Phi Beta Delta: Dr. Smith Speaks of Security and Terrorism in the Caucasus Region

Dr. David Smith spoke for the PBD International Forum last night, telling the overflow audience about his experiences traveling in the Caucasus Mountains in December of last year. Smith was in the Russia for the conference on security issues in the region and took a trip to North Ossetia. The conflict over the South Ossetia region of Georgia broke into hostilities in 2008 when Russia invaded the region.

Dr. Smith began by discussing the Geography of the region and gave a historical lesson on how Joseph Stalin, the then Minister of Nationalities under VI Lenin, was responsible for drawing the boundaries of temporary "democratic" republics under the Soviet Union. With the fall of the USSR, these regions became republics on their own and violence has often resulted.

While in South Ossetia, Smith visited Beslan, where nearly 400 school children and their parents were killed by terrorists in 2004. Despite the Russian government's contention that the terrorists were Chechens, Smith told the audience that many residents of the area believe that the terrorists were Ingushetians who were displaced by Stalin for collaborating with the Nazis in WWII. When Mikhail Gorbachev allowed the Ingushetians to return, they found their property owned by South Ossetians, and this, many locals feel, was the reason for the attack.