Jonathan Makiri

Photo Stories: One Year Ago - Georgia

In August of 2008, Georgia and Russia fought a bloody war over the contested region of South Ossetia. The battles only lasted a few days but casualties exceeded 2000 deaths and Russian tanks occupied the Georgian city of Gori, less than 90 kilometers from Georgia's capitol city of Tbilisi.

One year after the war, Georgians were still trying to piece together the details of how the war started while reacclimating to a semblance of normal life . Reminders of the war pervade the collective conscience of the country...always in the news... always discussed around the dinner table.

The possibility of a future war remains a contstant threat with political posturing from both sides being a weekly occurrence.

''One Year Ago' attempts to document the conflicting mindsets of the Georgian people one year after the war-- attempting to return to life as normal -- unsure what the future holds in a tenuous relationship with their ominous neighbors to the north.

  
Vaska Mgaloblishvili looks out the window of a train on its way to Tbilisi. Mgaloblishvili, a university student, says he has difficulty focusing on school because of the uncertain future of his country.
   
Girls dance during a supra, traditional Georgian dinner, in Bakhvi.
     
  
Rustaveli Square, Tbilisi.
   
A man splashes water at a girl in Bakhvi.
  
Dry Bridge flea market, Tbilisi.
     
  
Lovers' Park, Tbilisi.
   
A man looks out over Tbilisi from Narikala Fortress.
   
A family collects khinkali, Georgian dumplings, to take home from a restaurant in Mskheta.
     
  
A man fires a khalishnikov in Mutso near the border with Russia. Some residents in the area stockpile weapons to defend themselves in the event of another war with Russia.
  
Supra, Mitso.
  
A women pauses in the streets of Sololaki, Tbilisi.
     
  
A man is fed the Georgian drink cha cha during a supra in Mitso.
  
Jvari church, Mshketa.
  
Skate park, Tbilisi.
     
  
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mshketa.
   
Flower vendors, Tbilisi.
   
A dog overlooks a ravine in Shatili.
     
  
Nina Mgaloblishvili (right) dances in her home during a supra in Bakhvi.
  
A girl lights candles at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mshketa.
   
Grafitti art of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Many Georgians have negative feelings toward Putin as an oppressive aggressor left over from the fall of the Soviet Union.