The war in Georgia depicted on Russian television has been very different from that shown in the west. For every image on western television of Gori, the town in Georgia that was cluster-bombed by Russian jets, Russian audiences have seen far worse images of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia that was rocketed and shelled by Georgian forces on the night the conflict started.

Russian audiences were told that Georgia started the war by attacking South Ossetia; western audiences were told that Russia's response to the provocation was overwhelming and disproportionate. Western audiences saw big Russia attacking little Georgia, Russian audiences saw big Georgia attacking little South Ossetia.