The recent fighting between Russia and Georgia hit close to home for two UB physics professors. So close, in fact, that they heard the explosions.
Avto Kharchilava and Ia Iashvili, professors in the Department of Physics, were on their annual summer vacation in their home country when conflict over the Georgian territory of South Ossetia escalated into warfare.
Jolted out of summer relaxation by the news of Russian bombings in the country, the couple left a mountain resort in western Georgia with their 5-year-old son Giorgi, and headed for Tbilisi, the capital city where an international airport held hopes of an escape back to the U.S.
First, they had to pass through Gori, a Georgian city 15 miles from South Ossetia, where Russian tanks were beginning to attack. The family made it safely out of Gori, but as their car sped away, smoke rose from the city's already crumbled buildings.
"No one would advise us to pass through the city because it was bombed," Kharchilava said. "In a sense, we narrowly escaped."
Reaching the capital did not put them out of harm's grasp, though, as military planes could be heard overhead and explosions rumbled in the distance.
"Of course it is very scary, you don't know if you'll survive," Iashvili said. "You see on TV dead people lying on the ground. Everything has been bombed, no place remains intact."
They arrived in Tbilisi to find that all flights were canceled, and they would have to get to neighboring Azerbaijan to escape the war. They left on a plane headed for the West, leaving behind family and friends.
The dispute between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia and another area to the northwest, Abkhazia, became prominent in the 1990s after the Soviet Union dismantled and these regions became separatist territories of Georgia that held de facto independence.
The current Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, a pro-Western figure elected democratically, made it a part of his campaign to unite the territories of Georgia. Russia's government supports the separatists, and has responded by giving many South Ossetians a Russian passport. On Tuesday, the country officially recognized the two Georgian enclaves as independent.
Prior to the attacks, Russia had been increasing their military presence in the breakaway areas, and Georgia's government saw this as an implication of Russia's support for the annexation of the provinces. The fighting broke out on Aug. 7 when Georgian troops attacked separatists in South Ossetia, and Russian tanks staged nearby quickly rallied in defense.
"There was a lot of speculation that it might break out into a conflict," said Philip Arena, an assistant political science professor who specializes in international politics. He added that it's "pretty controversial who is to blame."
While it is widely known that the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia want independence, it is unclear whether they are seeking complete sovereignty or the leadership of Russia. Arena said he has heard of road signs in South Ossetia with pictures of Vladimir Putin, former president and current prime minister of Russia, that declare, "This is our president."
Added into the mix of controversy is Georgia's desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a move that Russia sees as a threat to its security. Some see the Russian attacks on Georgia as an attempt to keep the country out of NATO.
"This was really too much for Russia to tolerate," Iashvili said, concluding that if the region stays in conflict, it will surely be kept out of NATO.
Russia currently has military control over the separatist regions. Western countries and China have denounced Russia's use of force, and Georgia continues to call for territorial integrity. Fighting for the most part has ceased, but tensions still abound.
"I would like to see Russian troops leaving Georgian territory. I would like to see diplomacy succeed," Iashvili said.
The couple agreed that more pressure from Western governments on Russia to respect Georgia's territories would have an impact. Students, they said, should stay informed about the events because even the actions across the world have far-reaching effects.
"With the situation like this, where everything is global, I don't think we can forget what's going on as much as we want," Iashvili said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
