Georgia, Pankisi Gorge. What is the life of the Pankisi Gorge?

On our land there are many such places, which at one time became the source of conflict in the line of religious trends or national interests. It is this, simultaneously mysterious and frightening, Pankisi Gorge. At this point in time, a military conflict broke out between the representatives of Georgia and Russia. What is this area at the moment? And what does the gorge live today?

Brief information about Pankisi Gorge

Pankisi Gorge is a secluded place located about 161 km from Tbilisi and not far from the Chechen Republic. This place is a kind of valley, located on the coast of the Alazani mountain river, with a total length of 28 km and a width of more than 5 km. It is covered with dense vegetation and offers an amazing view of the mountains and settlements.

What peoples live in the Pankisi Gorge?

Pankisi Gorge became a home for people of different nationalities. So, among the locals there are many Georgians and Ossetians who arrived here in 1901-1910 and live in seven villages: Khalatsani, Kutsakhta, Pichkhovani, Dumasturi, Koryeti, Tsinubani and Argokhi. In the canyon, the Kistinians, who are distant relatives of the Chechens from the North Caucasus, also live. In 1990, many refugees from the Chechen Republic moved here.

What do they say about Pankisi Gorge?

Pankisi Gorge is a unique place, with which many myths, legends and rumors are associated. For example, some sources say that it was at this point that the US intelligence services were engaged in training Islamists and then using them to stir up conflicts in various countries, including Iraq and Syria. At the same time, when recruiting terrorists, preference was given to citizens with Chechen roots.

Other sources say that the Pankisi Gorge is home to many dangerous terrorists who have been declared international wanted. For example, it was here that one of the leaders of the terrorist organization "IGIL" was born - Tarkhan Batirashvili, better known as General Red Beard. Also, some data indicate the presence in the gorge of a special "training base", in the territory of which militants from al-Qaeda were trained.

Still others say that due to the lack of prospects for the younger generation, many local residents go to Syria in search of a lighter and more impressive earnings, where they are attached to criminal groups.

The fourth argue that the Pankisi Gorge has long been sold to the Chechens and that there are practically no Georgians left. They were simply evicted from here. However, most rumors remain rumors, because they were repeatedly refuted by representatives of the Georgian authorities. Therefore, most of the statements are controversial.

The criminal history of the gorge in details

Who would have thought that in this picturesque corner, located a couple of meters from the Main Caucasian Range, there will be a real military confrontation. Moreover, the Pankisi Gorge has turned into a meaningful cluster of conflicts and incessant internecine strife.

It was here, according to sources, that trafficking in illicit drugs and weapons was seen. Here, as we said earlier, refugees flocked during the second Chechen war, and bright radical groups also left with them. For example, among them were bandit groups under the leadership of Ruslan Gelayev. So, on the sly, up to 1999, 5,000 Kistins lived in the gorge, and about 7,000 refugees have arrived here since the beginning of the antiterrorist operation in Chechnya.

In 2000, for the first time, information about militants in the gorge began to appear. The people began to talk about the emergence of gangs of militant militants, who looted, traded arms and narcotic substances. Over a short period of time, the Pankisi Gorge has become the most criminal region of Georgia.

In December of the same year, the Georgian authorities had nothing more to do than react in time to this information and introduce about two battalions of the country's internal troops into the gorge. However, even with the participation of the military, it was not possible to solve the problem with the concentration of militants. Already by the summer of 2001, it was decided to deport Ruslan Gelayev to Abkhazia. But in the autumn the militant and his henchmen came back.

Closer to 2002, Georgia again flared up. The Pankisi Gorge once again turned into a theater of military operations. This time a certain misunderstanding arose between Chechens and Ossetians. In the valley, they began to talk about the frequent abductions of Ossetians, about bloody "disassemblies" on the basis of religious themes and nationalism, about theft, attack on livestock, violence against women, etc. At night, as the locals say, while walking along the street it was very dangerous.

All this information did not go unnoticed. As a result, the Georgian authorities did not bring the conflict to this "related vendetta," so the Georgian authorities again introduced internal troops into the gorge . At the same time, US authorities began talking about the intention to send their military to the valley to fight the "unruly" terrorists. Instead, in the summer of 2002, joint exercises of both armies (American and Georgian) took place, in which about 1,500 Georgians took part.

At the same time, American representatives, together with the Georgian authorities, began to develop a plan to fight militants. About him learned the terrorists, decided not to wait for retribution. Therefore, they hastened to leave the gorge, moving to the neighboring Russian territory. At the same time, Russia's representatives accused Georgia of aiding terrorism, which was followed by a stiff response - Moscow's accusation of participation in the conflict. In this case, we mean the bombing of the Pankisi Gorge, which, judging by the accusations of the Georgian authorities, was organized by the Russian Air Force.

"Was there a boy at all?"

On November 27, Valery Khaburdzania, acting minister of state security of Georgia at that time, made a statement. In it, he told about alleged Russian helicopters that illegally invaded the airspace of the country and began bombing the gorge in the Hadoring area. "They frightened the locals," he stated. The same version was confirmed in the press service of the border guard service of the North Caucasus regional administration of the Russian Federation.

Nikolay Deryabin, the head of the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry, is of a different opinion. He denied the accusations of the Georgian side, citing the air strike only on the positions of the militants and then when they tried to penetrate the Russian border.

What ended the struggle with terrorists in the gorge?

In August 2002, the Georgian authorities, led by former President Eduard Shevardnadze, conducted an anti-terrorist operation. According to its results, an announcement was made that the terrorists were no longer in the valley.

According to statistics, the authorities surrounded and removed from the gorge 800 Chechen radicals, and along with them about 100 Arab militants. Then came the statement of the authorities that the Pankisi Gorge is not a hotbed of jihadism. Terrorists were eliminated, so the life of the population returned to its own place.

At the same time, the authorities of the Chechen Republic tried to agree on the provision of a humanitarian corridor in order to return their refugees from Georgia. Some of them returned. However, many decided to stay. And only a few decided to move to neighboring countries: Turkey, Azerbaijan and the cities of Europe.

What is the life of the Pankisi Gorge today?

What is happening in the Pankisi Gorge these days?

And although the conflict in the Pankisi Gorge is almost exhausted, other internecine strikes periodically break out here. So, for example, in 2013 the valley again became a kind of arena of interethnic conflict, in which Chechens and local Georgians were involved. According to eyewitnesses, five indigenous people of Georgia returned home and on their way met representatives of the Chechen diaspora. The word "hot blood" boiled over the words and veins of the participants in the conflict. A fight broke out, during which one of the Chechen representatives was wounded by an ax and was taken to the hospital.

The problem was settled only after the intervention of the Georgian authorities. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia personally communicated with representatives of both communities. As a result, the parties came to a compromise. Silence reigned for a long time in the gorge, time will tell.

Pankisi Gorge (Georgia): reviews of local residents

At the moment, the gorge provokes the most controversial reviews among local residents. Some people consider it a "hotbed of banditry" even today. Others say that ethnic fights and brawls there regularly occur. Still others admire the beautiful nature of the valley and suggest building new tourist routes along the gorge. In short, to understand Georgia, you need to visit it at least once!