Georgia, Russia: Cyber Attacks on Blogger 'Cyxymu'

Global Voices Online
Sunday, August 9, 2009

A year ago, the Russo-Georgian war coincided with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, diverting some of the public attention from the peaceful sporting event. This week, cyber attacks on LiveJournal, Twitter and Facebook, targeting Tbilisi-based LJ/Twitter/Facebook user cyxymu, have added an extra dimension to the coverage of the first anniversary of the war - and even re-focused it to some extent.

Initially, the Russo-Georgian connection was not evident. On Aug. 6, LJ user mhwest posted this note (ENG) in the lj_maintenance LJ community, announcing that the blogging platform was "under attack":

Wonderful World of DDoS

As some of you may know, LiveJournal has been under attack this morning from 6:00am PST until ??? We have taken steps to mitigate the DDoS but some users may still experience site connectivity problems. [...]

This post has received over 250 comments, but there is only a handful of mentions of the geopolitical cause for the outages. Here is a sampling:

lavvyan - Aug. 6:

The Russians are coming!

No, wait...

[...]

nysidra - Aug. 7:

I remembered seeing this comment yesterday.

Just so you know, you were right. ^_^

Twitter's Meltdown: Blame the Russians

Also on Aug. 7, Eternal Remont quoted from a BBC piece (ENG), explaining the situation:

Yesterday, as blood poured down from the heavens, the seas boiled and the Earth was ripped apart because of the Denial of Service attack against Google, Twitter and Facebook (“OMG, I can’t tweet about the fact that Twitter is down!) we pondered one alluring possibility: is Russia involved?

Maybe. We do know that the disruption of all social networking on the planet was directed at one person:

BBC: "The massively co-ordinated attack on websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter was directed at one individual, a pro-Georgian blogger known as Cyxymu… Specifically, the person is an activist blogger and a botnet was directed to request his pages at such a rate that it impacted service for other users." [...]

And so, on the eve of the first anniversary of the war, LJ user cyxymu - whose nickname is a latinized version of the Russian spelling of Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia - became a celebrity of sorts.

Cyrillic LJ users - diana-ledi, taki-net, markgrigorian and many others - reported (RUS) not being able to publish posts and comments containing cyxymu's nickname.

His primary LJ blog and two backups - cyxymu1 and cyxymu2 - are currently inaccessible (some of his recollections, however, were translated by Global Voices' author Lyndon in Oct. 2007 and July 2008: The War in Abkhazia - ‘Cyxymu' Remembers, and Abkhazia, Georgia: "Home.”)

Cyxymu also has a Blogger blog, Twitter account, a public Facebook page, and a Facebook group with more than 750 members, created by someone else to support his cause.

Evgeny Morozov of the Foreign Policy's Net.Effect blog wrote (ENG) that he'd been "calling attention to CYXYMU's problems for months now, and this brought no results." Here is Evgeny's take on the recent cyber attacks:

[...] In short, I think that the current wave of attacks had one objective: to flesh attackers' cyber-muscles by revealing the kind of leverage that CYXYMU's detractors have on the Internet's most popular sites. Make no mistake: these attacks on Twitter and Facebook were NOT about silencing him down or thwarting the distribution of information that would Kremlin feel uncomfortable. [...]

If you carefully look at CYXYMU's Twitter account (most of it in Russian), you will see that there is really no information of ANY political significance there. He's been tweeting since late December 2008, produced 41 updates, and most of them had nothing to do with politics (here are some typical updates: "Summer is good!", "Life is great! I am recalling all the jokes about mothers-in-law", "Oh those bureaucrats").

This is definitely not the kind of stuff that threatens Kremlin. [...] His blog is also somewhat of a news hub: he has done an amazing job of keeping his followers in the loop as to what happens in Abkhazia and Georgia, the two regions that are not exactly in the center of media attention (even in Russia). He's definitely NOT the blogosphere's version of Anna Politkovskaia; it is his opinions and visibility - rather than his revelations - that have made him an important target.

Thus, I think that the attackers' real goal was humiliation, not censorship (however, more on the censorship part at the very end). A secondary goal was to generate awe-inducing headlines about Russia's cyberpower all over the Web; there is no better way to do it these days than to make Twitter inaccessible for a few hours. [...]

Ostap Karmodi wrote (RUS, link via LJ user drugoi) that "the attackers" would have probably thought twice before doing what they did if only they had been capable of foreseeing the outcome of their attacks:

[...] The result of yesterday's attack is that cyxymu, so disliked by some hackers, has become known to the whole world. The Spanish El Pais has written about him, and the French Liberation, and the German Spiegel, and the British Guardian, and the American Washington Post, and the Japanese Yomiuri. In short, all the main papers of the world. Some of them have even done short interviews with cyxymu. From now on, if a conflict between Russia and Georgia breaks out again, the world media will know who to talk to.

From now on, cyxymu's opinion on Russian politics will be interesting to the whole world - the opinion of a person who caused a crash of a hundred million accounts is always interesting.

The day before yesterday cyxymu was known to no more than ten thousand people. Today he is known to - what's the audience of the world media? 500 million? A billion? And most of these people sympathize with him - people do tend to sympathize with victims of mass persecution. [...]

Here is one of Evgeny Morozov's theories on who might be behind the attacks:

[...] The amateurization of cyberwarfare has been one permanent feature of virtually all recent cyber-attacks that somehow implicated Russia; it may be part of a broader Kremlin effort to "crowdsource" its defenses and offenses to groups of nationalistic vigilantes, not just in cyberspace. Thus, recent news reports suggest that Nashi, Kremlin's youth arm, will soon be recruiting up to 100,000 problematic teenagers to form ARMED militia units that would patrol the streets. It would make some sense if they also invest into units of "cyber-vigilantes" who would be patrolling cyberspace, particularly given the rising importance of the Internet in Russia's public life. [...]

And LJ user dolboeb felt, too, that "the recent initiative to create street 'militia units' in Russia" and the idea to attack cyxymu's blogs could have originated from the same source. He wrote (RUS):

[...] Indeed, why would the regime torture itself, trying to come up with some general anti-internet laws, the way the naive Kazakhs and the old-fashioned Chinese did, when a pack of patriotically-minded thugs is close at hand, ready to crash any service or resource [as soon as they are ordered to (or even without being ordered to)]. [...]

LJ user drugoi pointed in a slightly different direction in this very short and sarcastic post (RUS):

A request

Comrade [officer], I've written a post about The Beatles. Will you allow me to publish it? There's not a single word about Georgia in it. Will you please turn off your hurdy-gurdy for five minutes?

(The Beatles post (RUS) is here, by the way - it commemorates the 40th anniversary of the famous Abbey Road photo.)

Russia, Ukraine, the Balkans: Eurovision News

Global Voices Online
Thursday, March 12, 2009

The controversy caused by Georgia's Eurovision Song Contest entry seems to be over (or, depending on one's perspective, has reached its climax), now that Georgia has decided not to take part in this year's event in Moscow, following the European Broadcasting Union's demand that the lyrics of the 'We Don't Wanna Put In' song are either changed or a different song entered.

Russia's own entry is causing controversy now as well, however. Andy of Siberian Light explains:

In a move sure to delight conspiracy theorists and bloggers everywhere, Mam[o] by Anastasia Prikhodko was picked to represent Russia at this year’s Eurovision.

The controversy? Well, Prikhodko is Ukrainian, and Mamo is sung partly in Russian and partly in - gasp - Ukrainian. Oh yes, and Prikhodko only entered the Russian qualification contest after she’d been kicked out of the Ukrainian qualification contest. [...]

Here are Andy's thoughts on the geopolitical dimension of Russia's entry - and a forecast of sorts:

[...] Anyways, personally I think it’s a bit of a coup for Russia. They not only get to put one over arch enemies Georgia, who have entered a grumpy song about how they don’t like Putin - they get to claim that in Russia, music is all about peace and goodwill between neighbours. Oh, and that they like Ukrainians, really.

And, actually, I think the song’s ok - it’s not great, but Russia certainly won’t be disgraced in May. [...]

Vasyl of uaMuzik wrote this about Russia's entry - as well as the Ukrainian one:

[...] Now let's go down to ringside here at the WMSC (World Mudslinging Song Contest) to hear he announcer's opening words. "In the right corner representing the host country of Russia, last year's Eurovision winner, we have from Ukraine, Anastasia Prykhodko singing Mamo. Her opponent in the left corner, formerly of Via Gra, Russia's T&A project for the 21st century, we have Svitlana Loboda!"

