federation and the government of South Ossetia were working together in an attempt to prepare the South Ossetian militia in case Georgia decided to make an incursion into the country. The plan was developed by the Army between 2006 and 2007, with the direct participation of President Putin, who, when asked about the plan after holding talks with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday, told Interfax, “It isn’t a secret. There was a plan in place and we were guided by it. The General Staff developed it in late 2006 to early 2007, and it was negotiated with me. We trained South Ossetian militia under this plan”. President Putin also stated, “Although our experts argued that training South Ossetian militia was a hopeless thing, as militia would be weaker than a regular army, even Georgian, it proved more than effective”.
Therefore, despite the fact that the forces of South Ossetia were far weaker and far smaller, they were trained well-enough to mount a noticeable and effective resistance, alongside Russian peacekeepers, against the Georgian aggressors until the Russian Army was able to arrive and drive the Georgian aggressors out of the republic that they had invaded, almost three days later. President Putin said that the experts had been mistaken, saying, “These people (self-defence) proved more than necessary and they courageously defended their motherland, and jointly with the Russian peacekeepers offered resistance to the onslaught from Georgian military formations for three days until the Russian army came”. When asked about his involvement during the invasion when he had been in Beijing {for the Olympics: editor}, President Putin said that he had called Dmitri Medvedev and the defence minister twice, on 7/8 August.
The tragic events were as follows… before midnight on 7 August, the Georgian Army attacked Tskhinval and nearby villages, using rocket and artillery fire and air strikes on the innocent civilians in the villages. This included the villages of Khetagurovo, Dmenis, Pris, Sarabuk, Satikar, Mugut, Didmukha, Galuanta, and others. On the morning of 8 August, Georgian tanks attacked the southern outskirts of Tskhinval, including the Russian peacekeepers’ barracks. The city’s defenders and Russian peacekeepers started fighting back, with fierce street fighting continuing throughout the day. Russia’s leaders decided to force the Georgian aggressors to peace and units of the Russian Army entered the republic. Tskhinval was freed in two days and the Georgian troops were forced far back into their territory.
ITAR-TASS reported that the Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia, Elbrus Kargiyev, pledged that such aggression wouldn’t recur, and that the Russian Federation will guarantee the security of the republic’s population, saying, “Today, we mourn, remember, and grieve over the untimely deaths of women, children, old people, the wonderful young men of Tskhinval, patriots of their country and, certainly, the Russian peacekeepers. However, there’s also a reason for joy… South Ossetia has the opportunity to live in peace and develop. As Russia’s representative, I guarantee that that the children of South Ossetia will never see the horrors of war. The guarantors of this are the Russian Federation and its political leadership, the leaders of our country and the structures, diplomatic and military, that, at the invitation of the republic’s leadership, and with the will of the Ossetian people, have settled in South Ossetia”.
Meanwhile, Tbilisi continues to terrorise the citizenry of the Republic of Abkhazia and stoke the fires of anti-Russian hysteria. In an interview with RIA-Novosti, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin said that the current situation along the border between Georgia and the Republic of Abkhazia is alarming. Mr Karasin stated that Georgian Special Forces regularly penetrate into the Gali District and “persistently terrorize the local population”. He stated that this shows that Georgia is still planning revenge scenarios in the region and that hysteria about Russia’s planned Caucasus 2012 military exercises has been going on for approximately a year. He said there is widespread hysteria about supposed unspecified plans by Russia to destroy Georgian statehood, and he called such talk part on Georgia’s part “propagandistic delirium”.
On Tuesday, General Postnikov told ITAR-TASS, “Our exercise has nothing to do with events in other countries, including Georgia. However, in order to rule out any possibility of speculations on that issue, our military bases in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and even in Armenia will not participate in the Kavkaz-2012 exercise”. According to Mr Karasin, when he spoke about Georgia’s unhinged leader, he said that the international community is used to President Mikhail Saakashvili’s lack of restraint, the Georgian leader makes warlike statements all the time. We should view such accusations appropriately, and take into consideration the “emotionality and provocative nature of the Georgian leadership’s intentions”. We’ll watch the situation closely.
John Robles
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_08_08/Fourth-anniversary-of-Georgian-invasion-South-Ossetian-militia-was-trained-under-a-special-plan/