Georgia intends to withdraw its diplomats from Moscow; only two staff members would remain at the embassy.  Earlier the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they intend to reduce the inter-state relations with Russia to a minimum and to withdraw everyone, down to the consul and envoys.  Meanwhile Moscow will not follow suit.

Georgian Embassy in Moscow is reducing the number of its diplomats in connection with Russia’s recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but Russia is not going to take similar steps.

"The Embassy of Georgia is reducing its diplomatic staff.  It is their decision.  We are aware of the measure" - told a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation - Grigory Karasin with the Charge d'Affaires of Georgia in Moscow - Givi Shugarovym.

As was emphasized by the source, such actions on Georgia’s part "do not imply that we must follow with a similar action."  "We do not see any necessity for this " - said the source.

Earlier on Wednesday, minister of state of Georgia on reintegration - Timur Yakobashvili said that Georgia would bring interstate relations with Russia to a minimum.  According to him, Tbilisi intends to "seriously reduce diplomatic relations with Russia down to the consuls or envoys."

As Yakobashvili stated, the leadership of Georgia will consider the advisability of breaking off relations with Russia in the coming days.  But he noted that, "given that a large number of Georgians reside in Russia, such a decision may not be made."

VESTI

To take up economics instead of politics.

President of Russia Dmiry Medvedev reminded the U.S. about the threat of default of the largest U.S. mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and recommended to pay more attention to economics and not to international relations.  In the opinion of the head of state, the strengthening of the U.S. economy will have a healthy impact on the global economy as a whole.  In addition, the President of Russia believes that Russia and the West may jointly engage in finding the solution to global economic problems.

President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev noted in an interview with the channel "Al-Jazeera", given the previous evening, that economics are global - what is happening at the New York Stock Exchange, is in a day is reflected in Tokyo and later in Moscow.  "We are all tied together, so we would like to see our American partners less engaged in clearing up international relations, and would rather be dealing with strengthening their economy, because the American economy is tied to a lot of the economic problems", - said the head of state.  In addition, the president of the Russian Federation recalled that the two giants of the U.S. mortgage market are now experiencing a critical period.  "The famous companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in such a condition that it is time to declare a default, and this will be a very unpleasant situation for America and for the other markets".  In this regard, he noted that there is a need to deal with these things, including working together.

Meanwhile, Citigroup analysts believe that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could survive the crisis and avoid bankruptcy by end of the year.  Financial Times newspaper writes of this.  Citigroup analysts note that equity of the mortgage giants still exceeds the minimums set by regulators.  In addition, they still have the opportunity to enter the debt market.  However, the Russian experts are more inclined to stick to a relatively moderate position regarding the "unsinkability" of the mortgage giants.  "Indeed, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can place promissory notes on the debt market, and are doing that now", - told RBC the daily analyst of the company "Aton" - Inga Foksha.

The expert also agrees with the fact that the capital adequacy ratio index is in accordance with the regulator standards.  But, in her view, these factors are not sufficient to conclude that the agency is all right.  "The companies promise the highest returns of the last 23 years on their debt obligations, but given their current situation, it is that investors will have to take on too much risk", - notes Ms. Foksha.  Thus the access to the debt market brings with it great costs.  In doing so, both companies lost 90% of its capitalization in one year, which makes them essentially unprofitable, said the expert.  Right now Freddie’s capital equals 12.7 billion dollars, Fannie’s – 20.3 billion dollars.

Analysts are not inclined to see the developments of the future of the "former pride" of collapsed mortgage market in rainbow colors.  "I think that the mortgage agencies will not be allowed to go bankrupt before the new U.S. president is elected", - said Mrs. Foksha.  Although in her estimation, to delay the decision on the possible nationalization is not worth it.  If both companies are divided into several smaller ones with a subsequent transfer to private investors, this event will result in another wave of write-offs, the experts believe.  "I subscribe to a skeptical position and do not think that Fannie and Freddie will be able to repay debts of 223 billion dollars by the end of the fiscal year", - summarized Ms. Foksha.

RBC

Up until the end of 2008 the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will be recognized by some fifty countries in the world.  This statement was made by the president of the Islamic Cultural Center of Russia, Abdul-Wahed Niyazov at a press conference "Russia’s Muslims for recognizing the will of people of Ossetia and Abkhazia", which was held on Tuesday in Moscow.

"The situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia – is a carbon tracing of the Kosovo situation - said Abdul-Wahed Niyazov to Russia. -- At the same time, it is a litmus test, which will expose the attitude towards Russia in the world ".

President of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Russia is confident that before the end of this year the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which was first recognized by the Russian Federation, will be recognized by another 50-60 countries.

Abdul-Wahed Niyazov places particular hopes on the Islamic countries and states where portions of the population practice Islam. It was noted that precisely such countries - Libya, Iran, Syria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan - supported the Russian position in the conflict around unrecognized republics.  The fact that Russia acts as an observer in the organization "Islamic Conference" which unites some 60 countries, also adds confidence.

"The uniqueness of these two republics who declared their independence is in that both South Ossetia and Abkhazia are inhabited by people who profess both Christianity and Islam; both mosques and Christian churches operate there", - Niyazov said.

He noted that the war was not of a religious nature, but "cynicism and Jesuitism of the Georgian rulers have even lead to bombings of churches, where women and children were hiding, people of different religions".  According to eyewitnesses, the Georgian forces received the blessing of their church and went to South Ossetia with their crosses, but "even that does not give anyone the right to accuse Orthodoxy", said Abdul-Wahed Niyazov.  He reminded that after the Beslan tragedy, there have been accusations against Muslims.

