| 1 | The Russians destroyed my house and Ossetians looted it. | |
| 2 | Moscow has repeatedly intervened, mostly on the side of the Ossetians, to expand its empire and keep other imperial subjects in line. | |
| 3 | For centuries, Georgia and Ossetia have fought over the verdant valleys south of the Caucasus Mountains, each side trumpeting its own version of history to lay claim to the lands. |