Georgia - more questions than answers

By Peter Coates
posted Wednesday, 20 August 2008
 

Russia’s invasion of Georgia in response to Georgia’s lawful but reckless invasion of South Ossetia from August 8, 2008 has prompted concern about a resurgence of Russian power. It is unclear why Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili moved into South Ossetia, a region monitored by Russian military peacekeepers, knowing that Russia would react. Was he expecting military assistance from the West?

Georgia was absorbed into the Russian empire in 1801. Following Georgia independence in the early 1990’s NATO uneasily designated two areas containing significant ethnic Russian populations, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as Russian peacekeeper…