The truth behind the conflict in Georgia
In Ruins
When news broke that Russia had invaded Georgia, I kind of felt like that’s all we got. Russia has invaded Georgia. The Unites States has ordered Russia to back down. The End. Maybe that’s just my own personal disgruntles with the media. Or maybe the history between these two countries is understood by most and I just had some catching up to do. Either way, I did some extra research and I thought others could benefit from what I learned.
Although Georgia has been an openly democratic country since 1991, there’s a small region inside the Geogia lines on the northern border called South Ossetia that has actually maintained a pro-Russian autonomy from the independent country. Flagrant tension has stirred between Georgia and South Ossetia since the onset of their division and the violence finally peaked when Georgia attempted to retake their rival’s capital. And so as Georgian troops marched in to reclaim , Russian troops geared up to defend. With multiple ground attacks and relentless aerial bombings, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics appeared determined to occupy both South Ossetia and Abkhazia and started demonstrating behavior very reminiscent of their Cold War antics in Afghanistan in 1979.
Now there’s a lot more than Ossetia’s sovereignty contributing to the conflict between Russia and Georgia. Oil and nature gas is another major contributor. With the Caspean Sea holding a great deal of oil beneath its waters, whichever country controls this supply will have a notable advantage in the world’s economic reliance on petroleum. Georgia’s talks to join NATO and their alliance with West gave Russia another incentive to take its aggressions one step further. I expect the Soviet nation knew the quickest way to dissolve said discussions was a major military battle with NATO’s biggest problem child.
But, the most important message to take from this situation though is the severity of innocent casualties. Georgia has said more than 80 people have been killed, including 40 civilians. Another military official said at least 800 people, almost all of them civilians, have been injured and close to 100,000 people have fled to neighboring countries seeking refuge. As with many wars, just or unjust, humanitarian crises are quick to unfold. To help those in need, you may donate online here or here and every little bit helps.
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