Book-album: South Ossetia. Chronicle of Contract Murder
The book was released by human rights movement Soprotivleniye and the Public Committee for Investigation of War Crimes in South Ossetia and Aid to the Affected Civilians.
The war crimes of Saakashvili's army in South Ossetia claimed the lives of hundreds of people. Both law enforcement bodies and non-governmental organisations are now investigating circumstances in which those civilians died. Soprotivleniye (which stands for ‘resistance' in Russian) was one of the first to take up the job. Already on August 15 psychologists filed out to Russia's Rostov region to assist refugees from South Ossetia. At this time a hot line was also launched for the victims of the conflict. Now professionals of the movement are helping to search for people, work out schemes for transfers of humanitarian aid to South Ossetia and assist people to get financial compensation.
"We believe that in the days of the Georgian aggression European media were flooded with deceptive information about what was going on in the conflict zone," said the head of the Public Committee Olga Kostina. "Now the world community has got access to photo and video and other documents which prove that Georgian soldiers in South Ossetia were actually committing genocide against its people. We hope that our book will help European parliamentarians and ordinary citizens to understand what really happened".
The publication of the book "South Ossetia: Chronicle of contract murder" is another step in the public investigation of crimes in South Ossetia. Dedicated to the victims of Georgia's aggression, it also marks 60 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948.
The album contains three chapters: "Crimes", "Victims", "Witnesses". The first chapter briefly presents historical background of Georgia-South Ossetia relations and chronicles events preceding and following August 8. The second chapter features testimonies of people who lived through the horrors of five-day war. The third chapter is dedicated to testimonies of witnesses'- journalists, doctors, clerics. All documents are accompanied by photographs made during the fighting in Tskhinval and after the repulse of Georgia's attack, when first aid was delivered to South Ossetia.
http://www.ossetia-war.com/book
Ossetians and the dance of life
South Ossetia has recently survived a bloody conflict with Georgia, which destroyed much of its infrastructure. But the spirit of the nation and the culture remain undimmed.
Ossetians say their heritage dates back centuries. They are descendants of the Alans who established a kingdom near the Don River in present-day Russia in 7AD
Several centuries later, Mongol tribes drove them into the Caucasus Mountains.
The Ossetian language is related to Farsi, a Persian language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
As a people, Ossetians are proud of their rich heritage and culture.
Dancing is central to Ossetian culture and lives in the heart of every Ossetian.
The qualities of the Ossetian people is reflected in their native dance. The tradition is also represented in the national flag, where white is for wisdom, red is for military valour and yellow is for grace.
Newborn independent states to be marked on maps 
The legal registration of Russia’s shared borders with newly proclaimed independent states began on Tuesday with the appointment of the special presidential representative on the demarcation of borders with CIS countries.
Following Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia in August 2008, Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Now the new borders of those states are to appear on Russian maps.
However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said Tbilisi has not agreed to the demarcation of borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia’s Foreign Ministry labeled these actions as another attempt by Russia to annex its territory.
Tbilisi has sought to annex a number of territories, including areas of the Black Sea, which belong to Russia according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLO
approved in 1982.
Georgia has also laid claim to the Roksky tunnel connecting Russia and South Ossetia. It was built during the Soviet era and is strategically important for both Russia and Georgia, as it is the only corridor leading from North Ossetia in Russia’s southern Caucasus to South Ossetia and the adjoining Caucasus states.
The clarification of borders is particularly important now as the development of mountain areas bordering Abkhazia, which will host the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, places the border question on the international agenda.
Abkhazian authorities had previously noted that border negotiations with Russia had not yet been conducted.
Multi-coloured maps coming soon
In the near future, the Russian Federal Geodesy and Cartography Agency will publish maps in which the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will be marked in colours different from Georgia’s. The capitals of the republics will be designated as Sukhum and Tshinval.
Based upon the recommendation of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the full names of the new states will be the Republic of Abkhazia, and the Republic of South Ossetia.
Radmil Shayapov, deputy head of the agency, said they have already published a desktop map with a calendar for 2009 in which Abkhazia and South Ossetia are printed in colours different from Georgia.
Fact box: The Independent Republics
On August 26, 2008, South Ossetia and Abkhazia were recognised as being independent by a decree signed by the Russian President shortly after last year's conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia. Later, the independence of both republics was also recognised by Nicaragua.
On September 9, Russia established diplomatic relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which had separated from Georgia in the 1990s.
On September 17, Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia signed treaties declaring their friendship, cooperation and mutual aid.
On January 16, the first ambassadors from Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Russia presented their credentials to President Medvedev in the Kremlin.
Presently, the republics continue searching for international recognition.
This post was modified from its original form on 12 Feb, 7:10
South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity says Georgia has started to boost its military might, importing weapons from Israel and France.
According to Kokoity, the import of Israeli arms began after the last August war between the country and Russia, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.
In a move to advance its military capability, the country recently bought 8 warships from Israel, he added.
Kokoity also said that Georgia had signed contracts with France to equip the country’s air force with espionage and electronic warfare systems such as anti-aircraft system and mid-range mobile radars.
The South Ossetian President added that Israel has not stopped sending arms to Georgia despite Russia’s protest.
Both the Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili and Reintegration Minister, Temur Yakobashvili had earlier dismissed reports that Israel had not frozen its arms sale to the country
“I haven’t heard anything about that … and the Israeli weapons have proved very effective,” said Saakashvili.
Tbilisi launched an attack on South Ossetia last August in order to retake its control over the region, which broke away in early 1990s.
