Georgia Burns Putin's Portrait on Anniversary of 2008 Conflict

17 years ago, in August 2008, an armed conflict between Russia and Georgia began. As a result, more than 400 Georgian citizens, including civilians, were killed, and tens of thousands were displaced.

On the anniversary of these tragic events, a portrait of Vladimir Putin was burned in Gori, a city that was one of the first to be hit by Russian air strikes.

The conflict that unfolded around the Tskhinvali region and lasted for five days ended with the signing of a ceasefire agreement, but left a deep mark on the history of relations between the two countries. Russia's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia led to the severance of diplomatic relations between Tbilisi and Moscow.

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Anna Politkovskaya was killed on 7 October 2006. Her articles, written from behind Chechnya’s blood-soaked information wall and barbed wire, became a voice of truth — the truth about what residents of the republic were experiencing as they became a convenient and powerless collective victim of the global “fight against international terrorism”.

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Memorial events for Anna Politkovskaya are taking place in countries around the world today, marking 20 years since the murder of the journalist, who spent many years reporting on the war in Chechnya and human rights violations.

 

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