Valery Gergiev
In August 2008 Gergiev conducted the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre in a concert given in the ruined headquarters of the South Ossetia separatist government. There had been a short war between Georgia and Russia because South Ossetia, which had been part of Georgia, wanted to be independent. The Georgian government tried to force them not to break away, but the Russian government did not want Georgia to do this. The concert, which was broadcast live on Russian television, was in support of the Russian action. Some people in the West did not agree that Gergiev should have supported Russia in this way.