Last August, South Ossetia declared its autonomy from Georgia. The Georgian Army responded in force. What they didn�t count on though, was the Ossetians having a powerful ally - Medvedev�s Russia. The Russian Army moved in like a ton of bricks. It didn�t merely defend autonomy, it moved through Georgia occupying the city of Gori (Stalin�s birthplace) destroying an aircraft factory near Tblisi and damaging shipping at the port of Poti. The message Russia made loud and clear was that Georgia is helpless and Russia can do as it pleases. Woe betide Georgia if it disobeys Russia�s dictates. Russia can basically do as it sees fit. The weak Georgian armed forces were no match for the might of Russia. The USA and NATO allies may sabre rattle but in no way will they force Russia out. They might push Russia with trade sanctions and UN resolutions but not to the extent of declaring war.
Russia only believes in the right of self-determination for nationalities so long as it corresponds to its national interest. The war for Chechnyan self-determination has been dealt with brutally. Russia is defending South Ossetian self-determination as a rationalisation for controlling �independent� Georgia. Russia may have allowed states formerly part of the Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan etc) formal independence but woe betide them if they defy Russia�s dictates! Georgia is extremely important strategically. Oil travels through Georgia from the Caspian Sea. The Russians also fear being surrounded by NATO-aligned states. This is why Russia felt that Georgia needed to be taught a lesson.
The west demanded peace and an agreement. President Sarkozy of France went to Moscow to demand precisely that. He got an agreement. Russia "agreed" to withdraw. There remains the question of what withdrawal means. Russia has recognized South Ossetian independence and demanded the right to allow troops to occupy part of Georgian territory as a safety zone, so as to �defend Ossetia�. Whilst it has agreed to withdraw from the rest of Georgia, it is taking a bloody long time to do it! This is all designed to make the Georgian people suffer and show them that Russia is boss.
Russia recognises South Ossetia but does not allow it to unite with North Ossetia which is part of Russia. It doesn�t really believe in Ossetian national rights. It just uses Ossetia as a rationalisation to invade Georgia. Neither Russia nor Georgia really believe in national rights and Georgia is now paying for its failure to recognise self-determination of nationalities located within its boundary.
In 1989 Red warned that the national question was a time bomb for the then existent Soviet Union. Slowly but surely, the bombs are exploding within the Russian Federation. Medvedev and Putin deal with it in the same way as Joseph Stalin � chauvinism and brute force. There will be many similar wars in the future.
The effects on this on the Georgian population have been devastating. Many in Gori have not eaten for days. Tblisi is packed to the rafters with refugees, many from previous wars such as Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now it is filled with refugees from its own country. Russian intervention has been devastating. Much of the infrastructure has been destroyed. It may take decades for Georgia to recover. Georgia does have an ally, the United States of America. Georgia has learned in practice that America�s promise to defend a country�s independence only applies when America thinks it worth it according to her interests. America will though pour in the aid in order to save face.
We have no sympathy with a Georgian government which has consciously thrown in its hat with world imperialism. But Russia�s efforts in no way represent a fight against imperialism. They represent a defence of a chauvinist hegemony.