In all honesty folks, this is really what this whole thing has come down to, for all it's worth. In fact some Russians are fuming that a Ukrainian, would be representing them at this year's ESC and sing not in solely Russian or English for that matter, but heaven forbid, the chorus of her song in Ukrainian using the vocative case, which doesn't exist in the Russian language... [...]

While there is talk of suspected vote-rigging in Anastasia Prykhodko's case, this isn't a uniquely Russian problem. Belgraded - in a review of "Balkan Eurosong losers of 2009" - writes this about the winning entries:

[...] Connections with the people counting the votes are always important for Balkanian qualification finals, and this year’s local competitions were no exception. To see who had the best connections and/or managed to offer most money to the jury, go to Balkan File. [...]

Balkan File, it should be noted, isn't too optimistic about "Eurovision Hopefuls" from "the former Yugoslavia, plus Albania":

[...] Will Eurovision return to the region next year after a short break in Russia? Probably not. [...]

Back to the actual "losers," here is what Belgraded writes about the Serbian ones:

[...] Best Serbian losers we’ve had in years – they have it all: opera, gay love between the Matrix priest and the high ranking army official, communist babes, and opera. Yes, I know I already said opera. Some people claim to hear ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘You’ll never walk alone’ tunes in there somewhere but I just can’t concentrate enough to spot them. [...]

And here's a video of the performers described above:



In the comments section to this post, Sajkaca wrote:

Let’s be honest, if there would be just some good songs with traditional performance, nobody would watch Eurovision Contest. It’s a magnet because you know it can get embarassing! [...]

Russia: Conscript Seeks Asylum in Georgia

Global Voices Online
Thursday, January 29, 2009

Aleksandr Glukhov, a 21-year-old Russian conscript, has asked for asylum in the Republic of Georgia to escape the "unbearable conditions" in the Russian army. One of Glukhov's media appearances took place as he was dining at a McDonald's restaurant in Tbilisi. Russian officials claim that Glukhov was captured by Georgian armed forces in South Ossetia, where he was performing his compulsory military service, and taken to the Georgian capital. Quite a few people in Russia seem to consider Glukhov "a traitor." Below are some of the reactions from the Russophone blogosphere.

LJ user shurigin:

[...] The defense ministry is currently [trying to figure out how all this could have happened]. To begin with, it turns out that this soldier is a conscript. How he got to South Ossetia, despite the order to staff military units with contract soldiers - no one can answer this question coherently.

LJ user introvertoff:

I was on the way home late at night yesterday. On a [bus], in addition to me, there was a bus driver, a couple of men and a couple of women, aged 50 to 60. The radio was playing the news:

"And, finally, metropolitan Kirill becomes the finalist of the "choose the patriarch" game," - the radio was saying something like this, only in a more formal style. [...] The bus filled with happy noise - women and men started a joyful discussion about how they worried, how they hoped, how they prayed. They are happy that the Church will now turn to the right path, etc.

And suddenly! They started talking about the news of the deserter Sergeant Glukhov on the radio. And the happy noise was replaced with angry cries - "How could he!", "A dirty deserter!", "He's exchanged his motherland for junk food!", "And he was under oath!", "Impale him, the dog, impale him!" Orthodox Christians, who were [wiping tears of joy] a minute ago, turned into bloodthirsty fanatics demanding punishment for a traitor! [...]

LJ user drugoi:

[...] He's not a traitor, of course. Just a fool, immature, a boy. He doesn't belong in the army, he should be making sand pies in a sandbox still.

LJ user mike67:

Maybe Glukhov deserves condemnation, but how to do it when you are weeping with laughter? [...]

When it turns out that a soldier has defected to the enemy because his unit didn't have a bath and the commander was cursing when orders weren't carried out... No one believes this. They are looking for politics, suspect pressure from the Georgian side. What pressure? Wake up: it's the same people who interpret a request to take out the garbage as an attempt on their human dignity. This is a free generation, [...], and they sure know about honor and dignity a lot more than we do.

[...]

No one is getting it: it's not politics, it's an infantile generation, raised on [...] an opportunity to take a loan for a plasma-panel display - or even a car - right after high school. [...] The idea that every person deserves the best [...] is spreading around the world like a virus. [...]

A note on the living conditions in the Russian army, by LJ user shabolovka38, in a comment to LJ user grazy-gunner's post:

[...] And one woman there says: Yes, the conditions are bad. They live in tents, heated by stoves.

And where are soldiers supposed to live? In a cottage?

LJ user budimir:

Aleksandr Glukhov: «I'm loving it!».

McDonald's has launched a creative [...] advertisement: a Russian soldier, unable to bear the hardships of service in South Ossetia, where they didn't feed him properly, deserts to the Georgian side and finds happiness there [...].

LJ user merjageko:

I wonder if Russia is going to send tanks to Georgia, to save Sergeant Glukhov? Because he's being tortured with McDonald's there...

LJ user neznaika-nalune asks:

Tell me, is an out-of-the-way McDonald's with peeling walls a new symbol of the "famed Georgian hospitality" and the "famous Georgian cuisine?"

LJ user taganay replies:

This kind of hospitality befits this kind of a defector.

Israel: A Russian Photojournalist's Notes

Global Voices Online
Thursday, January 22, 2009

Dmitry Kostyukov (LJ user kostyukov), a Russian photojournalist, is currently on assignment in Israel. In August 2008, he was covering the war in South Ossetia, and here is a 6-minute slideshow of the photos he took there:



Since he posted this selection on his blog while already in Israel, one of his readers asked an obvious question (RUS):

hapylliutejib:

Drawing some parallels [between the two conflicts] or is it just a sudden memory?

Kostyukov replied:

No hidden intent here, no subtext... everything is simpler. First, the war reminded me of the war (although I never really forget about it), and, second, I've sent off [a number of Ossetia pictures] to [the World Press Photo contest], so there is a reason to post it all here.

In his posts from Israel, however, Kostyukov does mention the previous conflict, noting how different it was working there and, yes, drawing some parallels, too. He also provides some general insight into the work of a war photographer. Below are three excerpts, translated from Russian.

Jan. 12, 2009:

[...]

A strange war... in the midst of civilization, in the midst of a wonderful world. As if it's happening in the middle of a fairy tale town. Does not resemble Ossetia at all. Here, they are transporting tanks to positions on trucks, driving on asphalt, because it's faster this way, of course. There's war here, and WiFi nearby, cozy restaurants and hotels. On a country road, a [self-propelled artillery vehicle] is re-positioning, and a farmer on tractor is watering something on a nearby field.

And the people are used to war, ready for it. Here, there are bomb shelters in every house, cafe, gas station. There are shelters along the road. Israelis know how to act correctly, which radio station to tune in to to learn about danger, they know where to run to...

[...]

In Gaza now there must be pure hell, I guess. Seeing how much of everything is falling there now, it's scary to imagine being there yourself. They are not letting [anyone] in and out of Gaza now. We have only one photographer there, I guess. He calls us and you can hear by his voice that the pressure is growing. A missile hit the building next to our Gaza office.

On the Israeli side, all the journalists stand on two or three hills from which one can see well the areas under fire. [...]

The main difficulty is that journalists aren't allowed to work with the army. [...] Soldiers don't care whether anyone is photographing them or not, it's the military police that's taking care of that, and they are asleep until 8 AM. That's why everyone is gathering pictures to last them the whole day from 6 AM to 8 AM, and then they get their long-range lenses out and observe the bombings.

I guess in this war I am in a position of those journalists who were in Georgia on the [Gori] side - everything is closed off [...].

Jan. 17, 2009:

[...] The most disgusting thing is that the editors keep calling, saying things like, "Hey, what are you doing over there? Find us a soldier with a flag standing next to a tank!" Damn, there's nothing like that here! There are some people, but it's a huge territory, the army is moving, and we don't have the right to be here at all. [...]

But today we've met this couple. They live right next to the border. The guy said right away that he was ultra-right. He said the following... All that our army is doing here, it's all [really lightweight]. We kill 1,000 - that's very little. They give birth to 500 children in one night. Forty thousand should be killed. [...] We should invite Mr. Putin over. Hire him and pay him 2 million a day. And it wouldn't be too much of an expense. He'll quickly do what needs to be done. And we'll be able to leave peacefully for the next 20 years or so.

