14.04.2009 19:19 | He Was Shot in a Court Yard of His House

7-year-old Alan and three-month-old Milena lost their father's love and care in result of Georgian aggression. Georgian invaders shot their father Vilen Chibirov in cold blood at his native house.

Vilen was 33 years old, he graduated from sports faculty of SOSU. For some years he was carrying out his service in a home guard. On the eve of the military operations, on August, 7, he sent his wife and two children to Vladikavkaz, and defending his native town he took up arms. His father Valiko and mother Nazi Bekoeva-Chibirova stayed in Vladikavkaz. Chibirovs family lived in the end of

in the area of school №12. After heavy preparatory bombardment the Georgian military hardware and infantry invaded there. On August, 9 Georgian army, being turned out the day before, entered city again. They took the residents of two-storied building hostage, there were Vilen`s parents among the hostages. As black-robed Vilen`s mother Nazi tells, her son mounted guard from the beginning of Georgian aggression and she took cover in a basement together with her husband and the neighbours. Firstly we were hiding out from the bombardments and then - from enemy tanks, which having entered the city fired at the apartment houses.  

14.04.2009 19:14 | The Enemy Bullet Cut Short His Life

People of South Ossetia managed to stand up and keep the independence after the bloody invasion of the numerous Georgian armed forces on August of this year.

They paid a heavy price for the victory: thousands of civilians died in result of the aggression. Quite a number of the citizen soldiers gave up their lives for the honour and radiant future of our republic.

Albert Tedeev was one of the valiant defenders of the independence of South Ossetia and the devoted patriot of his nation. On August, 30 he would be turned 44. He was shot by Georgian sniper on August, 11 in area of Ergnet village during the clean-up operation, when citizen soldiers and Russian peacemakers mopped up the territory of South Ossetia from occupational forces of Georgian Ministry of Defence.

His wife Raisa Arsoeva and two sons aged 14 and 13 are left without their unfailing friend, breadwinner and shield and buckler of the family.

Albert Sevaevich Tedeev was born in village Erzo. From the age of 13 he was growing up fatherless; his father died an unexpected death.  Three years ago he entered the people's volunteer corps, his company mounted guard in the area of a knitting factory. Earlier Albert used to work in law machinery of RSO, he was given the rank of junior sergeant.

14.04.2009 19:13 | Why?

The 9th of August, 2008 was the last day of Abaeva Leila Pavlovna life. She used to live in Moscow with her family, but three years ago she came to Tskhinval to see her old mother, who didn’t want to leave her house and go miles and miles away not at any price. “What should I be doing in Moscow? My home is here and I am going to spend here the rest of my life” – she used to say. Leila loved Tskhinval very much too, it was her native town, and great number of her friends lived there. On the eve of well-known August events the tensions were growing with every day. There was not a day or a night without heavy shelling of peaceful Tskhinval. A lot of townspeople went from Tskhinval as far as possible. They advised Leila to return to Moscow too, but she always answered that her house was here now and she had to share her nation’s fate till the last. Though, as she confessed, her heart was heavy and she was gripped by mortal fear when the next bombardment used to begin.

But could she suppose her young, beautiful life would come to the end and she would be killed by Georgians, with whom she became related many years ago and dreaming of love and happiness cast in her lot with that nation.

10.04.2009 19:29 | He was looking forward to meeting his mother

Vladislav Gazzayev (Hurum) died as a hero during the military operations together with his friends Vilen Chibirov and Victor Tadtaev trying to rescue the hostages, taken by Georgians in the area of 12-th schools. All three of them died.

At the outset of Georgian aggression Vladik made a stand for native Tskhinval. Hewas 35 yearsold.

He lived with his aged grandmother Natasha Gagloeva (she was 85 years old) and his uncle, the invalid of the second group. Vladik was the sheet-anchor of their life. It is hard to the grandmother to talk about her dead grandson, she cries all the time. “Vladik was the matchless person. He was kind and sensitive. He loved his granny very much, took cared of her and of his ill uncle. He did all domestic chores and even prepared food for his grandma and uncle by himself. During the fights Vladik came home for some minutes to visit us and the grandmother. He reassured us, saying we shall come through all right and Georgians will never win a victory over Ossetians”, - Dunya Gazzayeva, the neigbour bearing the same family, says.