"The Muslim religious and public figures have long said that evil has no nationality and the events in Beslan and Tshinval confirmed it", - said the President of the Islamic Cultural Center.

The journalists' questions were answered by muhtasib of the Moscow region - Arslan hazrat Sadriev, mufti of Ossetia - Ali Haji Evteev, Abkhazia’s deputy mufti - Timur Dzyba.  They shared their opinions on the visit to the conflict zone noting that "the scale of devastation is comparable to genocide".

"In the Caucasus, they shoot once and then try to make peace the rest of their lives", - bitterly remarked the mufti of Ossetia, Ali Haji Evteev.

The press conference participants expressed their conviction that the Georgian, Abkhaz and Ossetian people will find a common language and will live in peace. They have placed responsibility for the recent developments on Georgian authorities.  The Muslim community and religious leaders appealed to Islamic countries of the world at the diplomatic level to recognize the right of Ossetians and Abkhazians to self-determination.

"Before addressing our foreign co-religionists with such an appeal, the delegation of the Council of Muftis of Russia visited Tskhinval and saw for themselves the enormous human sorrow that befell on Ossetians as a result of the Georgian aggression", - said the head of the delegation, the president of the Islamic Cultural Center of Russia Abdul-Wahed Niyazov.

annews.ru

This morning ships of the Black Sea Fleet entered the Abkhaz territorial waters.  They were joined by the flagship of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea -- missile cruiser "Moskva", after it left the deployment station in Sevastopol.

A peacekeeping task was assigned to the grouping of the Black Sea Fleet ships - maintain peace and stability in the region of Abkhazia and the Abkhaz territorial waters and to deter the smuggling of weapons and military equipment.

The detachment of the Russian warships is a heterogeneous force: there are landing, missile, and anti-submarine ships.

We will remind you that NATO ships have started to concentrate in the Black Sea after the end of armed conflict on the territory of Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia on August 8-12.  According to the Pentagon and the White House statements, their primary mission is humanitarian.  Part of NATO ships are located in Batumi, in the south-western part of the Black Sea.

In Tshinval it is expected that the Embassy of the Russian Federation will soon start work in the capital of South Ossetia, told President Eduard Kokoity.

"We have the building. It was not affected (as a result of the armed conflict - IF).  In the near future the first Russian Embassy will begin its work there," - E. Kokoity said on Wednesday at a press conference in Tskhinval.

He noted that building of the future embassy is located in the old part of Tskhinval.

INTERFAX

Russia formally notified the UN Secretary-General on recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, told the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin.

In turn Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the UN has no power to admit or not to admit independence of republics, it can only be done by member countries of the organization.

According to the permanent representative of Russia at the UN, Vitaly Churkin, Abkhazia and South Ossetia may request acceptance into the United Nations.

"I think that they would do so" - Russian diplomat said at a press conference at the UN Headquarters.

V. Churkin also noted that in the near future Russia intends to establish diplomatic relations with the two republics and conclude with them agreements on cooperation.
 
In doing so the ambassador stressed that the issue of annexation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia "is absolutely not on the agenda," says ITAR-TASS.

Former President of Italy, a senator for life, Francesco Cossiga, spoke out in favor of recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and for the right of their people to self-determination.

"I am advocating for the territorial integrity of Georgia, but only in its natural historical and cultural borders, and hence for the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, or at least for the recognition of their right to self-determination" – was said in a special statement of the ex-president.

In addition, as reported by italynews.ru, Cossiga criticized the position of the "European countries that oppose independence and self-determination of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, while they themselves seized Kosovo through military means, recognized it as an independent state, and ensure that independence through military occupation."

OSSETIAN RADIO

A plane!!! “Sushka”!!! Su- 25!!! Horror in the eyes of Sergey and Zhora… It is easy to understand them- they will react in this way to the turbine sound for a long time to come… It is not shameful to be afraid here… It is necessary to be was afraid here -… The fighter plane whirls above the dead city…Smoky threads of the “Igla”s rise up from somewhere among the houses...All of them-missing. The plane leaves… And it is August the11 already!..

An armored vehicle of foreign production passes by … With a South-Ossetian flag… 

***

 We have to go to the peacekeepers’ base… We gather up and go , about 150 meters… Along the fence… The wall is riddled with  holes. It is this place that THEY started bombarding on the night of 7th to 8th, going around the block-posts… The first missile among those that murdered Tskhinval, exploded exactly here, on the base field… We reach our destination, we fly through the territory and we … come in to the Television center! Oleg Groznetsky, by the miracle turned out here before us, Ruslan Gusarov… Russia Today, NTV, TVC, The First Channel… Everyone is there…Satellite dishes all around … And everything is in an area of about 100 square meters…

***

Afterwards, things were calmer… A shelter is nearby… A field kitchen…  However, by evening it has arrived… The “Grad” missile…It pierced a small house just beyond the base fence … Long fire, slate shots, pole of smoke… And constant automatic gunfire  somewhere nearby… And a couple of SU-24’s of unknown origin constantly hanging above our heads… Their motors’ sound froze blood in our veins… We filmed again, for a long time…We went to sleep in a  dilapidated sports hall without windows… On spread tents… Approximately at 1 o’clock at night, some people entered the hall with lights on their foreheads. Just as they entered - behind window, somewhere really close, two clicks resounded , and in the hall- a light fast buzzing sound. But all of us were lying down, and those who entered, were out of the target range… Thank God, the sniper did not hit anybody… 

