Eight Years after the Five-Day War

08.08.2016
South Ossetia

On August 8th, 2008, the Mikhail Saakashvili regime in Georgia initiated military aggression against South Ossetia.

A proxy war of the West against Russia

In geopolitical terms, this was a conflict directed against Russia. The shelling of Tskhinvali by Georgian troops resulted in the deaths of Russian peacekeepers and civilians. In addition, there were increased political tensions in North Ossetia and in other republics of the North Caucasus.

The chosen timing of the attack was no coincidence. When Georgian forces attacked, the Russian leadership was presented during the opening ceremony in China on the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

As shown by investigations after the war, the Georgian side had prepared for a long time and consulted with the West for the operation, which was called "Clean Field" - a reference to the complete destruction (genocide) of the Ossetian population.

In addition to South Ossetia, Georgia planned a  military operation against Abkhazia.

 

 

Backstory

South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia after the 1991 - 1993 civil war during the Gamsakhurdia regime which pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing.

Following the Ossetia and Abkhazia regions’ secession from the country, tough repressive measures were taken in relation to other regions. After Saakashvili came to power by a color revolution in 2003, Georgia underwent ultimate political centralization.

A ceasefire had been in effect just before the Georgian attack. However, Tbilisi’s official reason for its military intervention was “armed attack by separatists.”

After the outbreak of hostilities, the commander of Georgian peacekeepers, Mamuka Kurashvili, called Georgia’s operation in South Ossetia an “operation to restore constitutional order.”

On August 9th, the Georgian parliament unanimously approved President Mikhail Saakashvili's decree declaring martial law and total mobilization for a period of 15 days. The text of the decree of martial law was justified by the need "to avoid destabilization in the region, armed attacks on civilians and incidents of violence, in order to protect human rights and freedoms.”

 

 

Russian response

On August 9th, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the beginning of an operation "to push Georgia to peace".

A military convoy of Russian troops entered the territory of South Ossetia from the Russian border.

By August 10th, Russian troops had established complete control over Tskhinvali.

Some of the troops came advanced ever further into the territory of Georgia. Russian air forces bombed military airfields in Georgia and fighting also broke out In the Black Sea.

 

 

Consequences

The fighting continued until August 12th. Between August 14th and 16th, the Presidents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Georgia, and Russia signed a peace plan for the conflict.

1694 people were killed in South Ossetia, including 32 soldiers and an employee of the Interior Ministry. Russian military losses amounted to 74 dead, 19 missing and 171 - wounded. Georgia’s losses were 215 killed, 70 missing, and 1469 wounded civilians.

On August 26th, Russia officially recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. On September 2nd, Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with Russia and the process of Georgia’s accession to NATO slowed down.

 

Information war

Before, during, and after the five-day conflict, a massive propaganda campaign was conducted in Western media, the aim of which was discrediting Russia’s actions and excusing Saakashvili’s behavior.

Later, it came to light that the majority of Saakahsvili’s claims did not correspond to reality and that some Western media deliberately distorted information. Rallies and protests were held in different countries in addition to bloggers actively pushing contrasting narratives.

South Ossetia
Georgia
war
Russia