The Russian Bear On The Move Again…
In typical Russian fashion or should I dare to say Communist fashion, the head is saying one thing, the body is doing another.
On the 12th Russian President Medvedev told the world that they would end military operations in Georgia, on the 13th Russian tanks and troops rolled deeper into the Georgian region just 40 miles outside the capital of Tiblisi, way out of the disputed area of South Ossetia. Even under world pressure to pull their troops out of Georgia, hundreds if not thousands of innocent people have been killed or injured by the conflict between the Russians and Georgian troops over the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
Of course both sides are blaming the opposite side for the aggression. A skirmish between South Ossetian army and the Georgian military on August 1 is what touched off the large scale attack on the city of Tskhavli in South Ossetia by the Russians seven days later. According to the Russians shelling by the Georgians had killed several civilians and Russian peacekeepers, which prompted them to send in thousands of troops with armored personnel carriers and tanks. But they seem to have had more then squashing the skirmish in South Ossetia in mind when they continued on into deep Georgian territory bombing ports and airports and military bases along the way showing it’s military might. The Georgians claim that South Ossetian separatists shelled Georgian villages in violation of a ceasefire, and that prompted them to launch an overnight offensive on the city of Tskhavli on August the 1st.
Several factors may be at play here besides the seemingly obvious reason for the Russian intervention. Already heavily invested in South Ossetia, state run Russian oil company may have their eye on a very important Georgian oil pipeline that supplies the west. And Georgia’s bid for NATO membership does not sit well with Russian President Medvedev or former President Putin.
Georgia, which had been occupied by the Soviet Union since 1922, declared it’s independence from the Russians in 1991 after the collapse of communism. Since then two provinces in Georgia, namely South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been semi-independent and in secessionist conflicts with Georgia. Russian influence is heavy, their capital supports the South Ossetia governing body and most citizens speak the language and carry Russian passports. No doubt the Russian interest in these regions will not be given up lightly.