***

Can you imagine Lev Tolstoy in camouflage with “Stechkin” on one side? He lived just 10 meters from us… A broad-bearded Chechen, who had some relation to the “Vostok” battalion. According to the commander of Pskov rangers, the Chechens fought like valkyries… They went to attack only on armored vehicles… Only in the first echelon… Without body armor… They just DID NOT CARE! If needed, Yamadayev would bring his bandits not only to Tbilisi, but all the way to Washington…  Rumors went around  that the “Nokhchi” fell into big trouble and that they were wiped out almost entirely, but, judging by the calmness of their commanders, these were just rumors… In reality, one look at these bearded guys who were once cutting throats of Dudayev’s Spetsnaz troopers, could make one calm down…

***

On Aug 12, in the morning, me and “Genych” went to the City… We took with us Amelie-Marie, a correspondent for “France-Press”. We met her back in Dzhava- it was necessary to somehow guard the young French woman who was trying very hard to stop the destruction of her ideals… And what else we could do with her- short-sighted, in dirty jeans and with the unrealizable dream of a warm washroom with bide? Her Russian photo correspondent turned out to be  not a very  decent person and left an approximately thirty-year, refined damsel in a  place flooded with armed men, who in the heat of war, were hating everything to the west of Kaliningrad region…And she could only  say “Hello” and a couple more words in Russian.

***

“Dead City buries its voices.

Heavens got lost and are walking between the walls… “(Yu. Shevchuk)

We walk past the square, where we went live on air yesterday… The piece left from the tank man has been already removed… In its place - “Tunguska” covered by the branches…The City is there, and simultaneously, there is no City…Roof sheets under the legs. Houses burned from the inside before our eyes … A wall demolished by explosion… Washstand, bed, the curtains are beating on the wind… Instead of  the neighboring house- simply a huge crater. Simply a crater and nothing else!!! With some small rubble! I will not take up to assume, but, it seems, that’s how the ammunition of volumetric explosion would act…  Shota Rustaveli street. Here and there the fragments of jet missiles stick out from the remnants of houses… Could the author of “The knight in the panther’s skin” ever imagine that the street named after him, would be burned by his own countrymen from installations of salvo fire? At night. After assurances in their peaceful disposition… 

***

The survivors pull us eagerly to their basements… To show, where they hid… We film and  move on…  A burnt car with “OSCE” inscription on one side. The streets are littered with tree branches the density of the fire was such that the trees remained almost bald, cut by bullets.  We should go  to southern part of the City. That’s where there is the most destruction. We catch an old “Audi” and drive. Soslan volunteered to accompany us. Bearded, with white bandages on both sleeves. A civil guardsman… I sit on the car door - legs in the interior, everything else outside. In the camera view- black streets, infinite craters, and people going somewhere with masks instead of faceless … Here it is, Tskhinval’s southern end. Smoked boxes of 9-story apartment blocks with holes in their walls. Judging by the appearance, the missiles, breaking through the panels, flew into rooms and blew directly near TVs, capboards, children's beds… Soslan tells, who he was blocked for 2 days in one of these apartments, without food or water but with a sniper rifle and a heap of cartridges. How he remained alive and won- he cannot understand himself.

We go past our tanks to the 12nd city school… 

***

They lay where they were killed - in the school court.

The first one is huge, in torn up camouflage trousers and American boots, face down… Absolutely black skin on the cheek, short hairdo… On his back-an exit hole of a bullet that pierced through his body armor… The second is nearby . Because of the heat he hardly resembles a human, with his head torn inside out…  No emotions! Even the smell is not particularly bothersome… I film in few plans with the non-shocking “large scales”… 

It is painful to look at Amelie.

- Are you leaving your illusions behind?

- I cannot talk yet… I am very tired.

It is time to come back – a plane to Moscow flies tomorrow and we have to think how to get to Vladikavkaz. SMS message comes from Sergey: “The war is over!” Passing by Government House, we see Eduard Kokojty…The camera accumulator has died, and the leader of South Ossetia says some heavy things!

“I ask for forgiveness from Russian mothers! I ask for forgiveness from Ossetian mothers! Your sons have died, but we were not the ones who wanted this… “

***

We reach the base. There are news! First, Zhora went with the column to Gori, but they did not let him go past the staff tent- it is too dangerous. Secondly, we were sent change-over -three additional groups… At night - I sleep!!! On the floor, on a thin tent, in the sports hall with missing windows, under the sounds of weakening shootouts on the outskirts… I sleep! I see dreams! The war is over! Tomorrow I go home!

***

Was it scary? Yes of course it was! Only this fear was different from the “Grozny” one. Then, in the spring of 95, the fear was kind of suffocating… Sometimes, on the block-post at Petropavlovsky bridge, for example – bordering with panic… It differed from the “Belgrade” fear as well, of a sudden cruise missile strike.

The 2008 fear was… Saddening.  I was afraid very much for my relatives- the mother who would surely not have been able to pool through… I was afraid for the One , whom, as well as my mother, I assured till the last day that I am sitting in Dzhava and film refugees… I was afraid for the guys who were there with me… I very much did not want to go to this hell, which have not cooled down yet, but clearly understood at the same time, that I will go there anyway. On an ambulance, armored vehicle or helicopter I will go… Because I saw people around myself…  Because my son, in the evening of the 8^th got through and, stammering from horror, started to ask, whether I am not wounded and to persuade me to stay strong (whoever has boys growing in their household- they will understand).

Because many people dear to me were afraid as well for me, but in the depth of their souls knew too clearly: it will be terrible and scary for me, but I  will go.

