Pan Cogito Closes His Eyes & Tries To Recall When Valery Gergiev And The Russian Mariinsky (Kirov) Orchestra Last Performed In Grozny Or Tskhinval

... "Later in the evening, Russia’s Mariinsky symphony orchestra from St. Petersburg, which is known as the Kirov symphony on its frequent tours outside Russia, was scheduled to hold a concert in [Tskhinval, South Ossetia], which is largely in ruins.

A bus carrying Western journalist to the concert over the Caucasus Mountains from Russia stopped for about 40 minutes beside the road en route Thursday. The military escorts said the bus had been halted as additional security was needed for the delegation. From the bus windows, several fires could be seen burning in ethnic Georgian villages along the route. Journalists were prohibited from photographing the fires."

Andrew E. Kramer "Despite Yielding Ground, Russia Takes Critical Spots" New York Times August 21, 2008

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CONDUCTOR VALERY GERGIEV ON THE EVENTS IN SOUTH OSSETIA, August 15, 2008.

"Today the future of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is of the moment. And how to help people so that they feel protected from a similar tragedy in the future, well, that is the role that Russia is trying to perform."

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"Georgia did not believe Russia would respond to its offensive in South Ossetia and was completely unprepared for the counter-attack, the deputy defence minister has admitted.

Batu Kutelia told the Financial Times that Georgia had made the decision to seize the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali despite the fact that its forces did not have enough anti-tank and air defences to protect themselves against the possibility of serious resistance." ...

Jan Cienski "Tbilisi admits miscalculating Russian reaction" Financial Times August 21, 2008
















Photo credits: (c) Kavkaz Center [Grozny, Russian Federation],(c) RIA Novosti [Tskhinval, South Ossetia], and (c) Sergei Grits and Associated Press [Republic of Georgia]. All rights reserved. With thanks.