Russian-controlled South Ossetia held so-called “presidential elections” on April 9. Observers and journalists — only Russian ones, of course — came to the self-proclaimed “republic.” However, even the Russian reports from the “republic” leave no doubt about the poverty and devastation that exists only a few dozen kilometers from Tbilisi. But the main issue is the lack of choice that no “elections” can mask.
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Vitaliy Portnikov: Occupied Donbas risks becoming like South Ossetia
David Vanishvili, 80, talks to journalists as he stands behind a wire barricade erected by Russian and Ossetian troops along Georgia's de-facto border with its breakaway region of South Ossetia in the village of Khurvaleti on July 14, 2015.
