GEORGIA CONFLICT 2008

GEORGIA CONFLICT 2008

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BACKGROUND
With the collapse and dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the former satellite states that made up the Union went their own ways. In fact, several of them had already declared their independence in 1990 and 1991.

One of these was the Reublic of Georgia which declared its independence in April of 1991 and followed this with elections in May of that year. But the new administration was overthrown by a bloody coup between December 1991 and January 1992. This was followed by civil war which lasted until 1995. During this time there was significant ethnic cleansing perpetrated by seperatists in the provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These seperatists were suported by Russia and over 250,000 Georgians were forced to leave Abkhanzia and over 25,000 Georgians were expelled from South Ossetia during this period.

In 1995 new elections were held and a new government put in place. At this time both Abkhazia and South Ossetia were able to gain a defacto atonomy with the support of Russia.

The new Georgian government suffered from severe corruption and fraud.

In 2003 there was a bloodless uprising of the people called the "Rose Revolution", led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, members and leaders of the former administration. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004 and instituted much needed reforms and began making overtures of friendship with the West.

The United States responded to these overtures and an informal alliance between the two countries developed. Georgia sent troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan to help the United States in the general War on Terror. In Iraq, the Georgian contingent of over 2,000 soldiers was the third largest behind the United States and Great Britian.

Economic conditions improved under Saakashvili and a new large oil line was completed across Georgian territory to tap oil from the Caspian region and help Europe and the Uniteds States lessen their dependency on Mid East and Russian oil.

Georgia's closer ties to the west, it's desire to become an official member of NATO, and the new oil all did not sit well with Russia who continued to support the seperatist regions and who had inserted its own "peacekeepers" in those regions to maintain their interests.

Frequent outbreaks of violence with the breakwaway provinces resulted, although both continued to be recognizeed internationally as a part of Georgia. Nonetheless, with Russian help, they continued to operate autonomously.

Russia provided official Russian passports to any citizen in South Ossetia who desired one to further solidify their ethnic claim on the Province. A look at a map of Georgia is telling regarding Russian interests, and makes it clear that those interests are primarily strategic and geographic in nature in addition to whatever ethnic interests lie there.

The Roksky Tunnel, constructed by the Soviet Union through the Caucasus, provides direct and immediate access into Georgia from Russia. Without this access, any military operation into Georgia and South Ossetia would be severely impaired.

The Caucasus Mountains extend to the sea in the north of Georgia and so access to Gerogia via the Black Sea would also be very limited for any operation conducted by the Russians were it not for the claims Russia makes in the Abkhanzia province. In so doing, they are provided a de facto, unopposed landing point within Georgia, south of the Caucasus Mountains if they so desire.

In addition, there is a historical Russian phobia of independent nations on its borders. The Warsaw Pact of the Soviet Union was a huge buffer to Russian borders. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, as the following map shows, that buffer disappeared.

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