***

Of course, I did not describe everything. Did not detail the meeting in Vladikavkaz, where we were shown SMS messages from Tskhinval: “Help us! We are being killed! “.

Did not say, how the Ossetians cared for us, sharing  bread and their salty cheese.  Thank you to all, who took part in our fate.

To Kaliningrad colleagues-journalists.

To Boris Dzasokhov, thanks to whom we entered the Ossetian information space on the first day.

To my schoolmate Igor Pliev.

To everyone...

Now I always will remember:

...The One who helps us is stronger than the One who destroys! (C)

 On materials algis-koenig.livejournal.com

We moved to the South approximately at 8 AM. Just  ahead of us there were the cars of the First channel with Oleg Groznetsky and his group. Until the border we drove without an incident...We were bewildered by the amount of  military vehicles in the same way as us and from the ventilation shafts of the Roki tunnel, bluish smoke blew with unrelenting avalanche...   We arrived to Dzhava which have become one big meeting point for the volunteer fighters. Mobile communication could not be worse. While I was filming the military personnel and the attempts of military vehicles to part ways with the masses of refugees, one of the group of Alexander Sladkov from RTR has returned. He told, as Georgian grenade launchers and snipers caught them on the entry in Tskhinval a day earlier. The column, with which they went was ambushed. The leading BMP was blown at once. Then they began to shoot on the others. First they wounded the operator’s hand, Sladkov himself and general Khrulev were wounded almost immediately afterwards–They could not understand themselves how they managed to jump under some remaining “armor”... But they remained alive.

Then rumour started going around – fortunately it was not confirmed - of the death of  TVC film crew. Then a bit later - and it turned out to be true - of a heavy wound of the “Komsomolka” correspondent

***

To all requests to deliver us to Tskhinval, the military and Ossetian resistance fighters only turned fingers at their temples- heavy fighting was going on in the city, an entire platoon was being encircled and demolished, and help could not break through… All, that we had - was scrappy information from plenty of sources. And Moscow demanded reports and live transmissions… 

***

They got acquainted with the chief of local militia. He brought us to outskirts of Dzhava, where just near the fence of a small house lay an unexploded bomb. By the looks of it –it weighted around 250 kg.  It was as large as a decent pig, and for some reason blue in color. The sticky situation was that somewhere nearby there was a position of  our “Gvozdika" vehicles who fired continuously at the Georgians. And a shot of a 150-mm weapon is not just loud. It can cause a detonation of everything on the position. All the more so - “our” bomb. Still, we filmed it and sent for broadcasting, a picture and a “stand-up”. By the way you can clearly hear loud shots in the background…

***

For the night we were sent to Khvtse, a small village about 3 km north of Dzhava. Groznetsky has decided to come with us. The village administration gave us two cars – one for the equipment and another for the people… We took off… As we found out, to the wrong direction. As a result, we found ourselves on the mountain just in front of the vehicles, which continued to fire. Above our heads... Finally we reached our lodging place, the building of a former club, now the rear base- collapsed on some mattresses and fell asleep. We had no strength left to pay attention to the noise. 9^th of August was over. We had to get to Tskhinval on the 10^th no matter what.

***

In the morning the situation did not change. Only in front of the base, where we spent the night, the new column of tanks and armored vehicles took position, preparing to the march southward. We started asking them for a ride, but after the history with Sladkov’s group, no commander wanted to take such a responsibility.  Of course, all of this time we were filming… In the house with a generator, an entire studio was working in the courtyard. The “Inmarsat” satellite station was hardly turned off, and our video engineer Vovchik collected and sent reports for broadcasting non-stop...

Around 11 o’clock news came from Moscow: we are flying to Tskhinval on a helicopter! Great, but how would we get in there? The road is blocked almost all the way, and most of the brave “dzhigits”, who are ready to deliver us to the airfield, are stranded without fuel…In short, we were late to the helicopter in question. But we had some talk with the pilots of other helicopters. They shared their thoughts that there are Americans sitting in the cabins of Georgian fighter planes.  Georgians, they said, could never fly so well in mountainous environment… I will not analyse the degree of  reliability of this information . I just heard it and so be it, but with my own ears, sitting on the footstep of “Crocodile” Мi-24.

We came back to Dzhava on foot, about 5 km through the mountains, luckily-downwards…  

***

… Another group of refugees has arrived… Grey from the fatigue, dust and horror… It is possible, that sometime in the future our “synchronous” reports  will be not simply stories before the television camera, but a part of the evidence base in the case of  Ossetian genocide…

A pregnant woman with two children shot on the street…

Grandmother with grandson who tried to run away from a tank but could not escape…

Mother and daughter raped and beheaded before the eyes of the head of the family…

Five children slaughtered, again before the eyes of their parents…

We could not process in our heads all we have heard. But, when we processed it none the less, something- excuse for the pathos-has happened to our souls. Soon afterwards when we saw the corpses of Georgian soldiers we felt  NOTHING… In spite of the fact that all these days it was really hot, and the corpses looked and smelled badly“.

More about this- below. 

On materials algis-koenig.livejournal.com

We arrived to Vladikavkaz at 20:13...Took a taxi to a hotel with the same name. Of course we were in this city for the first time. And - at once! The cemetery “City of Angels”…Beslan to the right... Here and so the Northern Caucasus, in half an hour after arrival, has let us know that the War is not a joke, it is somewhere nearby.

We got to the hotel and the first group immediately left forTskhinval, while myself and Gena Kochetkov remained behind.

