A solemn mourning ceremony at the memorial complex "Defenders of South Ossetia" was held on Sunday in Tskhinval in memory of the victims of the war 08.08.08.
After August 2008, the action was held annually on the central square of the capital of the Republic, on the stairs in front of the parliament building, where the concert of maestro Valery Gergiev was held in 2008, this year the commemorative event was moved to the territory of the new memorial complex "Defenders of South Ossetia".
To recall the events of 14 years ago, representatives of the Republic's leadership headed by President Alan Gagloev, a delegation from North Ossetia-Alania headed by Parliament Speaker Alexei Machnev, ex-President of the Republic of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov, Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia Marat Kulakhmetov, hundreds of residents of South Ossetia came to the solemn mourning ceremony,
Participants of the action laid flowers at the memorial, lit candles in memory of the victims, honored their memory with a minute of silence. Here everything was reminiscent of the tragedy that happened to the Ossetian people in August 2008: thoughtful and mournful eyes of people, video frames on the screen, tragic music, patriotic and pain-filled songs performed by South Ossetian artists Soslan Khasiev and Vano Bekoev.
"Today we have gathered here to remember our brothers and sisters, children and parents, soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of South Ossetia and the Russian army, law enforcement officers of South Ossetia, volunteers from North Ossetia and other regions of Russia who stood up for peace in our land and courageously resisted the perfidious attack of Georgia in 2008!
On the night of August 7-8, Tskhinval, district centers and villages of the Republic were subjected to air strikes, shelling of artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. Innocent people were killed- civilians, peacekeepers, defenders of the Motherland," Alan Gagloev said.
According to him, from the first minutes of the attack, both the servicemen and the militia fiercely resisted the Georgian aggressor.
"However, the forces were running out. It is not known how many more victims there would have been, but the Russian Federation, without retreating from its peacekeeping mission, forced Georgia to peace. For the sake of this noble goal, 67 soldiers and officers of the Russian army gave their lives.
Thanks to Russian support, we survived and restored our country, showed the whole world the unbending will of the Ossetian people for freedom and justice," the head of state stressed.
He has added that South Ossetia will always be grateful to the people of Russia and its leadership.
"The monument at which we are now standing embodies the Russian-Ossetian mutual assistance, solidarity, common victory and eternal memory to those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Unfortunately, the events taking place in the world show us how the West, in its attempts to retain its power over countries and continents, does not stop today from unleashing and provoking new wars. The events in the Donbas are proof of this. Therefore, we are obliged to educate the younger generation in the spirit of remembering the heroes and the innocently killed. No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten!" the President has stressed.
Gagloev called on his fellow citizens to continue hard and creative work for the sake of future generations.
"The best tribute to the memory of our fallen compatriots, peacekeepers, Russian soldiers will be our unity," the head of state said.
Alexei Machnev has noted that today is a difficult, mournful day of remembrance about how to love your people and defend your homeland, value freedom.
" People of Ossetia, by their example, showed the whole world how to do it. Glory to the older generations who raised the youth who defended the Republic! Glory to the youth who rebuffed the Georgian aggressors and defended their homeland! Glory to the people of South Ossetia," Machnev said.
Director of the National Museum, a writer Merab Zasseev spoke on behalf of the public of the Republic.
“Years pass ... But the fact that so many people are present at this event today is the evidence that we remember that bloody August. Our task is to remember the feat of our people, we have no right to forget the atrocities committed by our enemies on our land, so that future generations know at what cost we got life in a free republic,” the director has emphasized.
He has also drawn attention to the fact that fascism has not disappeared today, it has risen in Ukraine, where, along with Russia, representatives of different peoples, including Ossetians, are fighting it.
“We are with Russia, we are supporting it in the noble mission it is fulfilling. We have always been with it historically, and today we are also with it” he said.
