TSKHINVALI, Georgia - CNN is unpopular in Moscow right now. I met plenty of people there who were happy to tell me so. But we're liked even less in South Ossetia, especially among Russian soldiers.

So I was really happy to learn that while staying in South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali we'd be sharing a tent with a Russian infantry unit and their weapons.

It turns out they like a drink and forcefully telling western journalists their coverage of this conflict is one sided.

My roommates are not alone in that view. There is an almost universal belief among Russians and Ossetians that the Western media have followed their politicians and are siding with Georgia.

They ask passionately: Why does no one criticize Georgia for attacking South Ossetia first? Why doesn't the world care about our suffering?

In South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali there is much evidence of a brutal war fought on its streets. Women cry as they tell me of the night Georgian shells fell on their homes. Many of those homes are now rubble. Many were gutted by fire. Whole neighborhoods are gone.

The civilian death toll is still being debated but there are lots of people wearing black here.

South Ossetians say the Russians are their saviors. They drove out the Georgian army. They've launched a massive relief and rebuilding operation. And now Russian peacekeepers have built fortified checkpoints deep within Georgia to keep its artillery beyond striking range.

The most forward Russian peacekeeping post is just a few minutes drive away from the major Georgian town of Gori.

Here Russia has built high dirt walls and surrounded them with a moat and razor wire. Russian tanks are dug in with their turrets pointing south. And Russian soldiers stop and question every Georgian who wants to pass.

I asked one soldier why Russia is staying in Georgia. His reply: "This is not Georgia. This is not South Ossetia. This is the security zone."

The security zone extends around 15 kilometers, or nine miles, from South Ossetia into Georgia. Russia says it's always been allowed under the existing peacekeeping agreement between the two countries.

It means whole Georgian communities whose homes were scarred or destroyed during the Russian advance, must now live with a permanent Russian military presence.

"Why were you shooting at us?" a Georgian man asked a Russian soldier.

"You were shooting at us too," he replied.