...They came in just in time to the  beginning of the storming... It was already impossible to get into the city itself and Zhora L'vov with Sergei Naziulin were filming the first minutes of the war from a nearby hill. Jet projectiles were falling on residential quarters in chess-like order... A volley of one “Grad” – is  forty rockets covering an area of few hectares in approximately 30 seconds. And there was more than 1 “Grad” there. Plus the artillery barrels... It is unknown how many residents of Tskhinvali were burned up before they could understand what is going on. They now talk of two thousand killed (including military). And all of this in two with a half - three days of fighting...  Our guys understood in timely manner that it is necessary to leave - only in a few minutes after their departure, the hill where they were filming from was destroyed ... 

At the entrance to Dzhava they stopped near a small shop. Then a plane arrived. The assault plane Su-25. The bomb dropped about 50 meters from the cameraman Zhora (Georgi L'vov, the second operator of the channel “Zvezda”, from Moscow. - Red.), and a huge stone fraction  flew into his back. They thought, his kidney was ripped off. But he turned out to be lucky. Only his back would still be black in color for a long time...

…In Tskhinval, after the artillery preparation, Georgian infantry and tanks have appeared... It looked as if they had an order to destroy everyone who managed to survive the shelling. In city morgue a young woman was lying since the 11^th, pressing her baby to her chest. Both were killed by a single round. Our colleagues saw beheaded family 1.5 babies burnt alive...  Many Georgians knew well the Ossetian language. They were the ones who knocked on the basement doors under the guise of being “Ossetians””. And when people opened their basements-they threw grenades in there... The wounded, including our peacekeepers, were finished off. They burned some people even without killing them first. Refugees who were trying to escape on the only road to Roki pass with a tunnel, were exterminated from the planes...»

If somebody says that it is not genocide let him invent a word to describe what had happened.

The guys returned on the 8^th, towards the evening. Their condition was close to a shock... And on the morning of the 9^th we ourselves went to Tskhinval...

I shall proceed later...

 Based on materials from  algis-koenig.livejournal.com

At the entrance to Dzhava we stopped near a small shop. Then a plane arrived. The assault plane Su-25. The bomb dropped about 50 meters from the cameraman Zhora (Georgi L'vov, the second operator of the channel “Zvezda”, from Moscow. - Red.), and a huge stone fraction  flew into his back. They thought, his kidney was ripped off. But he turned out to be lucky. Only his back would still be black in color for a long time...

…In Tskhinval, after the artillery preparation, Georgian infantry and tanks have appeared... It looked as if they had an order to destroy everyone who managed to survive the shelling. In city morgue a young woman was lying since the 11^th, pressing her baby to her chest. Both were killed by a single round. Our colleagues saw beheaded family 1.5 babies burnt alive...  Many Georgians knew well the Ossetian language. They were the ones who knocked on the basement doors under the guise of being “Ossetians””. And when people opened their basements-they threw grenades in there... The wounded, including our peacekeepers, were finished off. They burned some people even without killing them first. Refugees who were trying to escape on the only road to Roki pass with a tunnel, were exterminated from the planes...»

 One more eye-witness of the war in South Ossetia is a TV cameraman Algis Mikulskis working in Moscow for the channel “Zvezda”, - told about what he has seen in his Internet-diary.

Komsomol’skaya Pravda.

If somebody says that it not genocide - let him invent the title to what is happening… Another group of refugees has arrived… Grey from the fatigue, dust and horror… It is possible, that sometime in the future our “synchronous” reports  will be not simply stories before the television camera, but a part of the evidence base in the case of  Ossetian genocide…

A pregnant woman with two children shot on the street…

Grandmother with grandson who tried to run away from a tank but could not escape…

Mother and daughter raped and beheaded before the eyes of the head of the family…

Five children slaughtered, again before the eyes of their parents…

We could not process in our heads all we have heard. But, when we processed it none the less, something- excuse for the pathos-has happened to our souls. Soon afterwards when we saw the corpses of Georgian soldiers we felt  NOTHING… In spite of the fact that all these days it was really hot, and the corpses looked and smelled badly“.

One more eye-witness of the war in South Ossetia – TV operator Algis Mikulskis - told about what he has seen in his Internet-diary.

Komsomol’skaya Pravda.

The Georgian attack on South Ossetia has been carefully planned. This was stated today in the Investigations Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (UPC), reports NTV.

Investigators told, that before the Georgian military operation began, detailed maps were compiled, particularly of the locality of the peacekeepers’ base. The precision of fire, which was conducted from well prepared positions, underlines the fact that the storming of Tskhinval was planned in advance

Boris Salmaksov, deputy chairman of the UPC: "Nothing happened spontaneously. We have a map, which outlines the tasks for the first hour, third hour, the task of the day - as military planning generally goes. All of this is drawn on the map, there are corresponding orders. We also have interrogations of detainees captured, but we are not talking "prisoners", we say "detained" persons, since this is not a war. They explain: we were gathered, they explained to us – we are moving into our territory, to liberate it from the Ossetians ".

According to the Investigation Committee, already more than 4 thousand residents of South Ossetia have been recognized as victims. Criminal cases are investigated under the articles "Murder" and "Genocide".

NTV

The Russian leadership is ready to sustain the tone taken in their relations with the West from the beginning of Russian-Georgian conflict. Moreover, it is ready to deal with the reality of a new "Cold War", to deny the onset of which today is foolish and counterproductive.

To remove the Russians from Georgia - is the main thing that the West is now seeking. Considering this as acceptable, the Russian leadership does not resist such matter. Far more important for Russia are the other aspects of the problem.

This was vividly demonstrated by the tough words uttered by Dmitry Medvedev at a press conference following a meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Their meaning was clear: Russia no longer intends to unilaterally maintain the illusion of friendship with the West and make compromises for virtual recognition of conformity with "international standards".

Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Alexander Dugin, characterizes the statements made by Medvedev as a "fateful event, when for the first time after the Caribbean crisis, Moscow harshly sent the West and the Americans “where the sun doesn’t shine".

The fact that the remarks of the Russian and the German leaders following the meeting on August 15 were inconsistent to such large extent leads one to ponder: what were they able to agree on at all? Thus, in response to Medvedev’s statement that "the Georgian leadership bears full responsibility for all wrongful acts of brutality ", Merkel actually made it clear that it she was not at all interested in this issue. "This is not the time to seek precise causes and to analyze the development of the situation such as it was", - said the Chancellor.

Naturally, as soon as it became clear that to "pin" the provocation of conflict on Russia would not be possible, the interest of the Western representatives to its circumstances immediately cooled down. Of course, to once again record the rightness of Russia in various official formulations, not to mention in the documents, means to put themselves in a vulnerable position. Indeed, the main challenge of the West today – is to by all means prevent Russia from reaping the benefits of its victory over Georgia. Therefore, Mrs. Merkel suggested, without unnecessary investigations and trials, to begin the immediate "implementation of the plan of six principles so that Russian troops withdrew from the territory of Georgia".

To remove the Russians from Georgia – is the main thing the West is now seeking. Considering this as acceptable, the Russian leadership does not at all resist the posing of such question. Far more important for Russia are the other aspects of the problem. And here’s where there is a complete lack of agreement. It is difficult even to imagine what Mrs. Merkel had to go through while listening to Medvedev’s views regarding the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. At least, it should have become clear to her: her mission in admonishing Moscow had completely collapsed.

From that moment on the initiative is intercepted. Russia makes progress and is getting the taste. The American hegemony is put under question; its fate now directly depends on us.

The Russian president literally announced the following: "Russia as the guarantor of security in the Caucasus and in the region will adopt that solution which will clearly reflect the will of these two Caucasian people. And will not just accept this will, but will be guided in its foreign policy by this will and guarantee its execution on the territory of South Ossetia and Abkhazia ".

Indeed, this is a real punch in the jaw to the whole coalition "for the territorial integrity of Georgia". If this goes on, Europe will have to seriously ponder whether it intends to further continue to serve as a conduit of the American position, or whether it's time already to establish normal relations with the new Russia.

In so doing, it should be noted that it is not only with Georgia but also with the United States that Russia does not directly communicate. And it is clear: what can we discuss with those who strictly adhere to incompatible positions across the entire spectrum of problems arising from the current situation? Indeed, according to a recent statement by George Bush's the question that "Abkhazia and South Ossetia are part of Georgia and should remain in its composition" is not even subject to discussion.

It doesn’t smell of agreement between the parties and with regard to the future of the peacekeeping mission in the conflict zone. It is completely understandable that the Atlantist structures will now struggle in full force to seek the "internationalization" of the peacekeeping mission. Medvedev lets them know that Russia does not intend to allow this. "Ossetians and Abkhazians themselves do not trust anyone except the Russian peacekeepers; they do not trust because the history of the last 15 years showed that the only troops that could protect their interests, and as it is unfortunately often so, also simply their lives, were the Russian troops. For this reason they believe that Russian troops - are the only guarantor of their security, and this should be taken into account ", - said Russian leader during the same Sochi meeting.

America no longer directly responds to the statements made by the Russian authorities. Instead it announced the beginning of the process of exclusion Russia from anywhere it’s possible. Following the news that U.S. Congressmen intend to take the Olympiad away from Russia, Condoleezza Rice had already stated that it was "time to look at what the position of Russia is on the various diplomatic, political and economic institutions.” It is not worth doubting that in the near future they will continue all the possible pressure on Russia. Naturally, this does not mean that the Russian leadership should step back from their positions. On the contrary, thus openly hostile reaction of the states shows that they are truly affected and are forced to react.

Russia caused a serious blow to Georgia, under the American guardianship, when it comes to their influence and their ambitions, and in response they demonstrated their weakness and indecision, abandoning direct military intervention. From that moment on the initiative had been intercepted. Russia makes progress and is getting the taste. American hegemony is put under question; its fate now directly depends on us.

Ilya Dmitriev-- expert of the Center of the Geopolitical Council on issues of national security at DG RF.

Various readings of Caucasian toponymy remind of the days of the collapse of the USSR. The President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev recently resolutely called the capital of the unrecognized South Ossetian Tskhinval – as most Ossetians call it, cutting out the soft ending "- i". Prior to that, loyal to the Kremlin youth organizations, vying with each other, demanded from the media to abandon the Georgian transcription, because such writing is an affront to the Russian citizens living there. Some of the media have already listened to the President and the pro-Kremlin youth, part of them still writes the old way, remembering how Tbilisi correspondents were called into the Georgian Foreign Ministry for explanatory conversations after each appearance in print of an Ossetian version. Right now, Georgian Foreign Ministry does not have time for grammar, but Tskhinvali, as is the capital Sukhumi of the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia, still remains, from the international legal point of view, part of the Georgian territory. However, both versions have a right to exist: besides pure politics, there is also linguistics.