I'm not going to talk about how 'slightly' surprised I was. Of course, there are enough fools everywhere, but how come Putin has become the reference point for the ultra-right? I'm not an expert in the history of the Jewish people, but I suspect that many Jews fled to Israel from the Soviet regime, the repressions, etc. And now there are people in their country who are saying things like this?

Lately, I've been hearing about Russia in the following context, more or less: you journalists are always lying, but tell us, why the U.S. [is allowed to do what it's doing] in Iraq and Afghanistan, why Russia [is allowed to do what it's doing] in Georgia and Chechnya - while we aren't allowed? I hear this "why Russia is allowed" more and more often in all kinds of places. Not just here.

Soldiers and ordinary civilians are often asking: "Why are you lying? Why are you showing Israel from such a negative perspective? What have we done to you? Why aren't you saying the truth?" God, in such moments I just don't know what to say, because we always hear stuff like this.

In Gaza I'd be told the same thing. Why are they killing us? Why are you talking so little about it? [...]

In Ossetia, though, it hurt especially badly. We were doing all we could. Dozens of photos every day - tears, dead people, ruined houses, constant commentary... not many journalists were doing this. And still, I was always hearing that we were shit.

We returned and my friends started saying that I didn't do my job well. That, like, it's hard to understand what we were doing there when the whole world thinks that Russia started it first. Why weren't we showing how terrible Georgia was.

Later, I was in Gori and people there were jumping on us again, saying: Why are you lying? Why aren't you showing how tough it is for us? Why aren't you saying how terrible Russia is? A crowd of women started showing the traces of a missile blast to me. They started asking me to take a picture of it. I lost control and said that they hadn't seen Tskhinval and what it was like there now. I think it's easy for you to imagine what and how they responded to me. It's good that there were soldiers nearby.

Perhaps there are professions that are always drawing harsh words and yet everyone continues to use those services. Doctors, the police, teachers, politicians, journalists. And there are reasons to be saying harsh words, of course, but it's also clear that in these professions there are always situations when it's very easy to make a mistake. And sooner or later everyone makes a mistake. But this does not justify us, perhaps. [...]

Jan. 19, 2009:

We got nearly shot to death today. Now I have this strange feeling. Keep thinking that a few more seconds and that would've been it... More often than not, journalists do get killed in silly ways. We didn't notice a camouflaged checkpoint, and we stopped only when the safety lock was off and the gun was a few meters away from our heads. Strange, but in a situation like this, all you see are the eyes [of the person about to shoot]. I don't know about myself, but my colleague [...] turned white as a sheet in one second. In Georgia, a TASS photographer [Aleksandr Klimchuk] was killed in such an absurd way - he replied 'Gamarjoba' ['hello' in Georgian] [...] to a greeting of the Ossetians. And with me, it's like nothing special has really happened, but in about ten minutes I was shaking so much inside as if I'd drunk ten cups of coffee.

Kostyukov's photos of the Israeli troops' pullout are here and here.

South Ossetia: A Photojournalist's Musings On the War

Global Voices Online
Monday, September 15, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

Firsthand reports from the conflict zone in the Caucasus continue to appear here and there in the Russophone blogosphere. On Sept. 8, one month since the beginning of the war in South Ossetia and Georgia, Russian photojournalist Oleg Klimov posted his musings (RUS) on what the war looks like and what it smells like, on the media and propaganda, and on what seems like a universal nature of wartime looting.

[Oleg Klimov's photo of peacekeepers "between Tskhinvali and Gori"]

[Oleg Klimov's photo of a post-funereal "wake amidst the ruins in Tskhinvali"]

[Oleg Klimov's photo of "a village between Tskhinvali and Gori"]

Worst of all I dislike the smell of war. Its stench. A combination of burned damp wood, plastic and the smell of dead bodies. "A parfume." A sense of war smell is one of the five important senses, an ability to perceive and recognize the smell of the events of the past. I've always regretted that photos, like money, do not smell... If they smelled, we'd definitely be all sick now. At the beginning, at least, more than from the graphic pictures of dismembered bodies and other horrors...

Tonight, I watched a "documentary" from Vesti-24 [on a Russian state-owned channel]. Turns out Georgians have been "genociding" Ossetians and the Abkhaz throughout centuries. I really don't understand where the law on "inciting ethnic hatreds" is. This hatred is being imposed not just on the level of "politicians and journalists," but on the level of peoples. And the peoples hate each other. And "the smartest politicians" say that on a human level, it is possible to understand the people... Expect that it is exactly on a human level that it's impossible to understand this.

Georgian houses are being burned and looted. The same is happening to the Ossetian houses. And they'll continue to burn and loot them. Perhaps, this is human nature. It always happens this way during "ethnic wars." It was there in Bosnia and Kosovo. In Pala (close to Sarajevo), in the [neutral zone], detachments of "Russian Cossacks" and [mercenaries] were among those who did the looting. There was a whole "system" to it: risking their lives, they were delivering carpets, TV sets, etc., to the Serbian zone and selling them wholesale to the middlemen, who, in their turn, were selling the "trophy goods" at civilian markets. I witnessed this in person and heard attempts at justification: "freelance mercenaries" have nothing left to do because no one is paying them for "heroism at someone else's war."

Outside Tskhinval (and inside the city, too) any car near a deserted house means one thing: looters. If you ask them, "What are you doing?", they'll respond: "Oh, nothing, our relatives used to live here..." There've been instances of murder, however, as well. Of women, too, not just men. And there is blackmail. For example, at one village the local police rounded up the residents and issued an ultimatum to them: "If you don't pay $10,000, we'll burn the whole village!" (This is almost official info from the Dutch embassy.)

[...]

Georgia, Russia: Interethnic Relationships

Global Voices Online
Thursday, August 28, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

Tbilisi-based LJ user shupaka writes this (RUS) about what it feels like to be an ethnic Russian in Tbilisi now:

Today once again I've been asked - how do they treat Russians [in Georgia]? Won't it get them in trouble if they speak Russian in Tbilisi?

My mother is Russian and my mother-in-law is Russian. I asked them, just in case - how do they treat you here? Aren't they oppressing you? Mamas say - no, they aren't oppressing us.

They are Georgian citizens, these mamas of mine, and they are getting as many problems from the Russian leadership as all the other Georgian citizens.

It's easier for my mother-in-law - her parents live in Ukraine; to mama it's tougher - her father and sisters live in Siberia.

Mama speaks Georgian at work, in the street, in stores and on public transportation. With some accent, though, and not always without mistakes, and stranger often ask her: "Sadauri har?" That is, where are you from? Georgians love it when a non-Georgian can speak Georgian.

And my mother-in-law speaks Russian most of the time. And she also teaches Russian to children - a few times in the evening every week she reads the likes of [Korney Chukovsky] and [Nikolay Nosov] to the neighborhood kids. And the number of her students hasn't decreased - she has as many as she had before the occupation.

I've conducted an extremely silly experiment today - I was addressing people in Russian. On a bus, I was saying 'ostanovite, pozhaluysta' ['please stop here'] instead of 'gaacheret,' at a store I was asking for 'butylku borzhoma' ['a bottle of Borjomi mineral water] instead of 'erti bordjomi,' at a drugstore... well, et cetera. I haven't noticed any negative reaction.

Earlier this month, on Aug. 12, LJ user voinodel (Vadim Rechkalov, Russian war correspondent for Moskovsky Komsomolets) posted this "monologue" (RUS) by Ms. Lobzhanidze, a resident of Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia, Russia:

- My son-in-law is Ossetian. My 8-year-old grandson would be Ossetian, too - on his father's side, that is. I myself am Russian. By blood, that is. But in my passport, I'm Georgian. They've canceled [the 'ethnicity' line] in passports now, but my last name is Georgian, I've inherited it from my late husband. My son is Georgian in his passport, too, and by blood as well - if, of course, you look at his father's side. He's married to an Armenian. And who am I after all this - my grandson is Ossetian, while my granddaughter is Georgian - if, of course, you look at her father's side?

But I'm most concerned about my son. Anything can happen now. The [South Ossetians] will now come back from the war angry. And they'll begin... I don't even know what to expect...

