Dimitri Medvedev’s Visit to Tskhinvali Region

On July 13, 2009, President of the Russian Federation, Dimitri Medvedev, visited Tskhinvali for the first time since the 2008 Russia-Georgia War. He flew to Tskhinvali by a helicopter from Mozdok military base in North Ossetia. Medvedev was met by thousands of applauding supporters in Tskhinvali. Medvedev’s visit was a surprise not only for the population, but Ossetian officials as well, including de facto President Eduard Kokoiti. 

Context of the Visit

A week before Medvedev’s visit to Tskhinvali, President of the United States, Barack Obama, was in Moscow, where they announced about the beginning of a historic reset policy. On July 7, during his speech at the Russian School of Economics, Obama stated that the US supports the territorial integrity of Georgia. Counter-balancing Obama’s statement with Medvedev’s visit to Tskhinvali, the Kremlin attempted to demonstrate that the reset policy does not mean abdicating spheres of influence in the post-Soviet area. In addition, there were suspicions in the occupied regions that due to the warming of relations between Russia and the US, the former’s interest towards Tskhinvali region would be weakened.

It is interesting to note that Medvedev’s visit to Tskhinvali coincided with several developments:  on July 20-24, the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, had planned a visit to Georgia and Ukraine; on July 14, U.S.S. Stout entered Batumi Sea Port to participate in a joint US-Georgia maritime exercise. Apart from this, the NABUCCO Pipeline project was signed in Ankara on the same day, which aimed to transport Caspian energy resources bypassing Russia. 

Cooperation in the Field of Military

During his visit to Tskhinvali Medvedev went to a newly built 4th Russian Military Base. At the base, Medvedev was hosted by Commander of the North Caucasus Military Oblast, General-Colonel Sergei Makarov, who led the Russian army during the War with Georgia. During his visit, Medvedev was also accompanied by the Minister of Defence of Russia, Anatoly Serdiukov. 

At his meeting with Kokoiti, Medvedev promised the Ossetian side economic and military support. “We have whole series of projects for restoring the economic and social fields of the republic. There is also need for support and cooperation in the field of defense”, said Medvedev. 

Assistance to Tskhinvali Region will Continue

No agreements were signed during Medvedev’s short visit. During the visit Medvedev underlined that Russia would continue funding Tskhinvali region’s reconstruction, despite the fact that he sees that the money of Russian tax payers has evaporated, as a big part of the city is still in ruins. 

At his meeting with Kokoiti Medvedev also talked about developing bilateral relations, reconstruction work after the war and state-to-state cooperation in various fields.

In Tskhinvali, Medvedev honored the memorial of those killed in Georgian-Ossetian conflict and held introductory meetings in various districts of the city. He also inspected the Parliament building and No. 5 public school that were damaged during the war. 

At the end of Medvedev’s visit, according to the official Kremlin statement “issues of the joint implementation of social-economic rehabilitation projects of Tskhinvali region were discussed”. 

In a month after Medvedev’s visit to Tskhinvali, on August 12, 2009, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, visited Abkhazia.