Geographical names, as a rule, are not translated, but the language usually adjusts under its rule someone else's pronunciation. "Tskhinval" and "Sukhum" - are actually a Russian version of Georgian names, appearing when Russian troops came to the administrative division in the late XVIII to early XIX century. It’s interesting that both Georgian words mean roughly the same: the Georgian word "krstshinvali" translates as "land of hornbeams", and "tshumi" - hornbeam in the old Svanksi language. Hornbeam grows on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. If we are to actually talk about the Ossetian version of the name Tskhinvali, it sounds like "Chreba". Some Ossetians are inclined to trace this name to the Ossetian root "cher" meaning "lime" and pointing to the ancient mining, traces of which can still be seen there. Sukhumi in Abkhazian is called Akua – there are several versions of the translation, from the rocky coast to the musty smell. Abkhazia has not always been a wonderful eucalyptus resort; before the arrival in the province of the Russian empire its coastal marshes nested hordes of malaria mosquitoes, and deaths of local people were enormous due to the peculiarities of the climate and landscape.

However, this is not the entire list of the names of the unrecognized capitals. Tskhinvali, for example, during the time of Stalin was called "Staliniri" – sort of like Stalingrad, and Sukhumi, which has a history of more than one thousand years, was called in ancient times Dioskuriya, Sebastopolis, and during Turkish presence - Sukhum-Kale.

Thus, the choice in favor of Tskhinvali and Sukhumi, if pushing aside diplomatic rules of ethics, can be dictated not only with so much attention to the Ossetian or Abkhaz languages but by return to the Russian variant of writing. In the end, it does not signify any kind of imperial ambitions: same goes for Russian maps that write Paris as Parizh, although in French it sounds different. In German atlases Gdansk, despite all the vicissitudes of recent history, remains Dantsig, Wroclaw - Breslau, Ljubljana - Laybah and Kaliningrad - Kenigsberg. Accordingly, Polish, Slovenian or Russian versions are politely written in parenthesis in smaller print.

But on the other hand, in a reversion to the old Russian toponymy of Caucasus it would be more logical to start with those territories that are indisputably under the jurisdiction of Moscow. Names that are not very familiar to our contemporaries could appear on a map, some would have been closer to the Russian ear – instead of Makhachkala -- Port-Petrovsk could return, and some, in reverse: the Soviet Buynaksk again would become Temir-Khan-Shura. But reverse renaming in the Caucasus certainly would not have made less noise than has already been around them during the years of the civil war in the early XX century. Or in the period of the parade of sovereignties, when even the loyal North-Ossetian Vladikavkaz, from the Soviet Ordzhonikidze almost turned into Dzaudzhikau - the so-called village, located on the shore of Terek, next to which Prince Potemkin Tauride laid the imperial fortress.

In the logic of the "parade of sovereignties" South Ossetia should have been called in Ossetian - Hussar Iryston and Abkhazia - in the Abkhaz - Apsny (“country of the soul"). Georgia, on its part, calls Abkhazia Abkhazia, and South Ossetia, until very recently, was labeled as part of the region Shida Karli – a Kartli province of Georgia. The toponym South Ossetia, not especially pleasant for Tbilisi, returned into the Georgian political vocabulary with the appearance of the administration of the ex-Defence Minister of the separatists, Dmitry Sanakoev, in the Georgian villages of the unrecognized republic, which recognize the jurisdiction of Tbilisi. Prior to the escalation of the confrontation on August 8 of this year, Georgia intended to give South Ossetia broad autonomy - of course, to the whole region, and not just to Georgian villages, which were all provided with powerful economic support in recent years. According to Georgian officials, the matter was not so much in arranging an enviable example of West Berlin in the Georgian part of South Ossetia, but in the fact that the government of Eduard Kokoity simply did not allow assistance into the Ossetian part.

The confusion about the South Caucasus toponymy will continue until the conflict is resolved: there it still Nagorno-Karabakh, which is only called Karabakh by Azerbaijanis, and almost none of them are left there. In Armenian, Karabakh is called Artsakh. In any case, the current abundance of disputes of grammatical nature against the backdrop of Russian troops resemble the times of the discussions on the number of letters "n" in the word "Tallinn", the People's fronts and Nevzorovski rather than Surkovski "ours". Characteristically, specialists in the history of colonial empires, amongst which undoubtedly were the Russian empire and the Soviet Union, as early as 1990s pointed to a premature optimism of allegations concerning the relatively peaceful breakup of the USSR. The India-Pakistan conflict, the former British possessions in Asia that turned crimson from blood and which turned tens of millions of people into refugees, broke out a decade and a half after the departure of Britons.


Ivan SUHOV, TIME NEWS

"Unobjective and biased" is what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the statement on Georgia adopted by the heads of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the NATO member countries.

As the main drawback of a document adopted in Brussels on Tuesday he called a lack of analysis of the causes of conflict in South Ossetia.

According to Lavrov, the statement said nothing about “who began aggressive actions, who armed Georgia, who has consecutively over the recent times blocked the statements and proposals of Russia on the fact that Tbilisi has entered into legally binding agreements with South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the inadmissibility of the use of force."

"It seems to me that in NATO they are trying to make the aggressor the victim, to vindicate a criminal regime, save a collapsed regime and take a course to re-arm the current leaders of Georgia" – said the chief of Russian diplomacy on Tuesday at a press conference in Moscow.

Earlier, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 26 NATO member countries adopted a statement, which refers to the inability to build normal relations with Russia while its troops are in Georgia.

news.bbc.co.uk

The famous newspaper “New York Times” has long been doing a project called “Tell Americans about Russia”. This project has been highlighted on the popular portal inosmi.ru, where users have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the work of American journalists and send in their own comments. A couple of months ago a rather large discussion was started by an article called “Blacklists on TV - do they really exist?”, where the main topic was censorship within Russian television. A month ago another article came out called “KGB in Runet?”. A respectable news establishment this way states that it considers the censorship and control of media in Russia as a key point in the tale of Russians about their own country. Such careful attention the newspaper pays to the freedom of the press is no accident. In the US there exists a mythological viewpoint on the power of Truth over Lies, where the defenders of said Truth, hunted and persecuted, are the journalists. Knights of the Round Table, defenders of the weak and the oppressed, Robin Hoods and so forth. This myth is actively propagated by Hollywood, as it is the forefront for spreading the American way of thought, and as such the honesty and integrity of journalists became a set fact.

