Anxious Russians in Tbilisi pray for Georgia reconciliation

[Rusiko Amirejibi-Mullen]

Antoine Lambroschini

AFP

At a Russian Orthodox church in Tbilisi, Brother Mikhail blesses the  
Russians and the Georgians who come to pray that their conflict will  
come to an end and the two peoples live in peace.
"We have always lived well together here. The problems, the war are  
created by the politicians on both sides," said the monk, whose mother  
is Russian and father is Georgian.Some 45,000 Russians live in Georgia  
and mixed marriages have always been common, a legacy of the Soviet  
Union which constantly promoted love and brotherhood between its  
constituent republics.Despite the continued hostility between the two  
governments, Georgians and the Russian minority in Georgia are usually  
eager to emphasize they have no problems with each other, only with  
their leaders.During a visit by AFP, the Alexander Nevsky church,  
named after a 13th century Russian hero who warded off repeated  
Germanic invasions, was filled with Georgian and Russian believers who  
had come to pray for peace and reconciliation.It's an arresting image  
at a time when Georgian television is comparing the actions of the  
Russian troops who are still deployed deep inside Georgia to  
atrocities committed by the Nazis.On the other side, Russian  
politicians have compared Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to  
Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein."What I just cannot understand is that  
whether you are Russian or Georgian, God has made us from the same  
mould. How can we kill each other, spill the blood of the other?"  
asked Mikhail.Among the Russians praying in the church was Maria, 80,  
who moved to Tbilisi 46 years ago to be with her Georgian husband."I  
do not want to accuse anyone in this war. We lived so well together.  
My son speaks Georgian and lives in Russia where he is an architect."I  
am praying for peace. I kneel down in front of God to pray that this  
madness ends and that we can continue living as we did before," said  
Maria.Constantin, 40, is Georgian but had come to take part in the  
Russian Orthodox mass. As a product of an elite Soviet school, he  
speaks perfect Russian and still keeps the customs of his youth.Like  
most ethnic Russians, Georgians follow the Orthodox branch of  
Christianity. Although there are differences in rite and practice they  
are relatively slight.Constantin accused Russia of being responsible  
for the war but also acknowledged Georgia had to bear some of the  
blame."The Georgian government should not have responded to a  
provocation that had been planned long in advance," he said, referring  
to the dispute over the status of South Ossetia."I like the Russians  
and Russia. They are not the guilty ones in the conflict. The guilty  
ones are their leaders."Georgia is a country of tolerance. We all live  
together here, Azeris, Armenians, Russians, Georgians," he added.The  
manager of Tbilisi's Matrioshka (Russian doll) restaurant, where a  
display of Russian dolls and balalaika instruments in the window was  
the epitome of Russian kitsch, also predicted the two peoples could  
still be friends."My mother came from Belarus, my father is Russian  
and born here and I was also born here," said Oleg Afanassiev,  
speaking Russian with a Georgian accent."Even in the current  
situation, I have never had a problem on account of my nationality. My  
neighbours, my friends, my colleagues, we all find this very sad and  
together we are waiting for this all to end," he said.And despite the  
war of words between the Kremlin and Georgia's outspoken president,  
Saakashvili, the restaurateur is hopeful about future relations  
between Georgians and Russians."If the current crisis has no impact on  
our relations then nothing can hurt them. We will always stay  
together," he said.
But then again, at the height of what should have been the lunchtime  
rush, there were still no customers in his Russian speciality  
restaurant.