I thought I was paranoid. I called [the police]. What should I do in this situation, I asked. You see, my son is Georgian. A policewoman asked: and where is he registered, what's his citizenship? I say, he's registered in Vladikavkaz, Russian citizen. He was born here, has never been to Georgia. Doesn't approve of Saakashvili's politics. But our last name is Lobzhanidze. What shall we do?

The woman listened to me carefully and said: take all precaution measures. We've been flooded by all kinds of people, she said. Try to protect him. Don't let him out in the street on his own. How old is your son? He's 30 already, I reply. How can I not let him out. And the policewoman continues: well, I understand you, the situation is tense, but we can't give every person an officer [to guard him/her]. Have there been incidents already, I ask. No, she replies, not yet...

P.S.

All the relatives of [Ms. Lobzhanidze] sit at home since Aug. 8. They don't even go to work. But that's only those who are on her husband's side. The Armenian and Russian relatives don't seem to have anything to fear. Not yet.

Russia, Georgia: Unilateral Recognition of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's Independence

Global Voices Online
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

Russia has formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia today. Below are some of the initial reactions from LiveJournal's Cyrillic sector.

Russian LJ user sholademi (Samson Sholademi) writes (RUS):

[...] Now the most interesting part begins... P.S. The line has been crossed, sort of. Though, in the past two weeks, since the beginning of the war in Georgia, everything that Russia does, for the first time in several years, does not cause me to feel outraged and critical (despite my "love" for Putin & Co.). Quite the opposite: everything's been done correctly. Long live the isolation! Hm... And what do you think about the recognition of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's independence?

A few comments:

lyks:

Isolation - that's a good point. Soon we'll be traveling withing clearly defined borders, right? Farewell, India, goodbye, America [...]?

***

schtv_girl:

I think that we can, at last, be proud of our country! Regardless of how controversial it all is, regardless of how much they are accusing us of double standards, we've become strong! Russia is coming back! Join the action! [...]

***

zenya_zenya:

..............Couldn't care less..........Absolutely........

***

kirill_praha:

I think that those who live in Russia and wants to travel around the world, they should consider moving. Or getting a dual citizenship, which is difficult.

***

sethnagh:

Great. Now a wide river of the money of the Russian tax-payers will flow to these new "brotherly republics," damn it, to the stinking [Caucasus natives].

Georgian-Ukrainian LJ user vaxo (Vakhtang Kipiani) writes (UKR):

[...] You're a fool, Medvedev. Not a single normal country will support Russia. Now we'll see what a direct confrontation with the world is like.

A few comments:

yangel:

Such a scenario was to be expected (

***

viebelle

I have an impression that for the past couple of weeks [they couldn't care less and were doing as they pleased]. As for [Medvedev], I don't think he played the lead part in this.

vaxo:

Right, but he was the one to sign this order. And legally, he is the one responsible for it.

[...]

yangel:

[...] At one point, Turkey unilaterally recognized the independence of Northern Cyprus - do you think that Turkey has spent all these years in international isolation?

***

deniko76:

With so much oil, Russia can afford self-isolation. But I don't really understand why they should prefer isolation and being surrounded by "a circle of hatred" to normal friendly relationship with the neighbors.

***

steel_archer:

Their oligarchs keep their money in Swiss banks, and their villas are in London. We'll see what kind of isolation it will be )))

***

a_kulik:

There won't be any confrontation with the world. If there hadn't been Kosovo, there would've been a confrontation. But after Kosovo, everything will be OK for Russia. America has exchanged South Ossetia for Kosovo.

***

ledilid:

And these people are not allowing others to recognize Kosovo... [...]

***

agrp_xtb:

Direct confrontation with whom? With small but proud Estonia? Do you still believe that there is "confrontation" between the United States and the Russian Federation? [...]

Georgian LJ user djdrive (Misha Tavkhelidze) writes (RUS):

Looks like Putinodvedev has gone totally nuts. What are they pulling their country into?

1. War
2. Economic abyss
3. Disintegration

Russian, all of you who can, flee this country, while the curtain is still up! It'll be impossible to get a visa later.

One of the comments:

dimanklg:

Oh please. We are used to that.

Georgian-Russian LJ user som writes (RUS):

"Russia, you've gone nuts" (c)

I remember our answer to the civil defense teacher's question: What should you do if you see the nuclear mushroom at the horizon? - Pull a white bed sheet over your head and crawl to the cemetery.

Looks like the idiots believe that it's possible to win WWIII.

During the Caribbean Crisis, Kennedy and Khrushchev had enough of common sense to stop 20 minutes before the catastrophe. Will these ones have it, too? I don't really want to check.

Some of the comments:

psa_98:

Your lovely country (and especially two of its regions [Abkhazia and South Ossetia], whose population is smaller than Butovo [one of Moscow's districts]) aren't really worth a nuclear mushroom. I think that the Russian Federation is wrong in this conflict, but Saakashvili (and his curators from the State Department) have to be blamed equally - they've lost the game, too.

***

piligrim:

[...] Do you really think that Georgia is enough of a reason for the United States and NATO to start WWIII?

luarvique:

Well, Prince Ferdinand and Serbia were much of a reason, either...

a_gru:

And are you sure that only Americans and NATO states can start a war? Is there really no one but them out there?

***

pindle:

[...] I think Europe will thank us - quietly, of course. We've closed the situation, created a new, long-term and stable status quo, which is a lot more convenient for Europe than the previous one. [...]

LJ user physik_alfa writes (RUS) in the ru_politics LJ community:

Personally, I pity Abkhazia. They've been basically equaled with the thieves from South Ossetia. They could've been flourishing on tourism... Slowly, perhaps, but on their own and without blood. And now Kremlin [thugs] will seize everything for themselves there.

A few comments:

vyacha:

The Abkhaz aren't that naive when it comes to foreign investments. According to their laws, a foreign (including Russian) company cannot independently get involved in, say, construction there, can't even open a branch [...] office there. What's possible, though, are 50/50 investments with an Abkhaz [individual or company] [...]. I don't think anything will change much now. They know how to count their own money.

***

afx237_v7:

I was [in Abkhazia] a couple years ago and learned a lot of interesting things. Turns out many touristic objects [...] have already been bought (rented for 50 years, since the Abkhaz constitution does not allow to sell land to foreigners) by the Moscow guys.

LJ user dmitrivrubel has posted a graph illustrating what happened to the Russian stocks after Dmitry Medvedev made his Abkhazia and South Ossetia announcement at 3 PM Moscow time today:



LJ user onkel_hans commented (RUS):

In countries where economy rules, things like this lead to the fall of the government.

South Ossetia: Tskhinvali Photos and Reports

Global Voices Online
Friday, August 22, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

On Aug. 21, Columbia Journalism Review published Julia Ioffe's overview of several Russian journalists' blogging from the war in South Ossetia. Featured in her piece are reports by LJ user krig42 (Komsomolskaya Pravda reporter Dmitry Steshin) and LJ user ep-news (Evgeny Poddubny, correspondent for TV Center); also mentioned are LJ user m-romanoff (Mikhail Romanov, who, together with Ilya Barabanov - LJ user barabanch - contributed a story from Tskhinvali (RUS) to The New Times weekly) and Moskovsky Komsomolets correspondent Irina Kuksenkova.

Below are a few more blog posts from Russian and North Ossetian journalists, with photos and accounts of what they've seen in the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali over the past week.

LJ user voinodel (Vadim Rechkalov, war correspondent for Moskovsky Komsomolets) posted seven photos of Tskhinvali, taken from different perspectives, and wrote this (RUS):

Meet Vitalik. He is my good friend who has come to defend South Ossetia right from [Khankala, a Russian military base near Grozny]. Vitalik and I will now take you on a little guided tour around the ruined Tskhinval.

[photos of Vitalik]

You can photograph Tskhinval like this:

[a close-up photo of two blown-up tanks next to a residential building]

Or like this:

[photo of the same two tanks from a different angle]

But if you photograph it like this?

[four panoramic shots of Tskhinvali taken from a hill overlooking the city]

There are four pages of comments to Rechkalov's post. At one point, the journalist found it necessary to explain the point he was trying to make (RUS) when he posted the photos:

This post has only one message, totally intentional and clearly defined. In case someone has forgotten the information of the first two days. When Tskhinval was called the second [Stalingrad] and it was said that the city no longer exists. And all that.

[...]

