This crisis played out over the past 5 days, but I can only now sit down and write a comment on it. It appeared to me that Russia was reverting back to the bad old days of Soviet communism, where any dissent from neighbours would be violently quashed. The years of 1956 (Hungary) and 1968 (Czecho-Slovakia) spring to mind.
Georgia has been beset by two separatist movements within its borders, aided and abetted by the administration up in Moscow. The region of South Ossetia has seen its citizens being issued with Russian passports, providing a pretext for Moscow to mount a full-scale military invasion of the area, leaving thousands dead and tens of thousands displaced. It was not until an intervention by US president George W. Bush (characteristically late) that Moscow backed off, with troops withdrawn from South Ossetia.
Georgia is led by a president who aims to join NATO, and had the country been a member of the alliance, it would have precipitated a direct confrontation between the USA and Russia. An extremely dangerous scenario. Membership of the alliance, with the on-going unrest in mind, seems only a remote possibility at this stage.
Russia's government deserves to be censured in the strongest possible terms for endangering security in an already unstable area (there is a simmering conflict between Georgia's southern neighbour Armenia and Azerbaijan), and I hope they are dissuaded from mounting any further adventures in neighbouring countries whose politics they dislike.
Georgia has left the Commonwealth of Independent States (which encompasses Russia and the former constituent republics of the USSR).
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It's just a horrible thing. Reminds me of our folk song "The Devil Goes Down to Georgia" in this case the devil being Mr Putin. My prayers go out to the innocents caught in the middle. Linda in Washington state
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you posted this, Guido. I had the same take on it except from a Biblical point of view. I grew up in the 60's and remember the Soviet Union quite well. I see this as possibly a starting of what the Bible predicts, Russia eventually attacking Israel. I think Moscow has in mind of taking over Georgia again, and restoring the Soviet Union, with the "independent states" not being so independent, but maybe under another name. The statement they made about just being a "peacekeeping force", I had to chuckle. Different faces, same propaganda. I agree that Georgia won't ever be able to join NATO.
ReplyDeleteI also agree about the censuring of the Russian government. For too many decades, the U.S. has played patty-cake with them, trying to establish "detent", "peaceful co-existence", or whatever. We have never stood up to them the way we should have.
A really good entry with an excellent perspective!
Dirk
I have never trusted the Russian government and I do not think anyone anywhere in the world ever should. Old habits die hard.
ReplyDeleteShame on Mr Putin.....he is evil as we know it.
ReplyDeletePooh Hugs,
Linda