So,
I am finally back home to Georgia for holidays .... and some research work as well....
Going back to Tbilisi always brings me tons of emotions and special feelings, but recently I discovered there is one new type of feeling inside me: I started observing and comparing people with others I've met outside of Georgia and try to make conclusions, some kind of game of analyzing post-communist nations, not only in political sense but in everyday life level as well. Sometimes asking yourself what would Ukrainian or Armenian would say in this case and why?! Sometimes (when in transport) I am getting addicted to this game so much that I just pass by my destination. I want to know them: Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanians, other caucasians, Ukrainians, Russians..... This region is just fascinating, so much diverse, interesting, breathtaking, deep, unimaginably beautiful and troublesome at the same time. Actually I mean Caucasus in this particular case.... Just found an extremely interesting article by Thomas de Waal who is IWPR’s (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) outgoing Caucasus Editor. This article could be useful for all of you interested in Caucasus topic, especially for the beginners wishing to know more about this region. ..."the sad reality is, that with its tangle of closed borders and ceasefire lines, the Caucasus more resembles a suicide pact...." -  Thomas de Waal stating. Fair and interesting point of view from outside... I am sure you're already curious to read this article.... so go ahead... L

p.s.  By February 2009 I will be reporting from Tbilisi.....

February 17, 2008 - seems like an ordinary date, right? well, not really...
"As jubilant Kosovars danced in front of the Newborn statue unveiled in the capital, Pristina, to commemorate their long-awaited independence on February 17, 2008, many political leaders around the world watched the events with different emotions," - Darko Duridanski, Macedonian journalist recalls this day. Yes, on this day Kosovo announced its independence.
When I last met Darko (a very good friend of mine) he was already planning his research about the reflections of kosovo precedent on other sesseccionist regions, such as Basque and Abkhazia. We have been in touch during his visit in Georgia, including Abkhazia. After visiting Tbilisi,  Sukhumi, Vitoria, Bilbao and Pristina Darko prepared an exellent work on current secessionist movements and the debate as a whole, giving a great opportunity to have a look on Georgian, Balkan and Spanish cases. I am sure ones interested in these topics will find Darko's article interesting and useful at the same time.

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I am publishing an article of president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili published in The Wall Street journal 2nd of December. 
"Since Russia invaded Georgia last August, the international community seems stuck on one question about how the war started: Did the Georgian military act irresponsibly to take control of Tskhinvali in the South Ossetia region of Georgia? This question has been pushed to the center in large degree by a fierce, multimillion-dollar Russian PR campaign that hinges on leaked, very partial, and misleading reports from a military observer from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that claimed Georgia responded militarily in South Ossetia without sufficient provocation by Russia. Judging from recent media coverage, this campaign has been successful." - this is the lead of Saakashvili's article. Read further if interested in the opinion of Georgian president.

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In the aftermath of the Georgian conflict, the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has laid down five principles that he says will guide Russian foreign policy. The new Moscow rules are not a blueprint for a new "Cold War". That was a worldwide ideological and economic struggle. This is much more about defending national interests.

 

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By ANDREW OSBORN
August 25, 2008; Page A6

The Wall Street Journal

As Ella Kesayeva watched television footage of tanks from Russia's 58th Army rumbling into Georgia recently, it stirred powerful memories.
Almost exactly four years ago, the blunt-spoken mother of one watched as tanks from the same units fired directly into a school here in Beslan, ending a disastrous standoff with hostage-takers espousing independence for Chechnya. That siege -- the worst terrorist episode in Russian history -- resulted in 334 deaths, including two of Ms. Kesayeva's nephews and her brother-in-law.

Andrew Osborn/ The Wall Street Journal

 

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By Gordon brown
The Observer

Twenty years ago, as the Berlin Wall fell, people assumed the end of hostility between East and West, and a new world order founded on common values. As part of this, 10 Eastern European states joined Nato and intensified co-operation with Europe and more wanted to follow. But Russia's hostile action towards Georgia suggests that they are unreconciled to this new reality. Their aggression raises two urgent questions for us: how best to stabilise Georgia now, and how to make it clear to Russia that its unilateral approach is dangerous and unacceptable. War in Georgia also poses a serious longer term issue - how can we best create a rules-based international system that protects our collective security and safeguards our shared values?

 

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