August 15, 2008

Caucasian Stalemate


This commentary aired on Vermont Public Radio, on August 13.

Last Thursday, after several days of skirmishes and confrontation in the breakaway region of Ossetia, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced a unilateral cessation of hostilities.

Hours later, however, Saakashvili ordered his armed forces to undertake a full-scale assault on Ossetia, a territory which, since 1992, has been patrolled by Russian peacekeepers under international mandate - to which Georgia was a signator.

Georgian troops launched an air, tank and artillery attack on Russian peacekeepers and civilians. In response, Russian troops, long perched on the Russo-Georgian border on hair-trigger alert, entered South Ossetia in force. They routed the Georgian troops and chased them back beyond the borders of Ossetia, into Georgia proper.

On August 12th, the Russian forces stood down.

These are more or less the basic facts of the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia. There are of course plenty of unverified assertions. For instance, Russia claims that Georgian forces killed more than 2000, leveled the Ossetian capital city of Tskhivali and demolished several Ossetian villages. And both sides are accusing the other of engaging in ethnic cleansing.

Coverage of this week's events by major US media has focused mainly on interpretations of Russia's motives, the general consensus being that we are seeing a new Russia, a bully emboldened by oil riches and acting out after 20 years of humiliation.

The explanation sounds good, but it is oversimplified and jingoistic. Russia's own explanation, that it is simply defending the local civilian population and beating back Georgian aggression, is also not the whole truth, but it does seem a bit closer to reality.

Our media have also given little treatment to the US role in this conflict, which is in stark contrast to how the Russian media are covering events. Russians, for their part, are quick to underscore the alliance between the US and Georgia.

Said former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev: "I am convinced it would not have happened without the consent of the United States. It has approved it."

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Lavrov [sic, that's Ivanov] told CNN that Saakashvili - quote - "is an American satellite, that is a known fact."

Saakashvili, for his part, soon after the Russian counter-attack, was quoted as saying, "It's not about Georgia anymore. It's about America, its values."

Again, oversimplified and jingoistic.

Actually, what the conflict is about was aptly captured by the great Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov. He fought in the Caucasus (in the 1830s, against Chechens), and wrote a long poem, entitled Valerik, in which he sees a general sitting by a bloody stream after a battle.

And he writes:

And with a secret, heartfelt grief
I thought: Poor man,
What is he after?
The sky is so clear
There is room for all under the heavens,
Yet incessantly and vainly
He still fights - why?

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955