I've a feeling that some [of the commenters who care so much about the Motherland] would be happy to see nothing but foundations [of the buildings] in these shots. What's wrong with you, guys? Are you crazy? Have you yourselves ever lived on [nothing but] a foundation? And have you washed yourself from a cup, along with your whole family? If 2,000 dead bodies haven't been confirmed, but, say, only 300 have - don't you like that? You need 2,000? Or, even better, 10,000? So that you could [strike] at Georgians in full force? But is that you who's gonna fight with them? Soldier Bogdanov will [...]. And you'll go on [posting comments], unaware that among those who defended Tskhinval were Georgians, too, and they were good fighters, and people respect them. Because one's ethnicity has nothing to do with it.

There's one message in this post - Tskhinval isn't Stalingrad. And you shouldn't use such words as Stalingrad in vain. [...]

LJ user pro100_petrov posted eight photos from Tskhinvali and wrote (RUS):

[...] In a nutshell: yes, the phrase "has been erased from the face of the earth" is an exaggeration when applied to this city. There are buildings that haven't been damaged too much. Now that they've replaced the windows in them, they look the way they did before the war.

[photo]

But in general the city looks like this:

[three photos, the last one is of a Tskhinvali school]

[photo of Hotel Alan: "Journalists were hiding in the basement here. [...] Damage is significant."]

[photo of a ruined house: "And this, they say, is the result of [Grad multiple-launch rocket system]. Hey, military folks! Is this really Grad?"]

[photo of a tank: "A blown-up Georgian tank. Lots of stuff like this all over the city. Next to the tank, there's a dead Georgian lying in the bushes. Many of them there, too. [...]"]

[photo of people on and around a tank: "Ossetian irregulars. Having their pictures taken with non-working mobile phones next to blown-up tanks."]

LJ user alan_tskhurbaev (North Ossetian journalist Alan Tskhurbaev) had this conversation (RUS) about the level of destruction in Tskhinvali with LJ user pro100-petrov in the comment section to one of his posts:

pro100_petrov:

[...] High-rises in the southern part [of the city] have indeed been damaged severely. But I wouldn't say that only half of the buildings are uninhabitable. I think it's 70-80 percent. Depends on what you consider inhabitable. If a missile makes a hole in the building's wall, but the basement and one room are intact - is this called inhabitable or not?

alan_tskhurbaev:

Yes, this isn't an easy question. Let's say there is a large nine-story building, with a huge hole under the roof, made by a missile. People live in this building, many of them. Should this building be considered destroyed or uninhabitable - or not? Especially when it's likely that the hole has been there since 1991.

But the main thing is that to me Tskhinval looked like a living city, not deserted and not destroyed, as it had been described in the media.

LJ user slonopatam posted a picture of two elderly women posing next to a blown-up tank in downtown Tskhinvali. LJ user butttto commented:

Life goes on... The old people know this better than the young ones...

LJ user liza-valieva (North Ossetian journalist Liza Valieva) posted three photos and wrote this (RUS) about the cleanup efforts in Tskhinvali:

[photo]

One of the first pictures taken in Tskhinval. Georgian prisoners, along with Tskhinvali residents, are cleaning up the city.

As one of the officials of South Ossetia's ministry of internal affairs told me, Georgian prisoners were allowed to wash themselves, were fed and then taken to clean Tskhinval and the surrounding areas. "Let them clean up the mess created by their fellow countrymen," he said.

I think it's a wise decision.

[photo]

I entered one of the first stores that re-opened in Tskhinval, where there was nothing but colored balloons, ketchup and mayo. The vendors were having a lively discussion about something. One of them said this to me in dismay:

[photo]

- Have you seen the Georgian prisoners who are cleaning up out there? If any of my relatives were killed, I'd go and kill one of them.

- They deserve pity, too, - I said, and immediately regretted having said it. I imagined the fury that would befall me. But, to my surprise, it did not happen, she agreed with me right away.

- Yes, I understand, they deserve pity, too.

Georgia, Russia: Feeding Looters and Refugees

Global Voices Online
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

A number of Tbilisi residents gathered in front of the Russian embassy Saturday for a protest prank against looting. LJ user oleg-panfilov posted photos and wrote this (RUS) about the initiative:

[...] To the Russian embassy in Tbilisi they brought old refrigerators, toilets, rolls of toilet paper, irons, bottles of vodka, forks and spoons, clothes and other objects that [looters from the Russian army] took interest in during their visits to private houses of Georgians, state institutions, military bases and army barracks.

People are coming up to have a closer look, shake their heads, laugh. Cars that are passing by are honking...

[six photos]

Tbilisi-based LJ user tony-geo wrote critically (RUS) about the stunt:

"Let's Feed the Russian Army" Action

The action itself is, of course, a powerful PR weapon. But only as long as many Russians get to know about it. I suspect, however, that neither [Vremya news show on Channel 1], nor [Vesti news show on RTR] are going to cover this action.

Here's what I mean. A Russian woman, mother of a Georgian officer, horrified, says that her mother in [Kaliningrad] has no idea whatsoever of what's going on in Georgia and thinks that the Georgian army is still attacking Tskhinvali, which is being courageously defended by the Soviet army. Thank God, she hasn't put a curse on her grandson, who is killing Russian soldiers in that Tskhinvali.

I confirm this report. I talked to my sister in Russia yesterday. Formally, my sister is Georgian, but she was born and grew up in Russia, just like myself, and has only spent a total of a few weeks in Georgia in the 30 years of her life. But she kept her Georgian maiden name when she got married [...]. Anyway, she's also clueless about what's going on. Most ordinary people do not use the internet and satellite TV to get reliable news - they are watching what the [Russian state-owned channels] are showing. So why should it be surprising that this majority firmly believes that the Russian troops have not stepped outside Tskhinvali [...]?

But this isn't my point. In a kindergarten [in one of Tbilisi's neighborhoods], there are 110 refugee families with lots of children. Social aid hasn't made it there. They put them there and that's it, if there's time - we'll help you. At this kindergarten, unlike at the school in the same area, there are children's beds at least. Most people sleep on the floor. There are no blankets and mattresses. They eat what they can buy on the money they've got left. As you understand, they don't have much money left. Yesterday, food was delivered just once to this kindergarten. Stale bread. For 110 families - seven kilos of sugar.

Last night, I took a sack with children's clothes, which I had planned to take to the central donation point [...], to this kindergarten. We (along with my neighbors) also took 20 kilos of sugar and one and a half kilo of butter there. Today I've brought them fruit, milk, [matsoni] and diapers.

Georgians, damn it, enough of the information war. Look out of the window, there are kindergartens and schools packed with refugees out there. First, take what you can to them, and then go to the Russian embassy. [...]

Georgia, Russia: The War's Virtual Dimension

Global Voices Online
Saturday, August 16, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

Like most other contemporary conflicts, the ongoing one in Georgia and South Ossetia has had a virtual dimension from its very start. Below are two bloggers' reflections on the wars raging outside the actual conflict zones.

LJ user basya - Ksenia Basilashvili, journalist with Radio Echo of Moscow and daughter of Russian actor Oleg Basilashvili - wrote this (RUS) about her family's origin and the coverage of the war by Russian and Western TV channels:

[...] When I hear [the word "Tskhinval"], I always think about my family's roots, about this faraway land - what should I call it? And I imagine the soil warmed up by the sun, a hot [lavash flatbread] right out of the oven, red pungent homemade wine... I think of how my humble grandfather packed and left for Moscow, and how he received education there and ended up heading the [College of Communications]. [...]

I'm watching [the Russian state-owned RTR's Vesti news show and Channel 1]. The dead, the injured, refugees, ruined buildings, pale children and old people in the basements.

I'm watching BBC and CNN - the dead, the injured, refugees, ruined buildings, pale children and old people in the basements.

Death and misery.

There is no difference between the pictures. Only [the former] are showing Tskhinval, and [the latter] are showing [Gori], [the former] are presenting this slaughter of civilians as "the aggression of Georgia against South Ossetia," while [the latter are presenting it as] "the aggression of Russia against Georgia." It's as if the TV channels have taken position in the trenches and know for sure what's going on. As if they know who the enemy, the devil, is. For us it's Georgia, for them it's Russia. And the truth is somewhere near...

Would be good to mix CNN and Vesti in one glass, it would make a great news channel, with the views of two, three, four sides [of the conflict].

