Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War
war between Georgia and Russia
The Russo-Georgian War broke out in August 2008 and involved Georgia, Russian Federation, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Background
Events prior to August 2008 are described in 2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis.
Tensions began escalating in 2008 since Kosovo declared its independence, but the definitive trigger was a bombing on the road near Tskhinvali on 1 August, which wounded Georgian police officers. This provocation allegedly was planned in advance.
A chain of reactions and counter-reactions followed.
Overview timeline
August 1 - Five Georgians were injured in a bomb explosion targeting a car. South Ossetians were responsible for instigating this incident, which marked the opening of hostilities. In response, several South Ossetian militiamen were hit. South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages. These artillery attacks caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically since 1 August.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War” is war between Georgia and Russia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Timeline, Russo-Georgian and between, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “war between Georgia and Russia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2027435. Authority coordinates are 41.989, 44.418. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2008.
Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War primary sources, Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War archive and Timeline research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War”?
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- Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.