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I worked in South Ossetia for the past year and am downloading photos to show my colleagues in my new job, far away. It's sad to see what's happening, but is unfortunately inevitable.
There is a distinct ethnicity called Ossetian, which does have its own language. Like the rest of the region, there are pockets of people with very old roots, although the Soviet experience has served to blend the cultures. Ossetia is split between Alanya (the north Ossetiya area in southern Russia) and South Ossetia, an area in northern Georgia. The population of South Ossetia are divided, and given the 18 years of tug-of-war they've experienced, caught in the middle between Russia and Georgia, they've lost much of their commonality, as the Russian-controlled Ossetians and Alanyans have been incorporated into Russia and the Georgian-controlled ones into Georgia. The people are caught in the middle, with little economic opportunity. Not surprisingly, the conflict has been the largest employer in the area, with both sides employing the local population in the parallel governments, security forces, etc.
There has been a peacekeeping presence, but the region has been divided, with checkpoints between villages, two effective governments (the Russian-appointed government sits/sat in Tskhinvali, and the South Ossetian/Georgian recognized government built its own capital not far away. In the words of a woman I worked with "we have four presidents: Putin, Sakaashvili and their two local cronies." That said, at the village level, the communities from both sides have continued to live together, dodging the checkpoints, attending funerals from the other side, and borrowing cars with the appropriate license plates for trips into the others' areas.
For most of population, realistic to the politics, it boils down to which government will give them a better quality of life. Russia has been providing free/subsidized gas and electric and better pensions than the Georgian government. Both Russia and Georgia have been pouring trickles of money in to their strongholds, to further the wedge. Russia built a pipeline for gas across the mountains, and Georgia did the same. Schools, recreation centers and other investments have occurred.... with Georgia hosting a Bonnie-M concert last year in a new facility it built in the area.
The capital, Tskhinvali, is half an hour from Gori and 90 minutes from Tbilisi. Vladikavkaz, the Russian nearest city, is slightly farther away. There are perhaps 40,000 people who live in the area. South Ossetia is thought by most to be the stocking horse for the area of greater interest to both sides, Abkhazia, on the coast.
For anyone interested in the history of the conflict, the International Crisis Group did a good report in June 2007, titled "Make Haste Slowly." (International Crisis Group - Georgia’s South Ossetia Conflict: Make Haste Slowl (http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4887&l=1 - broken link)). The attachments include maps of the region; in keeping with the conflict there is a map according to the Georgian view, a map according to the Russian view and a few more points of view as well.
Gori is under attack because of a large military base the Georgians recently completed there. Gori is a straight shot to Tskhinvali, (and was the birthplace of Stalin). Its residents were not thrilled when the military base was built. As history has proven, their fears were founded.
Below are some photos from the Georgian villages and people of South Ossetia.
May this end quickly, with limited causualties, so that those who live there can get on with their lives, suspended 18 years ago.
The Georgia/NATO/Russia/USA fiasco, the latest flareup in the never ending bickering in the Balkans, will bring only grief and loss to the people there. There can be no winners, only more losses for the poor citizens who have endured this power struggle for centuries.
Perhaps the Balkan conflicts are eternally unresolvable. The 'former Yugoslavia' is now, how many 5 or 6 tiny countries? And just a week ago didn't the region of Kosovo begin to issue its own passports?
I don't know where the answer lies, but for the people in this region, constantly caught between bickering superpowers and tribal warlords, there has been little peace or prosperity. They need a miracle. I hope they find one. It is such a beautiful corner of the world, they deserve better.
The latests news are that Georgia pulled out its troops.
They are a fascinating people that few people know about. The Ossettes are indeed a distinct people. They are an Iranian ethnic group speaking supposedly descended from the ancient Alans - a Sarmatian tribe. They speak an eastern Iranian language. They call themselves Iron - also Tual in the south, and Digor in the northwest. Iron is just a dialectical form of Aryan, as is Iran. Most Ossettes are nowadays Eastern Orthodox Christians.
The majority of the population in South Ossetia have been given Russian passports since the enclave broke from Georgia in the early 1990s.
The Georgia/NATO/Russia/USA fiasco, the latest flareup in the never ending bickering in the Balkans, will bring only grief and loss to the people there. There can be no winners, only more losses for the poor citizens who have endured this power struggle for centuries.
Perhaps the Balkan conflicts are eternally unresolvable. The 'former Yugoslavia' is now, how many 5 or 6 tiny countries? And just a week ago didn't the region of Kosovo begin to issue its own passports?
I don't know where the answer lies, but for the people in this region, constantly caught between bickering superpowers and tribal warlords, there has been little peace or prosperity. They need a miracle. I hope they find one. It is such a beautiful corner of the world, they deserve better.
Yum. Georgia is Caucasian (as in the region, not race, although they are that too), not Balkan.
Georgia is where Stalin was originally from and is located near Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Georgia/NATO/Russia/USA fiasco, the latest flareup in the never ending bickering in the Balkans, will bring only grief and loss to the people there. There can be no winners, only more losses for the poor citizens who have endured this power struggle for centuries.
Perhaps the Balkan conflicts are eternally unresolvable. The 'former Yugoslavia' is now, how many 5 or 6 tiny countries? And just a week ago didn't the region of Kosovo begin to issue its own passports?
I don't know where the answer lies, but for the people in this region, constantly caught between bickering superpowers and tribal warlords, there has been little peace or prosperity. They need a miracle. I hope they find one. It is such a beautiful corner of the world, they deserve better.
Ummm..... just so you know, Russia and Georgia are no where near the Balkans, the balkans can be reffered to as the countries of former yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania.
Wastina, thank you for sharing your "first person" account of your recent experience working and living in S Ossetia. Your views seem balanced without pointing fingers at either side. It seems like another of those classic historical standoffs. I have been reading quite a bit about this area, and it seems that during the old USSR days, when Georgia was part of the USSR, the fact that part of Ossetia was in Russia and part of Ossetia was in Georgia did not matter as much, because they were both run by the same central government in Moscow. Ever since Russia and Georgia became independent, S Ossetia (or parts of S Ossetia) has resisted control of Georgia's central government and been aligned with Russia, is that correct? Is it true that a majority of people in South Ossetia are actually citizens of Russia and not Georgia? That is one of those things that makes me wonder what is going on there.
A majority of South Ossetians have been granted Russian passports.
"However, it has vowed to defend its citizens in South Ossetia - of which there are many. More than half of South Ossetia's 70,000 citizens are said to have taken up Moscow's offer of a Russian passport." BBC NEWS | Europe | Q&A: Violence in South Ossetia
Is it true that a majority of people in South Ossetia are actually citizens of Russia and not Georgia? That is one of those things that makes me wonder what is going on there.
UNITED NATIONS — U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad exchanged sharp remarks with the Russian ambassador on Sunday, accusing Moscow of resisting attempts to make peace with Georgia after days of fighting have left hundreds of civilians dead.
Khalilzad pointedly asked Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin in the U.N. Security Council session whether Russia's aim was to "change the leadership in Georgia" _ a charge Churkin did not directly address but seemed to deny.
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 08-10-2008 at 09:21 PM..
Reason: Read the Terms of Service copyright provisions
Was Georgia trying to wipe out South Ossetia. I understand they did not like the fact that there was a Russian citizen sanctuary in the middle of Georgia?
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It is such a beautiful corner of the world, they deserve better.