It turned out, that after the divorce of his parents Vladik was brought up by the grandma. His mother left for the Ukraine, where she came from. Vladik used to get in touch on the phone with her, but haven’t seen his mother for more than 10 years. As Dunya Gazzayeva said, Vladik was going to the Ukraine. He even got a ticket for August, 18. “He was looking forward to meeting his mother very much” - the neigbour said.

10.04.2009 19:23 | Tokaeva Elvira Georgievna, born in 1955, the resident of village Grom, Tskhinvalski area of RSO

In the morning of August, 8 about 05.10 a.m. a big explosion occurred. I already woke up. My mother-in-law is paralyzed, she also has a skin cancer and therefore can't sleep. I used to get up periodically at night to see her. That morning I looked out and suddenly such a shooting began, that my ears were blocked. I have hidden and when it became a bit calmer, I looked out of the window and saw our neighbours running somewhere. I asked them: “What’s happened?” The neigbour ran into and said: “What are you going to do? The war has begun! Georgians have stormed into the village!” I couldn’t leave my sick mother-in-law and save my own life by fleeing. She would die without nursing; there is nobody to give her a medicine, nobody to nurse.

And the residents of the village which is how got into the all cars they found in a village and drove away. Some people ran for the forest and hid there. All this time Georgians continued the bombardment of the village and the roads.

Suddenly our neighbour drove a car here and cried: “Elvira, why are you standing?! Georgians are already in the village! Some residents of the village are wounded. Rusiko, Hariton and some other men are wounded. We must run!” I said: “I cannot leave my mother-in-law. I can not flee.” Then he went away without us. We were alone in the village. I had been with my mother-in-law and my neigbour had been with her sick mum. They were so frightened of a morning cannonade they have hidden and everybody kept knocking in vain. Everybody thought they already left. In general, they moved to our place. We put the patients in a cellar. Though my mother-in-law cannot be moved categorically, we had to do it; in other case Georgians could enter and kill her.

10.04.2009 19:20 | He died defending the peace

Ahsar Kelehsaev (born in 1966) is one more peacemaker killed by Georgian aggressors.

Ahsar began to serve in peace-making forces of RNO-Alania in 2004. He was the gunner. For the conscientious work he was awarded by battalion command. Earlier he used to work as a mechanic at knitting factory of Tskhinval.

Ahsar died of severe wound, which he received confronting the Georgian aggression on August, 9 at village Tbet.

Ahsar`s mother, Nazi Turmanova-Kelehsaeva is going haywire with grief.

“When the aggression just began I left for Beslan together with Ahsar`s daughters to see my sister.  -  The mother tells. – I was very worried about my son who had been carrying out his service since the first day of Georgian attack.

We could not get in touch with him. I didn’t know where he had been and what’s happened to him. I couldn't sleep a wink the nights, my hart was with him.

There were a telecast about Ardon hospital at local TV and suddenly I saw my son among the wounded, who were taken there from Tskhinval. When I came to the hospital to see him, he was covered in bandages and could scarcely speak”.

10.04.2009 18:58 | Georgians shot her when she wanted to enter the shelter

Several months ago there was an eventful proceeding in a life of 20-year-old Regina Puhaeva – she got married. The newly-weds lived in Dzau, where her husband came from. Near the beginning of August happy Regina came for a few days to see her parents, who lived in area Shanghai, in a hostel of agricultural college. She was at her parents` home when the surprise attack of Georgian army on South Ossetia began; she didn’t manage to leave for Dzau, where her husband had been. During the bombardments of Georgian artillery Regina together with her parents and the neighbours took cover in a basement of a hostel.

On August, 9 Georgian armoured units and infantry entered this urban district. As the eyewitness of the tragedy Maiya Tskhovrebova, the neigbour of Puhaev`s family says, Georgian soldiers were extremely cruel in their outrages.

“The Georgian tank stopped in front of our hostel, it fired at the building of a hostel and dwelling houses. After a while the group of Georgian soldiers entered a hostel. They shouted, called the roomers out of the shelter. They forced doors open and threw the grenades into the rooms, shot. We took cover in a basement and were trembling with fear. We thought these barbarians were just about to find us and inflict reprisals, but, fortunately, they went away soon, probably they had been in a hurry.

04.04.2009 20:36 | He defended his republic

Micro-district Shanghai is situated in the southwestern part of Tskhinval. Military Georgian aggression had grave consequences in this outskirt, which borders on village Nikozi. They were shooting at the uptown from Nikozi village. On August, 9th Georgian armoured cars and the infantry entered Shanghai. Their criminal actions gave civilian population the creeps.

