Say Anything Blog

Tonight Glenn Beck featured a discussion of the Soviet use of Chechen troops to terrorize and murder Georgians.  While that streaming video is not yet available, other sources have previously reported that Chechens are being used by the Russians in a way of outsourcing ethnic cleansing—a quaint expression for mass murder based on one’s nationality or ethnicity.

In the intro of the article which follows, I wonder if there is any connection between the name Shrek and the German meaning of that word, which is fear.  Even the Germans called the extermination of Jews and other enemies of the Nazi state in occupied territories Schrecklichkeit or frightfulness.

My name’s Shrek, said the soldier, his eyes glazed and staring as he cradled his Kalashnikov rifle.

The nickname given by his comrades to the bald, pug-eared soldier was the only moment of light relief during a day of tense drama in which The Times witnessed Russia breaching the ceasefire agreement over South Ossetia at will.

At a checkpoint set up by the Russian Army on the approach to the city of Gori from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, an armoured personnel carrier blocked the road and riflemen had fanned out in the surrounding bushes, their weapons trained on anyone who approached.

All were ethnic Chechens, whose reputation for pitiless brutality in war made them feared throughout the Caucasus.

The checkpoint was the first evidence that the deal brokered hours earlier by President Sarkozy of France was being ignored. Shortly after President Saakashvili had signed the agreement, Russian tanks and troops rolled into Gori.

The ceasefire had specified that both the Georgian and Russian armies should withdraw after the five days of bitter fighting. But the Russians had moved up to twenty tanks, armoured personnel carriers and hundreds of soldiers miles into Georgia to occupy Gori and take control of the road leading to Tbilisi.

One soldier, Yuri, said that his unit, part of the 42nd Chechen Division, had fought for the whole five-day campaign to wrest South Ossetia from Georgian control. Asked why they had taken Gori now, he said: “We were given an order and we are following it. We don’t know how long we will be here.”

Smoke rose behind him as buildings burnt in the villages surrounding Gori. There were also prolonged bursts of automatic gunfire, although Georgian troops had abandoned the city in a panic on Monday night.

(COMMENT:  If the Georgian army was gone, who were the Russian troops or their Chechen proxies, killing?)

A stream of Georgians fled the area in cars, tractors and lorries, taking what belongings they could. A black Volga car crammed with passengers carried two more escapers on its roof.

One elderly couple were walking, the woman clearly in shock, her face swollen and one eye badly damaged. She pointed backwards and said: They are killing people there, the Chechens and the Ossetians.

Irregular soldiers from South Ossetia were being accused yesterday of killing and looting, acts of revenge for the Georgian incursion on Friday that the Russians say cost 2,000 lives. The irregulars, mostly young, twitchy and armed by the Russians, were identified by white bandage strips tied around their sleeves. Some wore black balaclavas.

Then, suddenly, a convoy of about seventy Russian military vehicles – some carrying antiaircraft guns and all loaded with soldiers and irregulars – began to pour out of Gori and head towards the capital.

Russian flags flew from several of the vehicles. Some irregulars shouted that they were on their way to Tbilisi.

The convoy continued south for almost ten miles, unchallenged by the Georgian forces, which had withdrawn from Gori to Tbilisi. Just as it seemed that they might really be intent on reaching the capital, the vehicles turned left towards the village of Orjosani.

Irregulars jumped out to form a security cordon. Asked what their mission was, they said only that they had been ordered to advance to the village and await instructions.

Tengiz, a 23-year-old South Ossetian, brandished his gun and said: “If I had the chance I would go all the way to Tbilisi now, but there is a peace agreement so they don’t let us.”

Several army trucks had become detached from the main convoy and arrived after it had turned into the wooded lane leading to Orjosani. Oblivious, they ploughed on towards Tbilisi, now only a little over 30 miles away, before realising their error and making a sharp U-turn.

Six or seven miles up the road, and no more than twenty-five miles from Tbilisi, Georgian soldiers were scrambling to establish artillery positions. They had been caught out by the unexpected Russian movement and they had been scrambled from the capital to set up a defensive line.

“We have instructions not to allow the Russians to come any closer to Tbilisi,” one soldier said. “If they come here, we will shoot.”

Another soldier, kitted out in American fatigues, said: “If we don’t wait for them here, they will come straight to Tbilisi. We have no other choice. We are ready to fight.”

The ceasefire – less than a day old – was already hanging by a thread, and Russian troops had advanced farther into Georgian territory than at any point during the war. Already victorious militarily, the Russian Army appeared determined to humiliate Georgia by demonstrating that it alone would decide where to go and when.

Yesterday’s events also raised deeper questions about the value of the Russian President’s word. Dmitri Medvedev signed the ceasefire agreement but was clearly failing to enforce it.

Obviously, what Russians say and what Russians do are two completely different things.  In short, they lie.

They are also killing and terrorizing the Georgians with impunity.  Reports indicate that Russians have enlisted the services of Chechen thugs to do their wet work for them.

Survivors in Georgia tell of ethnic killing in wake of fighting

Geopolitical Diary: Russia’s Secret Chechen Weapon

Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution David Bakradze on Monday accused Russia of bringing “large” amounts of illegal military equipment and personnel into its secessionist region of Abkhazia. Included on Bakradze’s list of charges was that 200 new “peacekeepers” had been moved into Ochamchire — most of them Chechen. The Chechens have a long and bloody history in Georgia and Abkhazia, and using them as official peacekeepers is like throwing matches — or even road flares – at a powder keg.
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the situation between the Chechens and Russians has most definitely changed in the past year; Russia has locked down control of Chechnya for the first time since the Soviet period, declaring victory after two humiliating wars. The main reason the Russians were victorious this time is that Moscow switched tactics on how to smash the Chechen militancy, using Chechens to fight Chechens. This allowed Russia to create a large unofficial military force of Chechens that has locked down — though brutally — its own region. Currently, Russian authorities claim to have 15,000 people within their Chechen militia, which is rumored to use tactics that would make even Russian intelligence blanch — including the use of underground torture chambers and taking out entire families.

Russia Deployed Chechen Units Into Georgia

From 2002: Georgia sends five Chechens to Russia

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