EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Georgia: Gori Takes the Brunt Of the Russian Blitz

EURASIA INSIGHT

GEORGIA: GORI TAKES THE BRUNT OF THE RUSSIAN BLITZ
By Giorgi Lomsadze 8/09/08

As Russia widens its war with Georgia beyond the separatist territory of South Ossetia, the city of Gori, famous for being the birthplace of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, has been hit the hardest. The civilian casualty toll is climbing, and anyone with the means is leaving.

Located just 20 kilometers south of the main theater of military operations in South Ossetia, Gori has come under increasing air attack. One Russian air raid at about 11 a.m. local time resulted in direct hits on three apartment complexes located near a military facility. Windows shattered and the structures quickly became enveloped in flames, as a fog of ash and debris created by the blast spread throughout the neighborhood. Emergency crews soon showed up at the scene to help out the victims. One young man was confirmed dead at the scene.

The wounded were rushed to Gori's central hospital, where doctors already had their hands full helping a steady stream of casualties coming in from the front. Hospital staff told EurasiaNet that there were 60 dead in the hospital's morgue.

Georgian officials said August 9 that the death toll had mounted to 55, including 15 civilian deaths, but the hospital staff in Gori believes that real figures are at least two times bigger. "Here we have only those who die in the hospital, those who died in the battle are not brought here," said an aid worker at the hospital.

Relatives stood near hospital gates anxiously waiting for news about the soldiers who had been brought to the clinic. "My boy barely knew how to use a gun," cried a man whose son reportedly suffered a serious wound. "Where is the Interior Minister? Where are our brave opposition leaders? They should all come here and fight instead of these young men!"

The distraught man's comments were indicative of discontent with President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration among some civilians directly affected by the fighting. While Moscow's indiscriminate attacks have hardened anti-Russian sentiment, some now believe that Saakashvili may have pushed too far, too fast in trying to integrate Georgia into Western economic and security structures, in particular the European Union and NATO. There is a growing feeling -- especially among those who have been displaced, or who have lost loved ones -- that Georgia's leadership made a terrible geopolitical miscalculation.

"What were they thinking when they started the whole thing?" wondered an emotional woman outside the hospital. "What could we do against Russia? They are going to wipe Georgia off the face of earth." Soon she learnt of her nephew's death and bursting through the security line went running into the hospital.

The Russian onslaught could damage the credibility of the West in the eyes of Georgians. "Who needs their MAP [NATO Membership Action Plan] when we are being killed for it?" cried an old woman, covering her face from the smoke as she watched her apartment burn. "Is the West going to stop this?"

The United States and EU states have urged an immediate ceasefire. But such calls for restraint don't seem to be working on Russia. "The violence is endangering regional peace, civilian lives have been lost and others are endangered," US President George W. Bush said in a written statement. "We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops. We call for an end to the Russian bombings, and a return by the parties to the status quo of Aug. 6."

Russian officials, in particular the country's political supremo Vladimir Putin, hold a strong grudge against Saakashvili. Some political experts speculate that the Kremlin may be seeking to secure Saakashvili's ouster, one way or another.

In response to Bush's plea, Russian President Dmitry Medvedyev said the Kremlin was intent on compelling Tbilisi to "accept peace." He did not attempt to define Russia's vision of "peace" in Georgia. ""Acting within our peacekeeping mission, and in line with the mandate issued by the international community, Russia is engaged in the task of forcing the Georgian side to accept peace," the official RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Medvedyev as saying. Meanwhile, other Russian officials have suggested that they may appeal to international courts in the Hague, alleging that the Georgian government is guilty of war crimes.

While Russia's control of the air enables the Kremlin to strike in any corner of Georgia, the situation in Tskhinvali, the South Ossetia separatist capital and epicenter of the fighting, remains in flux. Russia and Georgian officials have issued competing claims that cannot be independently verified.

Georgian troops entered Tskhinvali on August 8, but Russian military officials claimed August 9 that Russian units had occupied the city. Russian commanders also pledged to move more troops into Georgia in support of the separatist South Ossetian leadership. Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zghuladze disputed the claim that Russian forces were in control of Tskhinvali. Speaking at a nighttime news conference on August 9, Zghuladze asserted that Tskhinvali had once again come under Georgian control. The city has reportedly suffered widespread devastation amid two days of heavy fighting.

EurasiaNet was able to speak to a private who was wounded in the shoulder and was treated at the Gori hospital. He gave the following account of his entering Tskhinvali. "We went into Tskhinvali early on Friday. There was some fighting in the streets. The streets were asbolutely empty. I didn't see who was shooting at us, but we kept going in. Then it all stopped when the ceasefire was announced. We laid down the weapons and set down to have a snack. We thought that was that. The war was over. Then we've heard some noise in the air, things started shaking, and then several jets appeared. We thought these were Georgian planes. We came out into the open started waving to them. One plane circled around, came right for us and dropped two bombs. These were Russian planes. There was a huge explosion. I just blacked out. I was told that three of my friends were killed."

Russian jets have been carrying out attacks against targets across Georgia. In the village of Kareleti, not far from Gori, a EurasiaNet correspondent observed the downing of one Russian fighter. Russia has confirmed that two of their jets have been shot down.

The seeming randomness of the Russian attacks has sown fear among the Georgian civilian population, and many are doing what they can to get out of "hot" zones to safer areas. Kareleti resident, Ergudzja Sukhitashvili, explained many women and children had been evacuated, but those with no money or place to go were remaining behind. "Were can I go? This is our home," he stated.

Just outside Gori, several families packed their children in minivans bound for Tbilisi then stayed alongside the road hoping to hitch a ride with any passing car. "I didn't want to leave, but this is getting out of control," Pavle Natsvlishvili, a 48-year-old farmer. "I left my house, my farm and farm animals behind. I guess this makes me a refugee."

Editor's Note: Giorgi Lomsadze is a freelance reporter based in Tbilisi. Paul Rimple also contributed reporting to this story.

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