Georgia/South Ossetia/Russia/Us (being the West)

The situation in Georgia is a nightmare. I haven’t kept up with the region for a long time but here’s what I recall, which may not be entirely correct (this is aided by some notes I took): South Ossetia was originally colonised by Ossetians from across the caucus in the 17th/18th Century. The Imperialist Russians first invaded Georgia in 1801 but didn’t really conquer it until 1864. Because of fights with the Turks. With all of the stuff that went down in 1918 Georgia briefly achieved independence until 1921 when the Bolsheviks regained control. They made Abkhazia and Adjaria autonomous republics. South Ossetia was an oblast – which is different.

In 1988 the Ossetian Popular Front got annoyed that the Georgian Government intended Georgian to be the only official language. Some may say rightly, given about a third of Georgia is not ethnic Georgian, and multiple languages were in use. The OPF wanted South Ossetia to merge with the distinctly Russian North Ossetia, and in 1989~1990 declared an independent Soviet Republic. At which point the Georgian government stripped South Ossetia of its autonomy. The shit hit the fan – by which I mean violence – the Russians sent in troops and thanks to Yeltsin and Shevardnadze in 1992 both sides established peacekeeping forces.

Georgia is important to the West disproportionately to its size. Why? Central Asia. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Caspian Sea, and Turkmenistan have vast oil, gas, and mineral resources. Without a long detour, or reliance on Russia, Georgia is an extremely important strategic point. Georgia cannot win against Russia. The attack on South Ossetia was like kicking a bear up the arse. Why they did it is difficult to fathom. I don’t see that it serves anyone’s purposes. Both Russia and the US/UK have hundreds of ‘military trainers’ (often drawn from elite units – who train/advise/arm), there is a huge vested interest in having Georgia in NATO (incedently you can’t join NATO if your country has outstanding border disputes), and as a result this could be the first Cold War style proxy war of the 21st Century.

Both sides are right, both sides have legitimate claims on South Ossetia, and as a result, nothing good can come of this. A good compromise leaves both sides unhappy, and that isn’t going to happen. It’s like a flashback to the early 20th Century. Not good. One hopes world leaders are sane, but evidence suggests otherwise. Hopefully it won’t spread.

FFS x 10.