I don't want to discuss here why they were at one point giving out [Russian passports to South Ossetians], who was the first one to start it all, who gave the orders, who is guilty. Who are the good ones and the bad ones.

Now it does not matter at all anymore. Because while the political and informational wars are taking place, over there - in South Ossetia, in Georgia - people are dying and suffering. [...]

Here's one of the comments (RUS) to this post:

homo_loquens:

Ksenia, please tell me, have you spent more than five minutes watching CNN and BBC? Haven't you seen a BBC interview with [Russia's foreign affairs minister Sergei Lavrov] and a CNN interview with [Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the UN], and regular live reports from Moscow on the position of [PM Vladimir Putin and president Dmitry Medvedev] on both channels? [...] Because you are not the first one of those who seem normal and bright to me, who are writing this, and I'm already beginning to wonder if I'm perhaps hallucinating - or do I have some different CNN and BBC broadcasting at my home?

LJ user pepsikolka - Samira Kuznetsova, a resident of [Poti], whose other posts have been featured on Global Voices here and here - wrote this (RUS) about her recent experience at the Russian-language social networking portal, Odnoklassniki.ru ("Classmates"):

There used to be a nice, peaceful, kind group at Odnoklassniki.ru site, [devoted to the city of Poti]. Tengo and I were posting lots of pictures there, and others weren't lazy, too. We interacted, joked, shared memories of the past. There was not a single day that I didn't write something in this group.

We were united by our city. Some people still live in it, for others it's the city of their childhood, where they spent their happiest years [...].

I was taking a special pleasure in [photographing] a window on the third floor of the "jeans house," the so-called Pentagon neighborhood, a willow tree on the Rioni river and the old swimming pool in our school's courtyard.

Adult people were happy as kids.

- Here, here I used to walk with my girlfriend.
- And here we used to go fishing.
- And on this bench we played lotto.
- Oy, here's my window, I used to sit for hours in front of it, waiting for mama to return from work.
- Samira, take a picture of this and that.
- Oy, the Pioneers' House and a puddle as big as 20 years years ago.

Now there is war at this forum. A wall of misunderstanding, reproaches, accusations, abuse, and people are deserting it like refugees. Today, an acquaintance of mine has written me to say that she's leaving the group. As if there was no love and nostalgia yesterday. Today it's a battlefield.

[...]

My former neighbor is screaming that we are NATO's servants. And she hates us for that.

And she used to teach me to play the piano. [...]

Georgia, Russia: Governments Unable to Protect Civilians

Global Voices Online
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Ukrainian journalist Ihor Lutsenko - LJ user igordaily - has just returned from an assignment in Georgia. Below is one the latest posts on his blog (UKR):

[...] It was difficult to get back. Many of our journalists got stuck there, because there are no return tickets, and they can't [do their work], because the road to Gori is blocked.

The essence. I would like to talk about two wonderful governments.

The Georgian [government], for some reason, did not announce officially and in a way that's easy to understand that there was a need to evacuate residents of Gori and the nearby villages. It did not help with evacuation in a systematic way. Private "patriots" didn't help, either, the ones who [drive recklessly] around Tbilisi with [Georgian] flags on their cars, even though it's only an hour's ride to the crisis area. And today in my almost native village of Tkviavi looters have killed five people, according to a local [I spoke with on the phone].

The Russian government has deserted its citizens in Georgia. They are calling the embassy of [the Russian Federation] in Tbilisi, asking for help (because direct flights have been canceled) - but they are told, It's your problem, get out any way you wish, we here are [almost being bombed] ourselves. Back home, however, the media are writing that they are all but handcuffed [and being held hostage by Georgians] - even though not a single Georgian has said a harsh word to them.

[Vladimir Putin and Mikheil Saakashvili], I hope that one day you'll pay in full [for this].

Georgia, Russia: “What's Next?”

Global Voices Online
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced the end of the so-called "peace enforcement" operation yesterday. LJ user varfolomeev66 - Radio Echo of Moscow journalist Vladimir Varfolomeev - asked this question on his blog: "What's next?"

He wrote (RUS):

I'm not referring to Georgia now.

The Russian government has used every serious crisis as a reason for yet another tightening of the screws and strengthening of its own positions. After the [Moscow apartment blasts of 1999], the [Second Chechen War] began, and Putin came to power. After [the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster] and then [the Nord-Ost theater siege in 2002], [ORT and NTV TV channels] were finally suppressed. After [Beslan school siege of 2004], regional elections were canceled.

What is the regime up to now?

Here are a few comments to this post:

oleg_kozyrev:

- Control of the internet

varfolomeev66:

Considering that there's almost nothing uncontrolled left, this is possible.

humanist_us:

They'll tighten the remaining screws on the internet.

And [Radio Echo of Moscow] ;)

Though you were definitely trying hard not to annoy our two dwarfs [with your coverage of the crisis]

Blogging from Tbilisi, LJ user oleg-panfilov - Oleg Panfilov of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations - posted the day's summary on his blog and explained (RUS) what the five-day crisis might mean for Georgia politically:

Today was the day of emotions.

First, an incredibly huge rally in the center of Tbilisi and people crying during Saakashvili's address.

Second, a day of waiting, while the politicians were discussing and expressing opinions on Georgia and its relations with Russia.

And finally, Georgia's departure from [CIS, the Commonwealth of Independent States]. For now, in the form of a political statement, but after a while, in a matter of a few days, Russia will automatically turn into an occupying force not just formally, but legally as well, because it will lose its status of a "peacekeeper" on behalf of CIS. And then, in accordance with all international laws, any presence of [Russian] troops on the territory of South Ossetia and Abkhazia can be recognized as illegal.

To put it differently, yet another military adventure has turned into [a nothing].

I don't know what kind of thinking overwhelmed Russian military commanders (of course, if there was any thinking involved at all), but Georgia has managed to endure and avoided getting back into the state it was in during the Soviet times. That is, a state of a ["large shashlyk restaurant"] for the Russian nomenclature.

If we analyze what's happened, we'll find many arguments both in favor of Georgia, and in favor of the imperial ways of today's Kremlin. One thing is clear, though - Georgia is not going to turn into a different country, it has tasted freedom in the past five years, has tasted democracy, despite the fact that many people do not like it.

Now it's up to other remnants of the Soviet empire whether they are going to continue living the way they did or will learn from Georgia.

Tomorrow is another day of waiting.

Below are a few comments:

mormegil11:

Georgia has lost South Ossetia and Abkhazia. When euphoria ends, gray everyday life will begin - without money transfers from [relatives working in] Moscow, without sea and air transport connection [with Russia], without working banks - and then the size of the catastrophe will grow larger than the size of the naive and excited crowd at the rally.

This war has no [winners or losers]. There is guilt, a feeling of enormous guilt before the dead ones: Georgians, Russians, Ossetians, Ukrainians, Dutch... And what is membership in CIS, or NATO, or anyplace else compared to this guilt...

rousyn:

"without money transfers from [relatives working in] Moscow"

Re-orientation of labor migration to the West? Isn't his progress? [...]

realpushkin:

Oleg, you are wrong, unfortunately. [...]

1) NATO countries and allies in general are not going to get themselves involved in a war with Russia, if it happens again - this is [counterproductive] for everyone.

2) Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not going to become part of Georgia even as autonomies - most likely, Russia will recognize their independence.

3) If it is proved that civilians died in Tskhinvali because of [the use of Grad multiple-launch rocket system] - Saakashvili will not have a chance to join [any organization]. [...]

Georgia: Russian Troops in Georgian Villages?

Global Voices Online
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Whereas things seem to be quiet in Tbilisi for now, North Ossetian blogger Alan Tskhurbaev - LJ user alan_tskhurbaev wrote this on Aug. 11 about the alleged advances of the Russian and South Ossetian troops in Georgia:

Talked with Tskhinval. According to [the person I talked with], Russian and South Ossetian troops have taken a Georgian village of Ergneti. They've also mopped up Avnevi. Then they'll move on to Nikozi, Tkiavi, and all the way to Gori. The Chechen battalion "East" is taking an active part.

And a quote from [the person I talked with]:

"Now the whole world is yelling that the bombing of Georgia is terrible, but isn't it as terrible to bomb Tskhinval?! Nothing will happen if Tbilisi beau monde wets their asses in the basements."

