Hackers from Russia and Georgia open up a new front in cyberspace as their countries go to war in the Caucasus. Experts say it was inevitable that “the dark side of Silicon Valley” would be enlisted for real-life battles. Analysis for BBC News, August 2008
Ossetian official describes fleeing
August 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment
An account of the Georgian assault on Tskhinvali from a spokeswoman for South Ossetia’s separatist government. BBC News, August 2008
Georgia sees Iraq as Nato route
August 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Georgia sent 2,000 troops to fight alongside the US in Iraq, making them the third-largest force in the coalition at the start of 2008.
However, this commitment did not bring Tbilisi any closer to Nato, as it had hoped. At a summit that April, the alliance decided against expanding eastwards. Already stalled, Georgia’s Nato ambitions suffered a shattering reversal during its war with Russia that summer, which was seen in the West as a warning against provoking Moscow.
Nevertheless, Georgia’s Iraq deployment was, in some respects, a success. If nothing else, it enabled a tiny Caucasian country to upgrade its Soviet-era military and briefly march in step with the US. Report for BBC News from Tbilisi, April 2008
Caucasus on alert over Kosovo
August 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Secessionists stir in the Caucasus over Kosovo’s plans to declare independence. Russia and its allies warned that redrawing borders in the Balkans could destabilise other contested regions. I visited South Ossetia in the winter before Georgia went to war with Russia over the territory. The “frozen conflict” was warming up. Report from Tskhinvali for BBC News, January 2008
Russia’s reach unnerves Chechens
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Chechens who fought the Russian army – or simply fled it – cast wistful eyes at their homeland across the border. Report from the Pankisi Gorge for BBC News, January 2008
Georgian protesters give poll icy reception
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Opposition supporters voice a range of grievances against President Mikhail Saakashvili – but early results from a snap election suggest most Georgian voters backed him. Report from Tbilisi for BBC News, January 2008
Georgian TV feud mirrors poll rivalry
August 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The contrasting fortunes of two TV stations ignite a debate over press freedom in Georgia, just before a snap presidential election. Report from Tbilisi for BBC News, January 2008
An angry photographer in Chechnya
August 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Stanley Greene describes why it is becoming more dangerous to document the conflict in Chechnya. Interview for BBC News, March 2005
Neil Arun 