The consequences of recent events in Georgia have been both political and economic. After the deaths of innocent people, perhaps the most serious long-term impact of the war will be the rupture of long-standing cultural ties and the dull pain in the hearts of those whom we have gotten used to regarding as symbols of a Russian-Georgian culture.

RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Sofia Kornienko spoke with Georgian composer Giya Kancheli in his home in Antwerp.

The following is a note the 73-year-old composer included in a dedication to Mariinsky Theater director Valery Gergiyev on his 50th birthday:

"Dear Valery,

"Our creative and personal relationship, which has endured many years, has filled me with hope that the powerful energy you possess will travel the globe and return, like a boomerang, to the symbolic circle Bertolt Brecht called 'the chalk circle of the Caucasus.' This piece, which I have dedicated to you, I named an Ossetian word, 'Ouarzon,' which means 'love.' When I transcribed this word in Latin letters it turned out, to my surprise, that it sounds like 'war zone.' Unfortunately, this transcription reflects the reality of events transpiring in the Caucasus. It is commonly known that the difference between love and the creation of a 'war zone' is just one poorly thought-out step. The way back, on the other hand, is long and difficult.

"I embrace you,

"Giya Kancheli"
That was in May 2003.

RFE/RL: Did you anticipate the recent events in Georgia?

Giya Kancheli: No, nothing of the sort. For me, what happened was equivalent to September 11 in New York. I couldn't have imagined anything like it. I could not imagine that my country would be occupied by the Russian Army.

I have two grandsons there, so I was very worried for them. I had tried to bring them back to their homeland several times. They live in Germany right now, and came to Georgia for vacation. When they arrived, it wasn't like this, and they decided to stay, because they felt good there.

RFE/RL: How old are they?

Kancheli: Seven and 13. My granddaughter is there now, too, but she is very little, and doesn't understand anything yet. The fact that they were there during the toughest days makes me somehow proud; I like it. They were around Tbilisi, and as you know, a lot of forest land was burned down there.

RFE/RL: The Borzhomi?

Kancheli: Yes, this forest reserve has been almost destroyed. And not just the Borjomi, but many others. They did some sort of firebombing on the areas around Tbilisi. [My grandchildren] went to the city for a few days and then came up there.

You know what? The people who wanted to deal with President [Mikheil] Saakashvili once and for all miscalculated: even if he had faced some opposition earlier, and there had been some sort of discontent with him, now there is unity, and it's going to endure for some time. It cannot be otherwise at this point.

When they say that the railroad going into Abkhazia is being repaired so that they can move trains loaded with tanks, I don't want to believe it. On the other hand, I am witnessing it now, as I witnessed it then. Or rather, what I am witnessing now is completely different from what I observed earlier.

For 16 years, Russia's so-called "peacekeepers" were not there to resolve the conflict, but to take part in it. That was very tangible. I always thought we committed a grave mistake when Georgia's first popularly elected president [Zviad Gamsakhurdia] -- I don't even want to pronounce his name right now -- raised his fist and crushed the South Ossetian autonomous region. It ended in bloodshed, and I knew back then that it would lead to something awful in the future.

I never defended the decision by the Georgian leadership to send troops into Abkhazia, which resulted in 300,000 ethnic-Georgian refugees. It was then that the Abkhaz people started to feel hostile toward us. I'm not talking about the leaders, because leaders are always nationalists, to some degree, and they incite tragedies. And the events in South Ossetia -- I didn't understand what that was about. Because maybe we've had some conflicts in our past, but I'm convinced that today the closest people to us are the Ossetians.

When we start to prove who was right historically, it is almost impossible to find a common denominator. All we have are some sort of historical monuments; some sort of churches, monasteries built centuries ago, and to say that this or that was not Georgian land is strange to me, and I don't want to talk about it, because it won't lead to anything.

Speaking Truth, Not Ideals

RFE/RL: Unfortunately, it is used as an argument by people who support the conflict.

Kancheli: You know, you have to recall the words of [French author] Romain Rolland, I like this quote a lot: "Truth is the same for everyone, but every nation has its own special lie that it calls its ideal." The ideal of the Abkhaz leadership is that the land they're on isn't Georgian. And this I cannot deny because it's just silly.

RFE/RL: And now, when you are here, at home, watching the events from Antwerp, do you feel the desire to go back, or the opposite -- are you happy that you are not there, and that God saved you from witnessing everything firsthand?

Kancheli: You know, if I felt that my visit could change anything, I would definitely go. I don't remember when exactly -- 1993, I think, after the war in Abkhazia -- I wrote a piece that was performed for the first time in Saarbrucken, and I called it "Wingless." I dedicated it to those young Georgians and Abkhaz who died during the war.

And I don't see anything strange in the fact that my friend, Valery Gergiyev, came to Tskhinvali with his orchestra and had a concert there. The only thing that hurt me a little was the fact that Gergiyev, a personality and a musician of such proportions, and a friend of many Georgians, a man who has done so much for Georgia, didn't -- as he should have -- dedicate his performance of Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky to fallen Ossetians and Georgians as well. That stumped me somewhat.... I actually have a very interesting concert coming up in Tsinandali, in Kakhetia. Gidon Kremer is coming with "Camerata Baltica."

RFE/RL: When will that be?

Kancheli: It will be on October 8. Besides this, the Rustaveli theater is celebrating Sturua, who turned 70 on July 31. I hope that someone from Russia comes, because Robert Sturua, whom I have helped stage several performances, has many friends in Russia. I don't know if anyone called him, but my friends didn't call me. For me it was very, very.... I took it badly.

RFE/RL: From Russia?

Kancheli: Yes, it appears just as in my youth they were loyal Leninists, now they are loyal Putinists. What can you do? I don't know. You know, I often remember the words of a man I love and respect, [Russian writer] Andrei Bitov, that the nation that gave the world the greatest culture failed to become a civilized nation itself.

RFE/RL: Well, since you mention Andrei Bitov, let's mention his involvement in the notorious letter, also signed by Gergiyev, where Georgia was called a pawn in the United States' game.