Georgia, Russia: Tbilisi Reports

Global Voices Online
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

Below are a few posts from bloggers who are currently in Tbilisi, Georgia.

LJ user merienn wrote this (RUS) from Tbilisi on Aug. 11 and 12:

Aug. 11, 2008 - 10:46 AM:

At 6 AM today, Marina called, scared to death: there was an explosion, and their windows were nearly smashed over at Gldani. Turned out the radars [...] that serve the international airport were being bombed.

Yesterday, Khelvachauri, a suburb of Batumi, was bombed, Sandro is staying there with grandfather and grandmother and doesn't want to go to the village to my parents.

Khatuna and I were walking with kids [at the park], it's almost empty, and we took them to McDonalds' - banned in peaceful times, it seems so attractive in the time of war.

Yesterday, crowds of people were marching all over the city with flags, chanting "Sakartvelo" - Mishka didn't understand what was going on.

- There's war now, and we are being bombed, and these people are demanding to stop all this.
- And who's doing the bombing? - Mishka the Ant asked, [his eyes huge with surprise].

I didn't tell him who was bombing us.

- Let them throw these bombs on themselves, I hate them, - Mishka got angry in a funny way.

Just a week ago we were chatting about some sweet trifles - where they do French manicure better, and where I put that swimming suit, and how to train your husband to hang his wet towel on the rope.

Now we are breaking our heads, [trying to figure out] how to get to Batumi with kids and avoid being shot at, where a safer place to take shelter is, who said what the UN Security Council, whether it is true that people got killed in Poti.

There's no panic. [...] There was shock on the first day, and then it started feeling as if we've been living like this for a hundred years. Crowds of people are donating blood. We knew that this is how it would be. [...]

We are not leaving anywhere. [Because] all they do is wait for us all to leave.

***

Aug. 11, 2008 - 11:54 AM:

[...] There is no Russophobia whatsoever - I've already said more than once that we have very clear boundaries separating the notions of the Russian state and the relations between the peoples. [...]

I'll pack a backpack, just in case - warm clothes, water, documents. Refugees have taught us so - the rest doesn't matter.

Though it is unclear where we'll be forced to go - there's not a single place in my country that's inaccessible for the brave fighter jets.

They bombed Gori once more. Bombed Kakhetia.

Sites hosted in Georgia have been hacked, there's no opportunity to access Russian sites, so LJ remains my only platform to keep in touch with the world. [...]

***

Aug. 11, 2008 - 07:00 PM:

[...] We've decided not to go yet because it is dangerous. At home, the walls [of a house] help. [...]

Value all that you have. Value the fact that you are alive and healthy, that you can watch a movie instead of the news, that you can buy a ticket and go anyplace you like. [...]

***

Aug. 12, 2008 - 01:38 AM:

I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow morning. Maybe tanks will enter the city. Mishka is asleep, my little boy, he kept turning around, asking: They aren't bombing Batumi, are they? He misses his brother. I shouldn't have told him yesterday. Though this way he is prepared, at least.

All hope for Sarkozy, maybe he'll convince them - but this is unlikely, too, no one is going to back out at this point - they'll be eating us hot.

Tbilisi-based LJ user dzvirpaso wrote this (RUS) on Aug. 11:

I've just called Ukraine's consul in Georgia, I know him well. He said that he and his family (wife and two children) are here. He said that those who wanted to leave were leaving, but assured me that the situation was stable. I asked whether he thinks if it would be better to leave or not, and he replied that there's no need to at this point, that everything is stable and will soon be over. If something happens, he will definitely call me.

LJ user oleg_panfilov reports (RUS) on the situation in Tbilisi this night:

I've just had a ride around the city - everything is quiet and calm. People are discussing the situation on the phones and that's why it's been impossible to reach friends in the past two or three hours. Some people manage to get through [to my number], ask me what to do, and then the phone goes silent again.

There is panic, of course, but for now only in conversations and discussions. Though there are those who've decided to leave already - mainly to Eastern Georgia, towards Azerbaijan.

I can't get rid of the thought that these people do not want to greet the occupational troops with flowers and wine - even though there's such an effort being done for them, all the demands for Saakashvili to escape... [...]

In another post, oleg_panfilov adds (RUS):

[...] Tomorrow there'll be plenty of politics.

Forgot to write that Eka Zguladze, deputy minister of foreign affairs of Georgia, has confirmed to me that tomorrow, in the middle of the day, presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Ukraine are expected to arrive in Tbilisi.

Georgia, Russia: Blogger From Poti Recounts the Bombing

Global Voices Online
Sunday, August 10, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

Here is LJ user pepsikolka's account (RUS) of what it felt like when the Russian planes were bombing Poti, her native city (more posts by this blogger have been translated here):

How it all was.

We worried much because of Ossetia, condemned the war and argued, and all of us, everyone who works [for our company], all those who surround me - no one has ever said that it was good that [Georgia] had entered Ossetia, everyone was sorry and upset.

In the evening, on the way back from work, some colleagues were saying that they were taking the children out of the city, what if they start bombing Poti, since it is, after all, a strategically important city, and I protested, saying that this will never happen, that if Russians do decide to help Ossetia (it wasn't yet clear at that point), they'll help the Ossetian people and that would be it.

Around midnight I heard some roaring, ran up to the window and saw shaft of fire, explosions at the port and heard a deafening noise. I didn't even have the time to get scared, I just knew that if a cistern with oil at the terminal gets hit, there'll be fire and an explosion, so I grabbed the phone, called Tengo, Vika answered, screaming - Samira, the port is being bombed. Mama with Alina and our niece were running aimlessly around the apartment, the explosions continued, and we ran downstairs. There were people in the street, they were crying and everyone looked terribly alarmed.

I don't really understand, but some explosions and gunfire sounds continued. Someone was running and screaming that [we should all] leave, as we are close to the port, and we all ran. Planes were flying, there were some lights, and it seemed as if they were being shot at from the ground, I don't know, there was roaring in the sky and one could see the light of either missiles or I don't know what.

We took shelter [inside one building], there were screams all around, women and children were crying.

There was no phone connection, and before that they had turned TV off.

We didn't understand anything about what happened.

Clearly, no one was expecting this.

We went to my sister, to the area that's far off from the port, Mos'ka was sobbing, very frightened, she was born in 1994 and didn't know how we were running in 1992, during the storming of the city of Poti by the Georgian army [and pushing out supporters of Zviad Gamsakhurdia], and her sister Katerina was being born, and we were asking the evacuating Russian army for help. Military doctors did end up delivering Kat'ka at the hospital.

But that was a long time ago.

Now Mos'ka was crying, and so were other children in the courtyard.

They were not bombing anymore, but people were still afraid to enter the buildings.

We began moving towards our house. Next to every building, there were crowds of people who were afraid to go up to their apartments.

A woman nearby was talking on the phone, and suddenly she gave out a heartrending scream, people grew loud, and I felt fear at a subconscious level. I told my sister not to speak Russian. [The woman] was in a state of temporary insanity, mama asked what happened in Georgian, they said that Senaki was bombed, there were the mobilized [men] there, and [the woman's] brother was killed.

We ran home, started calling [family and friends].

It turned out that a bomb hit our terminal, my colleague, a friend, who was working a night shift, got injured with shrapnel, broken ribs, his lungs and head were hurt, too. The reservoirs were not damaged, only the foam station, and a substation at the port. At the port, seven people were killed, I guess, and some were injured. The guy who worked for the Odessa-Poti ferry agent company was killed. They also brought the killed ones from Senaki, the reservists were let go from there, another of our colleagues was injured by the bomb.

People were so frightened that no one was discussing politics, everyone tried to get closer to one another, some people were crossing themselves and whispering prayers.

I was thinking only about one thing, that we should all stick together.

In the morning, we were running away again, because one of the bombs hadn't exploded and they brought in sappers to disarm it.

I was looking out of the window and saw people with bags who were running away, driving away in cars to villages, to Adzharia. My friend Lenka has rented a room in Kobuleti and is staying there with her family.

The city is empty, most stores are closed.

Tengo didn't leave anywhere, we run to see each other from time to time.

Poti hasn't been bombed anymore, we heard some gunshots yesterday, but don't know what it was. I can't even imagine what it's like for those poor people in Tskhinvali.

No one needs this damn war.

