On the night of August 7-8, 2008, a mass shelling of Tskhinval by Georgian artillery began, the response to which was immediate. The event went down in history under the name of the Five Day War: until the night of August 13, terrible shelling and attacks continued. There could be no winners - the losses in the war in South Ossetia on both sides, both in the person of the military and civilians, are enormous, and we are not talking about the numbers or numbers of those killed during the hostilities.
Background
The increase in tension in political relations between Georgia and Russia was clearly traced back in early 2008. The South Ossetian conflict was aggravated by the removal by Russia of a quota of flank restrictions on the deployment of offensive weapons in the North Caucasus Military District. In the spring of the same year, Russia withdrew from the ban on trade and financial relations with Abkhazia, which was regarded by Georgia as an encouragement of separatism and an attempt to encroach on its territory. Such actions became prerequisites for the war in South Ossetia and Georgia.
Soon after, Eduard Kokoity called on Vladimir Putin to refrain from rash actions, otherwise the consequences would be tragic, as the Georgian military units are approaching the borders of his republic. The Russian Defense Ministry, in turn, began to take measures to strengthen its position: it was pointless to deny the evidence of the approaching war.
It is noteworthy that at the same time, Georgia and the United States conducted a joint exercise called “Immediate Response”, where, according to Zaur Alborov, a military researcher, an attack on South Ossetia was being worked out. Russian railway troops repaired tracks in Abkhazia to be ready to protect civilians.
In late July, skirmishes began to take place in South Ossetia, after which Prime Minister Yuri Morozov organized the evacuation of residents of Tskhinval.
The positions of the warring parties: Russia and Georgia
The reason for the reaction of Russia (according to Sergei Lavrov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry) was Georgia’s aggression against unprepared residents of a country beyond its control. The consequences were a sharp increase in the number of refugees, the deaths of residents of South Ossetia and Russian peacekeepers. It all looked like genocide.
The Georgian side reacted to the South Ossetian provocations and found in the behavior of Russia the prerequisites for the outbreak of war.
When it was over, there was an investigation into the conflict in the South Caucasus. The commission was led by the EU and was led by Heidi Tagliavini, an expert from Sweden.
An international investigation found Georgia as the party that launched the hostilities. But the attack was the result of a long provocation in the conflict zone.
Chronicles of the war in South Ossetia
As a result of night shelling from the Georgian side, large buildings of Tskhinvali were damaged and burned, including the building of the Parliament of South Ossetia, a complex of government buildings and buildings in the city center. Residential buildings also burned down. Needless to say, how many people suffered, died in the course of these actions. Part of the city and eight Ossetian villages were taken under the control of the Georgian armed forces.
Russia immediately sent additional forces to South Ossetia to maintain and protect Ossetians and peacekeepers.
On the eve of the night bombing, Mikheil Saakashvili appeared on television with an appeal to the residents of Georgia and a statement that he had ordered not to return fire in the conflict zone. But this did not prevent shelling using mortars, grenade launchers and a multiple launch rocket system. Aircraft forces later joined.
At 15.00, the Russian president spoke on television to voice and confirm his intention to protect citizens of the Russian Federation, wherever they are. Now the Russian Federation was forced to take measures to force Georgia to peace.
On August 9, additional units of the Russian troops, including airborne troops, were introduced. The road to Tskhinval from the north was unblocked thanks to them, and the very next day, Georgian troops were completely driven out of the territory of South Ossetia.
Humanitarian corridors were opened for the withdrawal of refugees, Ossetian and Georgian, wounded and injured: now Tskhinvali has been taken under the control of peacekeepers.
Medvedev Plan - Sarkozy
On September 8, after numerous and lengthy negotiations between Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy, which began immediately after the end of the war in South Ossetia, a conflict settlement plan was developed. Mikheil Saakashvili accepted it, introducing a small amendment, which ultimately did not change anything.
The very first points of the plan banned the use of force and called for a definitive cessation of hostilities, returning the troops of both sides to their permanent locations.
However, according to Nicolas Sarkozy, a six-point text cannot resolve everything, answer all questions, and solve the problem completely.
Losses during the conflict: memory of the victims of the war in South Ossetia
Residents of Georgia remember the hundreds of people who died in the war. Among them were everyone: the military, residents of villages and cities, and even children. In their memory mourning events take place annually, wreaths were laid at the graves of the military, and photographs of victims and candles were placed on the steps of the parliament of the republic.
According to Georgia (only official), the losses amounted to 412 dead. 1747 people were injured, 24 were missing. According to South Ossetia, more than 162. In Russia - up to 400 dead. It is worth remembering that the numbers will never convey what the families of the deceased are still experiencing and that, if there were no war, their fate could have turned out differently: no one and nothing could replace a loved one. And this is a huge, not passing pain. And that is precisely why each of us must do everything so that the war does not begin at all, death will never solve political differences, moreover, it should not become a lever of influence: people are created for more than murder.
Films about the war in South Ossetia
Not a single war can pass without a trace: filmmakers tried to maximally reflect the events that took place against the backdrop of the conflict in South Ossetia. And the easiest way to do this was to talk about the fate of a simple person, about how his life could radically change with the start of a terrible war.
Olympus Inferno (director - Igor Voloshin, Russia)
Despite the small budget, the film became popular thanks to an interesting idea, a game of actors who approached the matter with full emotional and professional dedication. In the story, an American entomologist arrives in South Ossetia together with a Russian journalist, who was once his classmate. They install cameras in order to record the flight of a rare breed butterfly - the "Olympus inferno", but instead the movement of the Georgian troops towards Ossetia falls into the lens. Heroes try by any means to keep a record in order to open their eyes to the world about the truth about the outbreak of war.
"5 days in August" (Rennie Harlin, USA)
The film caused a negative public reaction due to anti-Russian agitation. In the story, it was Russia that was the first to launch missiles. The picture was shown only in three cinemas, and the funds spent on the shooting exceeded the box office many times over. All this confirms the hypothesis about the intent of filming. It contains a lot of blood, murders, fights, sometimes it seems that the author was shooting a blockbuster, and not a film containing true emotions, empathy, pain.
War documentary
Its name is “Operation in South Ossetia. Time of Heroes” (Russia, “TV Arms”).
The documentary about the war in South Ossetia consistently and in detail sets out its history. The story comes from the mouth of peacekeepers - participants in the fighting. The film is recommended for viewing, especially for those who seek the truth.
Also, the paintings containing the stories of eyewitnesses and participants, people who know this war not only from someone’s words and books, can safely be attributed to “Burning August”, “Ossetia, I love you!” and “City of inconsolable mothers.”
After watching documentaries, you involuntarily think about what we would do on the spot of these people, and the thoughts that come in response change something inside, forcing to rethink the important aspects of their everyday life, lives and the fate of those who are close or far away. There comes an understanding that it is not distance that matters, but that which unites us.