Lenin on an armored car, Yeltsin on a tank, and Saakshvili on an Infantry Fighting vehicle...

Recently in Georgia, another anniversary of the "Bolshevik occupation" was remembered. On this occasion, Mikheil Saakashvili spoke at the newly restored military base in Gori, which had been destroyed in August 2008. He personally presented the new infantry fighting vehicle of Georgian production, "Lazika", stating that the Georgian IFV "significantly exceeds its Russian and Western counterparts." An hour before the speech, the Supreme Commander himself had tested the vehicle at the Vaziani military training ground. "Lazika" is equipped with an automatic 23 mm caliber gun and a 7.62 mm-caliber machine gun. The fire management system is remote. In addition, "Lazika" has night-vision and thermal equipment. The crew consists of 3 persons, but the vehicle can fit 7 more troopers.

The editor-in-chief of the independent military-analytical magazine "Arsenal", Irakli Aladashvili, shared his opinion about the new military machine with VK: "At first glance, 'Lazika' is similar to Russian infantry fighting vehicles, especially the lower part. As for the tracks, they are clearly influenced by the IFVs of the Russian army, the only difference is that a Russian IFV has 6 pairs of wheels in the track, while "Lazika" has only five. But the hulls are quite different. Weapons are set out of the hull and are controlled automatically. "Lazika" has a modern fire control system, as well as the most up-to-date night and thermal (infrared) vision. In addition, in contrast to the IFV, "Lazika" has a door at the rear that can be even more convenient for quick landing. "Lazika's" hull is higher than that of a Russian IFV. In general, this tendency is inherent in  modern Western development: in the West they are trying to build a machine in which a person feels convenient - I cannot say "comfortable", because we are still talking about military equipment. According to the Ministry of Defense of Georgia, the armor of "Lazika" can withstand a bullet of up to 14.5 mm caliber. But it is unclear whether it can stand fire from any angle - and this is a very important criterion."

Speaking in front of a "Lazika" before the personnel of the military base, Mikhail Saakashvili criticized those politicians who advocate the withdrawal of Georgian troops from Afghanistan: "All those who talk about it and still call themselves supporters of NATO and the EU, are, in fact, lackeys of Moscow. This is as clear to our people as noonday. If we want to have a state, we need an army, and if we want to have an army, we have participate in international military missions. "

According to the Georgian leader, today Georgia has never been closer to ensuring its safety, but it is being hampered by "secret supporters of Putin": "I suggest to the supporters of Putin to express their agenda openly and not be evasive," Saakashvili said, stressing that Georgia needs not just safety, but safety in conditions of freedom, which is only possible within NATO and the EU. "The guarantee of our security will be the family of the strongest nations, which is ready to welcome Georgia and to support its statehood, freedom and existence. Today the name of this family is NATO and the EU. There is no need to recall that 20% of our territory is occupied by the enemy and "the nuclear power has many times threatened to destroy Georgia," the President of Georgia said.

At the same time, Saakashvili chided a Georgian singer, soloist of the rock-band "A-Studio" Keti Topuria, because "two days ago, she sang at a pro-Vladimir Putin campaign rally, whereas even many Russian performers do not perform at the concerts in Putin's support."

Speaking about the prospects of improving relations with Russia, Saakashvili pledged that "he really wants it," but to establish good relations with Moscow and at the same time to maintain  sovereignty, in his opinion, is absolutely impossible. "Some of our partner countries abandoned the Euro-Atlantic orientation but failed to improve relations with Russia. Today, they pay for gas three times more than Georgia," the president said, having Ukraine in mind.

According to Saakashvili, those who state that America and Russia are just the same, in order to portray themselves as neutral, are either poorly informed, or are "pathological liars." "Have the U.S. or the EU ever forced us to do anything against our own will? And Russia is constantly demanding we join the CIS, then the signing of the agreement during military conflicts. As a result, we lost 20% of our territory, of our citizens. Perhaps, these countries [U.S. and the EU countris] are much stronger than us, but they view us as partners and not as vassals," Saakashvili said. "The only thing we should be afraid of is their indifference. Therefore, we must constantly remind them of our problems."


Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Specially for VK.