How the major events played out
Unpicking the origins of the fraught relationship between Russia and Georgia could send the curious reader even further back in history than 1801, when Tsar Pavel I signed a decree incorporating the Kartli-Kakheti Georgian kingdom into the Russian Empire. Even before that date, Russia had been offering regional protection.
In the run-up to war in Georgia in August 2008, there were countless provocations and hostile acts claimed by both sides against the other. Some of the background to the latest hostilities was covered in ‘Sparring over Abkhazia’ (Strategic Comments, volume 14, issue 5; available at www.iiss.org). Below, we follow the most important events from 7 August to 8 September.
7 August: Georgian forces launch an attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, hours after announcing a ceasefire meant to end several days of skirmishes. Tskhinvali is bombarded with rockets and artillery shells.
8 August: Russian troops begin moving into South Ossetia, via the Roki tunnel through the North Caucasus mountain range, while Russian warplanes attack targets in Georgia. Georgia takes control of Tskhinvali, much of which is destroyed.
Thousands of South Ossetians flee to North Ossetia, part of Russia. South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity claims 1,600 citizens of the breakaway republic have been killed. This is a number which is confirmed by Russian observers at the time, but later will be revised down drastically.
9 August: Russian troops move to take control of Tskhinvali. Russian aircraft bomb the Georgian town of Gori, 60km west of Tbilisi, and its military base. In Abkhazia, Georgia’s other breakaway region, local forces attack the Georgian-controlled Kodori Valley area, in the east of the republic. Russian forces move into Abkhazia. The Georgian army reports 30 deaths and says that 15 Russian troops were killed in the previous days’ fighting in South Ossetia.
Russian ground forces advance from South Ossetia towards Gori, which is located on the main Georgian highway and railway line. Russia’s warships take positions off the Georgian Black Sea coast and its aircraft bomb Gori and targets close to Tbilisi, including a military airport.
10 August: Russian troops move beyond Abkhazia and enter the Georgian towns of Zugdidi and Senaki, which has a military base. US President George W. Bush says Russia’s invasion of Georgia is ‘unacceptable in the 21st century’.
12 August: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, after meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Moscow, says Russia will end its campaign under a six-point deal. The six principles are:
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no use of force;
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cessation of hostilities;
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free access to humanitarian aid;
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Georgian armed forces to withdraw to their normal bases;
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Russian military forces to withdraw to the lines prior to the start of hostilities, although they will implement ‘additional security measures’ pending an international mechanism; and
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international discussions on achieving lasting security in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
France also says it will also table a draft resolution in the UN Security Council, based on the six-point plan, to help bring the conflict to an end.
Meanwhile, the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine visit Tbilisi to show their solidarity with Georgia. Abkhaz forces capture the Kodori Valley area of Abkhazia.
13 August: In Tbilisi, Sarkozy secures the agreement of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to a modified peace plan. The Georgian leader requests the removal of the sixth clause referring to talks on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Medvedev agrees. Saakashvili asks that an arrangement for the future internationalisation of security measures in the region be included.
Russian troops occupy Gori and its military base. Russia says this is permitted under the deal, which foresees ‘additional security measures’. Bush calls on Moscow to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, to cease military activity and to withdraw. He orders the US military to provide humanitarian aid to Georgia. Aid begins arriving in US Air Force C-17 military transport aircraft.
14 August: Reports emerge of ‘ethnic cleansing’ attacks by Ossetians and ‘Chechen’ militia in South Ossetia on ethnic Georgians and their property.
15 August: Saakashvili signs the modified six-point accord during a visit to Tbilisi by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. While she is there, a Russian armoured column advances from Gori along the main highway to within 40km of Tbilisi.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel travels to the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi, for tough talks with Medvedev over the crisis. She emphasises the need for Georgia’s territorial integrity.
16 August: Medvedev signs the six-point agreement. However, Russia indicates it will keep troops in Georgia for as long as is necessary.
17 August: Russia says it will begin a troop withdrawal to a security zone around South Ossetia established in 1999. It is reported to have moved SS-21 missile launchers into South Ossetia.
18 August: The deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, says Russia has begun ‘the pull-back of peace-keeping forces’. However, there are few signs of this happening.
Instead, Russian troops re-enter the port of Poti, which they had previously entered several times and bombed, as well as destroying Georgian vessels there. They capture 20 Georgian soldiers and seize five American Humvee troop transporters.
19 August: France tables its resolution in the UN Security Council, where it is rejected by Russia. The Russian representative says the resolution separates individual elements of the six-point peace plan and reinterprets them for ’propaganda‘ purposes. Russia claims the peace plan allows its troops to stay in a buffer zone on the Georgian side of the border with South Ossetia, which is something the UN draft resolution does not recognise.
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