INFORMATIONAL INFLUENCE APPLICATION ON THE CIVILIAN POPULATION BY THE RUSSIAN SIDE DURING THE RUSSO-GEORGIAN WAR IN AUGUST OF 2008

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyze the tools of interaction between the Russian side of the conflict and the civilian population of South Ossetia during the Russo-Georgian War in August of 2008; to determine the features of Russia’s informational impact on the civilians before and during hostilities. The main instrument of influence was the Russian propaganda, which was conducted before the conflict actively. The paramount ultimate goal of Russia’s information operations was to form in the international community the idea of Georgia as an aggressor state, which launched hostilities on its own territory against another ethnic minority. The methodology of the research is based on the general scientific principles of historicism, objectivity, systematicity, determinism and historical and logical dialectical unity. The main research methods are: generalization, logical and chronological analysis, periodization, as well as a special method of historical research: historical comparative. The following methods have been used: structural and functional analysis, search, formal logical, system structural, and analytical. The scientific novelty is that for the first time the analysis of historical open sources was carried out, which described the methods and tools of information and psychological influence on the civilian population of South Ossetia used by the Russian Federation before and during the Russo-Georgian War in August of 2008 based on the studied source base using modern methodological approaches. The carried out research confirmed Russia’s non-compliance with the norms of the international and humanitarian law, general provisions on human rights and the generally accepted principles and methods of military civil cooperation during the conflict. On the contrary, the Russian Federation special units used all possible methods in order to gather intelligence, organize systematic informational and psychological influence on the civilian population to form an opinion about the aggressor state Georgia and establish full control of the Russian Federation in South Ossetia. The Conclusions. The analysis revealed that the Russian Federation builds relationships with its neighbours, as with former colonies, without considering them as fully sovereign states. In order to achieve its goals, the Russian Federation uses separatism and irredentist claims in neighbouring countries. During the Russo-Georgian War, the main tools of influence on the civilian population of South Ossetia were the Russian propaganda and the confusion in facts. During the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, neither side established centers of civil and military cooperation due to the transiency of the conflict and the Russian Federation’s unwillingness to develop civilized approaches to resolve the conflict and make peace. The lack of interaction between the civilian population and the military led to a large amount of inaccurate and falsified data on the exact number of losses of both parties and victims among the local population, which allowed the Russian propaganda to manipulate the consciousness of their own citizens and the opinion of the world community, deliberately increasing the number of victims, and thus, increase hatred and aggression against the Georgian side.

Key words: civil and military cooperation, information struggle, hybrid war, the Russian aggression, Russo-Georgian War in August of 2008.