Customer Reviews

The Guns of August 2008: Russia's War in Georgia (Studies of Central Asia and the Caucasus)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The MSM have at the time of that little war just followed their birdbrain habit: just repeated what the official Russian media wrote. And they did not bother to research the historic events that preceeded the war in August 2008. One year has passed, the Russians did not fulfill their side of the bargain arranged by EU (Sarkozy), but NATO "turned the page" and Hillary and Barry hit the "reset button". The authors of the book did their research and the book is a MUST-READ for all who care about that part of the world and about political realities in general. I wish more people, especially those somehow professionally connected with things Russian would read this.

Brief AND well managed chapters, especially Chapter 1 for those who want to get the historical perspective in the nutshell...but super interesting facts on the russia's premeditated decades long destabilization game in the caucasus throughout the tome. EA/NATO failed response equally important but a bit wordy, will likely lose a reader who is not personally interested in the topic.

This is a very well researched and documented study. The arguments advanced in the book are supported by factual evidence which is mostly unknown to western media.

For instance the chapter written by Andrei Illarionov (Putin's adviser until 2005) tackles important questions including the question whether or not the Russian government was premeditating the war long time before it actually broke out. Illarionov provides very convincing evidence, he documents numerous war preparation actions undertaken by Russian government such as appointing Russian citizens in the Military and Political leadership of South Ossetia between 2004-08 and sending group of exclusively Russian journalists(and not allowing foreign journalist) to Tskinvali days before the war broke out, evacuating thousands of civilians from South Ossetia weeks before the war, deploying tanks and military hardware in the conflict zones, conducting military exercises in the region, Russian Air Force's sending out a nationwide call (in MAY 2008) to active duty of all former military helicopter pilots who had experience flying in mountainous areas and many more.

Furthermore, Putin's former adviser enumerates 46 actions that are believed to be acts of aggression (by official UN definition) 45 of which were performed first by the Coalition(Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and only one by Georgia before the Coalition. Thus, strongly suggesting that the actual war was in fact started by the Russian government in conjunction with its marionette governments of S. Ossetia and Abkhazia.

P.S.
The two bad reviews given to this book on Amazon are clearly unsubstantiated and biased, they do not provide any clear evidence to support their arguments, and most probably their writers have never even read the book but just heard that among other things it very convincingly documents Russian preparation and perpetration of the war in Georgia.

I appreciate this work as a great result of great effort and thinking for sure. But it collects ideas from only a single side, which I assume as the American-Georgian side. I do not think personally that Russia is a "peacekeeper" or real friend of the minority people around the region.I still hear, read and learn about Russia's efforts on exiling, killing of the people who were ancestors of today's minorities, but the book does not reflect the voice of the people who were victims of Georgian aggression and suffered much from violence, embargoes, etc. Why the Abkhaz decided not to be together with Georgia, what were the given rights to these people with constitutions which were ignored by Georgian-Soviet authorities. Even on one article, Abkhaz people are regarded as "poisonous pawns", which is unacceptable.
Read this book to learn a brief history of the land, and also American-Georgian point of view of the events. If you're a somehow a part of Caucasian people like I am, it will hurt you as it did hurt me.

Georgia is one of the greatest countries on Earth. If it oppresses minorities, that is how it is meant to be. Abkhazians and South Ossetians need to bow down to the allmighty Georgia and give up all hope of independence. Georgians are the chosen people, so they have the right to rule the smaller, unworthy nations.
Great book, btw!

This poorly written book provides a very biased view of the 2008 Russia-Georgian war. It completely disregards the long history of Georgian oppression of the minorities, and the real reasons for the separatist movements, and does not provide an objective view of the war itself.

Not a good book at all.