In Sighnaghi

I came to Sighnaghi, and took it upon myself to buy several kilos of pasta and rice, as well as a couple dozen cans of food.

Reports are that The Russians are Invading, almost like some B-rate Cold War era movie. In fact, Georgian television has been showing all kinds of anti-aggressor movies lately, including usual suspects Gladiator, Braveheart (with hilarious Georgian overdubbing), Top Gun... and one that I somehow missed in my 80s youth, Red Dawn. In this one, Patrick Swazey, Martin Sheen, and some others are a bunch of high school kids who are the last ones standing to defend an American town against the invading Russians, go figure.

Anyway, they're saying that The Russians have advanced into Gori, Stalin's hometown, effectively splitting Georgia in two as this is the major city in the center of the country. From the west, Russian tanks and troops have advanced into Zugdidi and reports are that they plan an offensive into the Svan highlands that border Abkhazia (keyword Kodori Gorge). The Georgian army has fallen back and is in position to defend Tbilisi, though air superiority and vastly superior ground forces don't give Georgians much of a chance.

Many people have fled Tbilisi already, moving east towards Sighnaghi and further towards Azerbaijan. 12 bombs were dropped on the old Soviet era military base in Eastern Georgia, reportedly heard from Sighnaghi, but there were no casualties. The bomb we heard yesterday morning turned out to be an attack on the radar station that directs international civilian air traffic for the airport, so I don't think many flights are coming in and out right now.

On the political pressure front, you all know probably more than me, but they're saying that Sarkozy and others are heading to Moscow today to try to get the Russians to sign a ceasefire pledge which the Georgians have already signed.

In Sighnaghi, the moon is rising, the crickets chirping as usual. Quiet with no car traffic.