Maestro dedicates requiem to South Ossetia

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It was not the first time that Gergiev has commemorated a tragic event in the Caucasus. After the Beslan school siege in September 2004, he staged a concert for the victims.

Cameras on booms swept over the bullet-pocked facade of the building as Gergiev took the stage, delivered a short speech and embraced a line of teary-eyed South Ossetian children.

Speaking first in Russian and later in English for the benefit of foreign audiences, he talked of remembrance, hope and defiance. His main goal, he said, was to show the world the truth about what happened in Tskhinvali, which he called a city of heroes.

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Russian's case for war
Wearing a black tunic and trousers, the stubble-bearded conductor cited early claims by Russian authorities that 2,000 civilians had died in the fighting — although officials have so far only confirmed 133 deaths.

He thanked Russian soldiers for intervening.

"If not for the help of great Russia, three would have been even more numerous casualties here," said the conductor, who was raised in the neighboring Russian region of North Ossetia.

"For the Ossetian people, after the Beslan tragedy, to lose 2,000 more people is a terrible loss, a terrible loss."

One man in the crowd had tears in his eyes. A little girl sat on her mother's lap, holding a candle in a clear glass. A Muslim cleric sat next to an Orthodox priest.

While Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili grants frequent interviews to Western media in near-flawless English, Russian officials have struggled to make their case to European and North American audiences.

Gergiev, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and director of the Kirov-Mariinsky Theater, is a member of the world's cultural elite.

In addition to his roles in St. Petersburg and London, he is principal guest conductor of New York's Metropolitan Opera and has performed around the world.

His support will likely lend moral heft to Russia's case for war.