Vadim Gussalov during the Georgian aggression at the beginning of nineties joined the colours voluntarily. Since 1991 he was in people's volunteer corps. He became a platoon leader. At night from the 7^th to the 8^th of August, when the attack of Tskhinval began, Vadim was on the post which bordered on village Nikozi, where strong enemy forcers concentrated. From this village Georgians barraged the uptown and fired at Ossetian volunteer corps’ positions. During the fighting he was shot in the leg: the bullet cut down a finger on his right hand.

He made the way to the base of peacemakers where they gave him first aid. When the wound was dressed he came to see his family. Vadim`s family lived at Herzen Street. “We were taking cover in a basement, there were our neighbours together with us there, about 17 persons altogether. –Vadim`s wife Madina Plieva says. - Vadim made sure everything was OK with us and with wounded arm returned on  the firing line”.

It was difficult for him to handle a weapon without a finger on the right hand. Vadim needed medical treatment. The nurse, who dressed his wound in the staff of peacemakers, recommended him to go immediately to the hospital, but he did not go. In the afternoon of August, 9 the Georgian tanks entered Shanghai area. It was difficult for not numerous citizen soldiers to withstand them and they had to drop back. They were going to take new positions. Vadim tried to creep across the kitchen gardens to the other place, but at this moment Georgian invaders shot him.

04.04.2009 20:34 | The victims of Georgian aggression: 3-year-old Dina Elbakieva and Angelina Harazishvili

Hundreds of peaceful citizens died in result of heavy firing attack on sleeping Tskhinval, started by Georgian army at night from the 7th to the 8th of August.

The lives of many families were ruined. Vyacheslav Elbakiev`s life turned out to be fate, he suddenly lost his beloved wife Angelina (she was 34 years old) and 3-year-old daughter Dina.

Vyacheslav Elbakiev and Angelina Harazishvili loved each other very much, but the circumstances were such that after many years of their marriage they did not have children. They wanted to have a child very much and adopted Dina as a daughter when she was a child of tender years. They took the baby from a maternity hospital, where the birth motherleft her.

As Angelina`s friends Inara Gigolaeva and Emma Parastaeva says, the spouses adored Dina, always presented her with different gifts. “Not any parents love their children as Slavik and Angelina loved their adopted daughter. Dina brightened up their life, added warmth and joy”, - the friends told. The relatives of Vyacheslav and Angelina loved little Dina very much too.

Vyacheslav works in Ossetian peacemaking battalion. Angelina was a businesswoman. They rented a private house on Hariton Pliev Street

, where they had moved in a few days before that tragic night. Heretofore they rented the house on Bush alley (the alley is named in honour of the well-known biologist), where they made friends with the families of Inara and Emma. “Since the early morning of August, 7 the tensions were growing. Tskhinval and a number of villages of our republic draw fire from Georgia.

04.04.2009 20:31 | Valieva Fatima Kazbekovna, born in 1969, resident of village Helchua, Tskhinvalski area of RSO

When all this horror began, we took cover in a basement of the house. We were going to rescue there. Now this house is completely destroyed too. People were fleeing wherever they could. The shells constantly landed here, maybe they did it with the express purpose, I don’t know. When we brought the wounded man here, one shell landed right next to us. It’s a miracle that we stayed alive.

We did not expect that such things could happen. I don’t know… They used here not the sub-machine guns only, but mortars and “Grad” rocket systems. Scorched earth and shell splinters are the evidences of it. If we knew, if we only expected, we would make ready and it wouldn’t happen.

Then Georgian soldiers entered the village, they posted sentries, forced the doors, they even took the foodstuffs away from the people, hidden in the basements. We ran for the forest, we were going to take cover there and they started shooting us in the back. There were bombing attacks of the Georgian airforce. We didn’t know what’s going on. There was such a heavy shelling – the road is riddled.  People ran down the road, now this road turned into the scorched earth, there is no one green leave on the trees.

Our neighbour Ibragim Kisiev was killed before my eyes. There was heavy shelling and we could not take his body home. When it became a bit calmer, we dragged him away from the road to the nearby house and left it there for a while. After a time, being under constant bombardment we have dug anyhow a grave for him in a kitchen garden of their house and transferred him there. We wrapped him in a cellophane film and buried. In thirteen days only his relatives managed to return to the village and buried him according to customs. There are two killed men in our village in all. Eight people were wounded; the elderly, women and nineteen-year-old girl are among them.