Russia and Georgia: The Ways out of the Crisis

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Tbilisi, 2010

Present collection of the articles represents a certain outcome of the two-year development of so-called Istanbul Process, an initiative of the International Center on Conflict and Negotiation (ICCN) that was started right after the August war of 2008 with support from the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) and aimed at creating a space for facilitated meetings of independent Russian and Georgian experts to discuss various aspects of the current Russia-Georgia crisis and the ways out of it. The meetings are held on neutral soil, in Istanbul, which is why the project is called the Istanbul Process. All the authors of the book belong to the participants of the project meetings.

Not all the aspects of Russian-Georgian problem can possibly be comprised within the frame of one book. It is rather a topic for a broad multi-profile research paper, or even a series of papers, not attempted as yet. Furthermore, even if such a complex and profound research work appears, it is highly doubtful that it can get an adequate assessment in current circumstances characterized by polarized views of the same subject, politicized evaluations and positions, and pain from the recent wounds. It is commonly assumed that only from a historical distance and by someone else may it be possible to conceive and assess the issue part of which we ourselves are. However, an attempt to approach this ‘impossible mission’ should be done today.

The book introduces to the reader an excellent team of authors widely known for their scholarly works, as well as civil and journalistic activities. The chapters sparkle with ideas and insights, and we sincerely hope that reading this book will be a genuine pleasure for the reader. All the articles were written specially for this publication, and independently from each other, with the exception of the chapter written by Yazkova and Khaindrava that has been developed as a joint work of the two authors. As we live in a dynamic time, we should keep in mind that all the articles were written in the period before the summer, or before the fall of 2010 at latest. If a quote or a ref­erence to a later event appears, this may only be an insertion or correction made at a finalizing stage of editing, right before submitting the manuscript for publishing.

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• Russia and Georgia: The Ways out of the Crisis