I'm not a politician and I don't have politicians in my circle who think that this is how it should be. I do not distinguish between Ossetians, Georgians and Russians. My friend's grandmother is Ossetian, we are Russian, but we have Georgian relatives, son-in-law is a Ukrainian, who the hell cares, the main thing is for this to be over as soon as possible and that no one else dies.

Those of you who write that here, you Georgians are getting what you deserve.

Deserve what? What for? Are we guilty of anything?

Are Georgians some monsters, don't they have the same blood running in their veins as anyone else? Old people are crying and it's unbearable to watch it. And no one has ever told me that all this is because of you, Russians. Not a single person, not once. I admit that there are people who may say this. But I haven't encountered them. Some people in LJ say that if you, the Kuznetsovs, are Russians, why don't you escape to Russia? When people were running away in the 1990s, we stayed, because there was uncertainty both here and there. My mama had chosen the uncertainty here. Because she was born and grew up here, we were all born here, sometime in the 1930s my grandmother, a child then, was put on a train and told that there was no hunger in Georgia, that there was [corn] there. It is our country now, we hold Georgian passports and we are the ordinary Georgian citizens. That's why I feel like tearing myself in two, when I stand on Georgian soil and the Russian planes are flying over me, and I can't imagine that these two countries are fighting against each other.

Georgia, Russia: More Reports On the Conflict From Russophone Bloggers

Global Voices Online
Sunday, August 10, 2008

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.

Blogging from Poti, a Georgian port city whose "oil terminal, port facilities and a nearby railroad junction" were attacked by Russian fighter jets shortly after midnight Saturday, 27-year-old LJ user pepsikolka, an ethnic Russian citizen of Georgia, posted these hurried reports (RUS) on Aug. 8 and 9:

Aug. 8, 2008 - 1:23 PM

My colleagues have been drafted, some of them early in the morning, I'm shocked, can't understand what's going on and where to look for the truth - Georgian channels say one thing, Russian say something else, what's going to happen???

***

Aug. 9, 2008 - 12:50 AM:

The port has been bombed, we're sitting in the street, scared, they say some people have been wounded. Pray for us.

[...]

alchutoff:

[...] That's ours [Russians] who are bombing you, right?

pepsikolka:

Oh God. I don't know, but that's what they are saying.

***

Aug. 9, 2008 - 1:07 AM:

They are done bombing the port, we're out in the street, God save us.

***

Aug. 9, 2008 - 11:48 AM:

It was quiet during the night, but no one went to bed. There's no TV, we're reading the news from our phones. Scary. My friend, a colleague, has been wounded, and there are the dead ones, seven people from the port, they say, and there are also the dead among those mobilized after the bombing. I've no reason to lie, and those commenters who have doubts just don't know anything about me, I am Russian myself, and that's why I'm writing about facts here, so that you knew, we are alive, but scared. I want peace and this is all.

***

Aug. 9, 2008 - 2:20 PM:

[...] The city is nearly empty, I've stayed, [because] I've got my pets, and mama doesn't want to go anywhere. We are home. There's not a single drop of gasoline in the city. Panic. Ships are honking often. [...]

[...]

antifalsehood:

[...] You were the ones who got yourselves involved in the slaughter, you trust your [Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili] and his circle, and here's what you get. Of course, I don't believe that everyone is as much of a bastard as your [Saakashvili] is, but you'll sure answer for the thousands of dead Ossetians. Watch your asses since you've got no souls anymore.

night_the_only:

Do you understand what you are saying and to whom?

pepsikolka:

I didn't want to get into it, as I feel I'll get a full load for it, but still, I'll say it - why do you assume that we support Saakashvili and do not condemn what's been done in Tskhinvali? Here're the people sitting here, some of them support [Saakashvili], others don't, but the bomb sees no difference between those who supported him and those who didn't.

(A more detailed post by LJ user pepsikolka, written on Aug. 10, will be translated later tonight.)

Oleg Panfilov - LJ user oleg_panfilov, director of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations - happened to be spending his vacation in Georgia. He posted this comment (RUS) about air strikes on the Georgian town of Gori, carried out by the Russian forces on Saturday morning:

A few hours after I had passed Gori, the "peacekeepers' fighter jets" hit the town. One plane was downed - one pilot died, the other was arrested and is being interrogated.

It's hard to understand what they are trying to achieve by hitting [outside of] South Ossetia, but it looks like Russia is becoming more and more like the Soviet Union...

If someone in the Kremlin hopes that this will split Georgia and the Georgian society, they are deeply mistaken - all the opposition leaders announced their support for [Mikheil Saakashvili]. Even [Irakli Okruashvili], the [dismissed former] minister of defense, said he was ready to go to South Ossetia as an ordinary soldier.

[...]

There is no panic in Tbilisi, but many friends are calling me, incredulous - they [knew Russia was capable of a lot], but [to act like this]... [...]

A day earlier, on Aug. 8, LJ user tanelorn asked a question (RUS) about the situation in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in the tbiliseli LJ community, set up for "all those who consider [Tbilisi their native city]:

Are things quiet in Tbilisi? How does it all reflect on the life in the city?

Here are some responses:

le_petit_tank:

It was quiet during the day, although, of course, people do worry. They are listening to all newscasts on all available channels - Russian and Georgian. And in between the news, we were watching the opening of the Olympics. They say they were catching people right in the street and sending them to draft centers. But I won't risk asserting that this is actually so...

satis_fiction:

My brother called me and said that they'd announced mobilization. He went to sign up, there were many like him there, who came by themselves.

[...]

vtar_vtar:

I don't think it has [affected life in the city] in any way. Of course, it was somewhat strange to see how in small open-air cafes they were playing news on TV instead of [pop music] videos. And, of course, those families that had their boys drafted are worried. Otherwise, nothing special.

28-year-old Tbilisi-based LJ user shupaka wrote (RUS) about an unpleasant sense of déjà vu, brought about by the announcement of mobilization of the troops in Georgia; the current situation has reminded her of the conflicts that Georgia had found itself in in the early 1990s:

...and one more observation, totally silly: the word "mobilization" inspires the same disgust in me as it did when I was a child. Doesn't matter if you're 13 or 28.

North Ossetia-based LJ user alan-tskhurbaev wrote (RUS) about a mobilization of a different kind, supposedly taking place in South Ossetia now:

[North Ossetian] volunteers in [South Ossetia].

There are many of them. And I have to admit that I was mistaken, thinking that in case of a war only a few would show up. A friend has just returned from the border [...], says many people are crowding there, arriving in their own cars. They are letting everyone in, at their own risk. At least one car goes through every few minutes, he says. He even said that some guys went there in their new BMW X5. Ossetians have not deserted each other. Turns out that in peaceful times we dislike each other, act arrogantly towards some, make fun of others. But as soon as a war begins (and Ossetians have probably lost count of all their wars by now) - we are together. [...]

Elsewhere in the Russophone blogosphere, there seems to be plenty of confusion about what's actually going on in South Ossetia and Georgia now. Take, for example, this post from last night (RUS) in the ru_politics LJ community, by LJ user er_v, and some of the comments it generated:

Can anyone tell me whether there are Russian troops in [Tskhinvali] or not?

***

mr_quietest:

Judging by everything, no.

[...]

beekjuffer:

Judging by what?

deneb_altay:

There are, don't worry.

nurmanov:

[Judging] by many things: the lack of pictures, the demands of the Russian journalists to allow them safe passage out of Tskhinval...

[...]

er_v:

No, but if we took Tskhinvali, they would definitely show it on the news. [...]

beekjuffer:

We already took it. Then Georgians took something, too. Then we were pushing them out. Judging by everything, it will continue like this for a long time.

[...]

elf_ociten:

And the Roksky Pass [on the Trans-Caucasus Highway] has been blown up, too :)

mr_quietest:

Not sure.

[...]

Regarding the alleged destruction of the Roksky Pass, LJ user som, a Russia-based Georgian, posted this item (RUS) last night:

URGENT

ON SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 9, GEORGIAN TROOPS BLEW UP ROKSKY PASS, THROUGH WHICH HUMAN PERSONNEL AND MILITARY EQUIPMENT WERE BEING SENT FROM RUSSIA TO THE FIGHTING ZONE IN TSKHINVALI REGION.

Some two hours and about 50 comments later, however, LJ user som admitted (RUS) that there had been no confirmation of this report and that this could be part of the "information war."