On August 7, Russian troops resumed the process of the so-called "borderisation" of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, between the territories controlled by Tbilisi and Tskhinvali.
Metal poles and barbed wired have gone up in the past few days, as a result of which residents find their orchards, vegetable gardens, pastures, family graves and homes taken from them.
The village of Gugutiankari has been severely affected and practically divided in two.
In the village of Gugutiantkari, you won't find a family that was not affected by the August war.
JAMnews presents a report from Gugutiantkari – a village they talk more about the past more than they do about tomorrow.
The gates to Amiran Margishvili's courtyard are wide open.
Having just noticed us, the owner invites us in with a wave of the hand.
A table is set up in the garden right in front of the house. On the table are fried potatoes, a salad of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and between them a jug full of red wine (lomauri).
Hot nazuki and shoti bread are laid out on a tray. There are four people at the today.
Today is a special day: former neighbors have come to visit – a family who left the village after the 2008 war and moved to Gori.
"My heart could not stand it – for several days now, they've been talking about my native village [on the news]. I wanted to see my house", says Khatuna, a middle-aged woman.
The media has indeed been talking about Gugutiantkari the past few days.
Since August 7, Russian troops have been erecting a so-called border here between the Tskhinvali region and the rest of Georgia.
Gugutiankari is part of the Gori municipality and is located 35 kilometers from Gori, but it is closer to Tskhinvali – just 18 kilometers away.
Before you get to Gugutiantkari, you must pass through a Georgian police checkpoint.
For several days now, the police have not let anyone pass without checking their documents.
Since the Russian soldiers resumed the 'borderisation' process, an identification card has not been enough to pass – even journalists need permission from the Ministry of the Interior.
Back at the table, the former neighbours recall stories from the past.
"Until recently, life here was in full swing," said Amiran Margishvili, the 64-year-old head of the household says.
"Who could imagine what is happening here today! I used to play football with Ossetians in that football field over there. I still remember their names. Since the war, I haven't heard anything from them."
Another pipes up:
"Remember the taxi driver Vasya? He used to bring Ossetians over here on holidays. Whenever they called him, he never refused. And sometimes during the night he had to make several trips in order to bring all the guests home", recalls Neli Metreveli.
Residents of Gugutiankari were especially close friends with residents of the villages of Khelchua and Disevi. The Georgian side lost control of the villages after the 2008 war.
The conflict divided many families, relatives and loved ones.
"Remember the store in Khelchua? Everything was sold there, nothing had to be brought in from Gori. Ossetians and Georgians would go there to chat and gossip. I owed 21 lari to the store…and to this day I haven't been able to repay them. I would take flour and repay them, everyone trusted each other. And then the war began…", Khatuna Pichkhnarashvili, a guest of the Margishvili family from Gori, says, joining in the conversation.
After the war, Khatuna and her family left their house in Gugutiantkari and moved to Gori for temporary residence.
In early August, Russian troops laid a new line of occupation right in front of her two-story house with a small courtyard. Today, the house is in ruins. The weeds are so tall they cover the windows of the first floor.
"After the war, we left the village. The house has been so severely damaged, it is impossible to live in it. And it's scary – the Russians stand right there. And now the barbed wire near the house has been extended. There was a tiny hope of being able to comeback, but now it is gone", says Khatuna.
With tears in her eyes, she says that Gugutiantkari is already firmly in her past.
"But I wasn't able to really start a new life either. We received the status of internally displaced person and temporary housing. We have been waiting for years, but we have not yet been able to get back our own home", she says.
Russian security services and representatives of the de facto government of South Ossetia started the 'borderisation' process in 2009, a few months after the August war.
The goal of this process is to turn the administrative border of Georgia with South Ossetia / Tskhinvali region into an interstate border.
The process is largely carried out by the Russian military.
They stretch barbed wire, build metal and wooden fences, dig trenches and fire ditches, mount border...