In light of the escalation of armed conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia, the press got  an opportunity to move away from the slow news of information warfare, to the activity which is the holy grail for any journalist. A treasonous attack on a peaceful city, refugees, the entry of Russian troops into the conflict, a humanitarian catastrophe, the growth of banditism on the Georgian streets, left by Saakashvili’s army. All these events demand not only to be highlighted, but to be actively discussed by those who deem themselves fighters for the rights of man, for the rights of small nations , and the condemnation of all the world’s large organization of Georgia’s “rosy” president for betraying the ideals of democracy. A pity none of the above happened.

The western media allow themselves to periodically discuss the freedom of the press in Russia. A country in which their correspondents, as a rule, hold their meetings with Russians exclusively in clubs like “Night Flight”[a club located on Tverskaya street in Moscow), where the conversation with a Russian man or woman costs about 100 Euros an hour and generally consists of more than talking.

The professionalism of the western journalists who like to dole out anti-Russian stamps, without not only trying to understand Russia or its citizens, but to even form their own opinion, is not very high. To form an opinion, a western journalist must be very brave, as it might differ from the common point of view, and even be forbidden by the editor(no-no, it’s not censorship, just business!), or be contrary to the view of the Simple American, another mythological character of the States metaphysical reality. It’s sad, that the profession first created to protest those in power, has now become the support beam of those that hold that power. Outwardly the American press doesn’t look like it sucks up to the ones in charge as much as the Russian one does, but that still doesn’t mean that they are not suck- ups.  It merely means that they are craftier in hiding their true nature.

For many years now, the US has been trying to establish a Big Democratic Order in the world. The glorious result of which, according to American mythology, would be to bring all people to the sole correct way of living-  the American way; democratic, liberal, free press inhabited, and why hide it, the best way of lie ever, yo! The monotony to which Washington is trying to bring the Earth is best exemplified by the menu of MacDonald’s, unchangingly American even amongst people who like to eat fried crickets and live cuttlefish. The insistence with which the US is pushing the world towards the Big Democratic Order is annoying. Annoying not because it’s bad or indecent to be democratic, but because that democracy is forced upon people, like they weren’t smart enough to come to it themselves, and needed a wise teacher with a packet of nukes behind his back.

A large part of the Big Democratic Order is the freedom of Mass Media. This part is so important , that when journalists who oppose the government or anything die in some countries, the government of said countries is immediately blamed. Following which it must spend years attempting to clear the stain off its record.

It’s surprising, how even the greatest idea, the most wonderful mythology can degrade, if the leaders of the people propagating it are lacking in piety, and respect towards other people’s way of life. The arrogant pride that has earned the US so much hate worldwide has twisted even the nicest, most clean images within the American myth.

When Saakashvili began an armed invasion into Ossetia, the mass media of the world, CNN and BBC amongst them, were silent. When 12 hours later the Russian armed forces entered South Ossetia, it’s as if the world woke up to a slogan; “Russia began the invasion of Georgia!”

This situation, insulting as it was towards Russia, should have taught us one important lesson; the myths are create for the consumers of Hollywood films. If the Kremlin wants to talk with the west on even terms, then it should leave behind the tired old illusions about the cooperation of honest people with democracy, with which we have but a few common interests and maybe some competition. The bias shown during the highlighting of the Georgian aggression and the genocide of Ossetians in the world media should have disillusioned the Russian leaders about the democratic ideals pushed forth by the west. The monstrous double standards, which could have been excused when speaking of ways of life as small political interests, looked unreal in the spectrum of a nation’s tragedy.

The west and it’s well protected mass media are ready to sacrifice an entire people to geopolitical interests. It’s the Ossetians being sacrificed, an old nation with a deep culture and history, upheld by thousands of years of proud tradition, a nation from the tragedy of which one can’t simply talk them out of. So all the lies poured on the Russians and Ossetians by the sharks of the west is destined to perish in the sands of time.

Our interest is brought upon by the fact that Misha Saakashvili often meets with western leaders, journalists and defenders of human rights. We’re curious, did even one of those people find the courage within them, no, not to accuse him of anything, no to protest to his face, but to simply not shake his hand?

Maria Solovyeva, TODAY

Speaker of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov stated that the upper house of the Russian parliament is ready to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia if that that is the will of the people living in these republics and the decision for this is made by the Russian president. Sergei Mironov arrived in North Ossetia today to accompany the humanitarian package sent by the members of the Federation Council.

He has no doubt, that the peaceful life within South Ossetia will be restored forever. “Nobody will ever threaten the peaceful existence of the South Ossetians again. That will be happen due to the determination of the status of this republic.” stated S. Mironov.

He suggested a calm reaction in regards to the NATO decision to limit the cooperation with Russia within the parameters of the Russia-NATO Council. In his opinion, without Russia, it will be impossible to partake in such global tasks as the war on terror, a problem which has yet to see an end.

“We have a large field for cooperation, and we are reliant and dependent on each other. As such, there can be no talk of Russia’s isolation, or a new “Cold War”.”- said S. Mironov with conviction.

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