Situation has changed at Upper Lars border crossing point with Georgia

Situation has changed at Upper Lars border crossing point with Georgia



On September 28, due to the collapse at the Upper Lars checkpoint, a high alert regime was introduced in the region. The entry of cars into the republic was limited. They let only the transport of residents of North and South Ossetia, Georgia, as well as those who went to the region on vacation and could present the relevant documents.

Victoria, who is stuck in a traffic jam, is skeptical about the news that the situation has stabilized. “We stood in front of the village of Chmi for two days. Transport passed a little bit. And now they haven’t made much progress, ”the girl says. - Yes, traffic police officers stand at every turn, fine those who try to bypass the line in the opposite direction. But local cars, this does not seem to concern, they rush forward.

She is immediately pulled back, explaining that there are two more villages after Chmi. Locals need to somehow get home.

“It happens that we stand without movement for two or three hours at all, when we manage to drive 30 meters at a time – happiness,” says Dmitry from the queue. He is encouraged: “In 15 hours, 2.5-3 kilometers is an excellent result. We drove 200 meters for 30 hours.”

One of the drivers of the heavy truck shares that he has been standing in line for 6 days. It's still not clear how much it will cost.

Everyone admits that the closer the checkpoint, the more order on the road. “We have two kilometers left to the border, everyone is standing in one row. The rest of the entry lanes are free,” Oleg shares.

Eyewitnesses report that cyclists and scooters are no longer visible on the roads. The "shop" was closed. Now you can only pass through the Russian checkpoint on four wheels. People believe that the waiting time from 5-6 days will now be reduced to at least 3.

Someone in the chat remarks that they saw a young man in a cast in a wheelchair, who quickly crossed the border. This causes many to suspect: did the guy wrap himself in bandages on purpose? Curses are poured into his address: “Shame and disgrace”, “So that he really broke his leg.”

Everyone's nerves are on edge. Everyone’s mood rises by a degree when someone asks the question: “How much alcohol can I bring from Georgia to Russia?” People unanimously respond: “They always carried more than the norm, they convinced the customs officers that relatives gave, how could they not take it? Deadly offense! We were let through." "Scatter a couple of bottles in a bag, how many bags - so many bottles." “According to the rules, you can carry no more than three liters per person. They always carried six. At the Georgian border, they don’t pay attention to this, at the Russian one we had to convince them that we were taking it not for sale, but for ourselves.”

Chats actively offer jobs in Georgia. “We are looking for masons”, “We invite you to sewing production, you can do it without experience, we will teach you everything, payment by agreement.”

Such announcements do not find a response. Someone ironically writes: “There were coaches, supervisors, merchandisers, fashion bloggers, promoters, and now you have to look for work as loaders, nannies, nurses, builders and sewers.”

One of the women "from the other side" offers Georgian language courses in an interesting format. And the price is small: 30 lari per month or 650 rubles.

There are no responses either. Many consider Georgia as a transit zone. They are mainly looking for accommodation for two or three days, then to fly to Turkey.

Meanwhile, those standing in line are urged not to relax, not to fall asleep at the wheel. Because many have to approach and push.

There are reports that the mobilization point is in place. For those who are subject to partial mobilization, the task force hands out subpoenas. They write that people with LPR and DPR passports are not allowed to cross the Georgian border.

Two oncoming streams of people meet in neutral.

Leaving Georgia is not difficult. “At four in the morning we left Stepantsminda, 13 minutes later we were already at the Georgian checkpoint,” says Ksenia. - In two hours we crossed the border and the neutral line. There are no queues. People mostly go on foot and wait for a car at a Russian checkpoint where you can get hooked. We got into the truck in neutral. Then we traveled to Vladikavkaz by hitchhiking. Taxi drivers ask for five thousand rubles.

We managed to get in touch with Elena from Ryazan, who was vacationing in Georgia and just returned to Russia today.

“We were taken from Tbilisi to the border crossing for 2.5 thousand rubles,” Lena shares. - We were lucky, because earlier they offered to pay for the car and 10 thousand, and 15. Nobody carries across the border. We went on foot. We crossed the border in two hours.

Cars from the Georgian side were passed in batches. We walked along fifteen or twenty cars, and then the lane was empty, like the first tunnel, the cars were already standing near the second tunnel.

On neutral, those who were traveling to Georgia constantly stopped us, asking if they turned us back? We reassured them, said that we were returning from vacation. They looked at us in bewilderment. They were all torn from Russia. They said that they spent up to a week in line.

It is no longer possible to walk through the Russian checkpoint. I had to sit down with someone in the car. We were lucky. We were picked up by a woman in a car. And absolutely free of charge drove to Vladikavkaz. Then one of the ladies said that no one wanted to put her in their car and she had to pay 30 thousand rubles to pass the Russian border “on wheels”.

Prices for everything, according to Elena's stories, skyrocketed.

— There is a cafe near the Russian checkpoint. Doshirak there costs 300 rubles, rice with chicken - 850, a tiny bottle of water - 200.

The girl also tells us about one of the fellow travelers.

The guy was in the car with us. He passed through the Russian border, and on the Georgian side he was deployed without explanation.

Someone said that the Georgians found fault with the inhabitants of the North Caucasus, but he was Russian, from somewhere in Siberia. He did not break the law, he was not under investigation, he did not transport anything from the prohibited. He tried to pass twice - his girlfriend was let in, but he was not. As he later told us, five more young people were deployed at the Georgian checkpoint. Why - no one explained.

Many who, having stood in wild queues, bypassing the Upper Lars checkpoint, ended up in Georgia, write: “We went through this hell.” True, they admit what awaits them ahead - they do not know.



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