The most devastating legacy from the 9-year-long rule of National Movement is the Russian occupation of  20% the country’s territory. If separatist groups of Tskhinvali region and Apkhazeti were unrecognized entities (just like many other similar parts of the world), after the August 2008 war their independence was recognized by several countries, including Russia.

It became known from the sources associated with the armed forces that former Defense Minister Dimitri Shashkin was considering further boosting of  ISAF Georgian troops and even negotiated the matter with the American side. He wanted to send one of the special task force units to the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.

Compared to other state institutions, defense sphere suffered most during the rule of previous Government because the Nationals had been incessantly experimenting with Defense Ministry and armed forces. First they did a bad move in 2004 by firing thousands of officers, many professionals among them, from the Georgian army.

In the period of 17-23 September Russia is going to hold command military drills code named Kavkaz-12. This fact triggers a lot of political debates in Georgia because drills will take place near the northern border of Georgia. Let us recall that after Kavkaz-2008 the forces mobilized in the drills were then used by Moscow in the war against Georgia. Hence, there is a definite risk of history repeating itself and Kavkaz-2012 too may turn into Russian military aggression against Georgia.

To Lopota Gorge – from Dagestan or Pankisi?!

Special operation conducted at the end of August in the Lopota gorge in Kakheti region of eastern Georgia claimed lives of 3 Georgian policemen and 1 serviceman  and 11 insurgents but raised a lot of questions. The main question is what the armed people were planning to do if they really were terrorists and infiltrated the Georgian territory from Dagestan as the Authorities claim.

Georgian Defense Minister Dmitri Shashkin launched a competition through its Facebook page to name a reactive fire system presented in March of 2011 at Vaziani military training base by President Saakashvili. In contrast to Didgori armored vehicle and Lazika infantry fighting machine, this artillery installation devised by Delta scientific-technical center has no official name so far.

It matters to Georgia how its neighbors are armed

An international scandal that irritated the official Ukraine, Yerevan and Baku broke after the appearance of the scanned classified document in the Internet.

Turkey advices Russia not to help Armenia in case of Karabagh war

Daily crossfire on the Karabagh frontline between Armenian and Azeri troops is a regular phenomenon. Therefore, it is quite likely that any time this confrontation can grow into a large-scale armed operations. So what positions Russia and Turkey, the two influential neighbors, would take if the Karabagh war is rekindled?

The artillery fire opened by Georgian Army on 7 August from Gori surroundings in the Tskhinvali direction was used by Moscow as an excuse to move its armored columns towards the Roki tunnel.