A graffito daubed on the wall of a Georgian army base at Senaki by Russian
soldiers who looted the place last week reads, “Thanks Uncle Sam for the
uniforms”. The Russians could not resist a swipe at America for arming,
training and even dressing the Georgian armed forces.
Uniforms were not the only US kit that the Russians seized from the defeated
Georgian army in the short but vicious war that appeared to have put paid to
the country’s hopes of joining Nato. At Poti, the Black Sea port occupied by
Russian troops, five US Marine Corps Humvees were captured. They had been
awaiting shipment back to America after being used in a military exercise
with the Georgian army. Now their fate is uncertain. A Russian general
called it a “detail” but his relish in the capture of American military
hardware was a telling example of how East-West antagonism has been revived.
By late last week the sabre-rattling was reminiscent of the cold war at its
most chilling: the Russians were test firing long-range missiles, Nato
vessels were steaming into the region and Bernard Kouchner, the French
foreign minister, was being accused by Sergei Lavrov, his Russian
counterpart, of an “evil imagination” for voicing suspicions that the
Kremlin, having gobbled up the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Ossetia
by officially recognising their independence, might move next on Ukraine or
Moldova.
Today’s Kremlin is far different from the geriatric institution of the 1970s,
when Soviet citizens were locked behind the “iron curtain” deprived of even
the slightest whiff of the West. Russian leaders these days are being
advised by a slick New York-based public relations giant, their subjects
free to gorge themselves on as much western decadence as they want, having
long ago dumped the communist gospel.
Yet the crude nationalism that has replaced reverence for the hammer and
sickle may pose a danger to the rest of the world if the Kremlin, skilled at
manipulating it, were to lose control.
Britain’s relations with Russia have been at a particularly low ebb since the
poisoning in London of Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB agent, a murder
that the government believes was ordered by Moscow; and relations will not
have been helped by the visit last week of David Miliband, the foreign
secretary, to Ukraine, the former Soviet Union’s bread basket, “to assemble
the widest possible coalition against Russian aggression”.
Is this mere hot air? Is there any real danger of the cold war, when the
threat of mutually assured nuclear destruction hung over the world, being
revived – and who should be the most worried about it?
When Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, announced his country’s
recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia last week, he stood beneath a
two-headed Russian eagle. As a national crest, it seems an appropriate
symbol for the contradictory instincts that have pulled Russia in two
different directions for centuries and, as the past few weeks have shown,
continue to do so.
One side wants Russia to adopt western standards in government and business,
the other wants to bring back a modified Soviet model and go it alone,
believing that “westernisers” have brought only humiliation for Russia.
Today these “hawks” – in other epochs they were called “isolationists” or
“Slavophiles” – have the upper hand.
Vladimir Putin, the former president who has recently switched roles to become
prime minister, said that Russia was frustrated because: “There’s a feeling
that the West treats Russia merely as a loser in the cold war, which has to
play by the winners’ rules.” The intervention in Georgia was Russia drawing
a red line.
Relations with the West have been strained by Nato giving membership to
Moscow’s Soviet-era satellites as well as to the former Soviet Baltic
republics. They have become vociferous critics of Russia within the
American-led alliance.
At the same time, Russian officials have complained that Moscow’s cooperation
with the West on key international issues such as the fight against
terrorism, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea have failed to translate into a
qualitative change in relations. “We cannot endlessly retreat with a smiling
face,” said one Kremlin official.
Edward Lozansky, a former Soviet dissident who became head of the American
University in Moscow, explained the prevailing view: “Putin was expecting
some reciprocity for joining the antiterrorist coalition. What he got
instead was further Nato expansion to Russia’s back yard and aggressive
pipeline policy to weaken Russia’s position in the energy market.”
Not surprisingly, the Russian occupation of Georgia has turned into one of the
most popular ventures ever undertaken by the Kremlin. But who was behind it?
Kremlin politics these days seem as opaque as they were in the cold war and,
although tempting, it would probably be wrong to view Putin and Medvedev as
the embodiment of that double-headed eagle. Nevertheless, French diplomats
report a comment by Putin over lunch with President Nicolas Sarkozy in the
Kremlin not long after the crisis erupted. He apparently described Medvedev
and himself as “a good cop, bad cop routine”. It was the “nice” Medvedev who
announced last week that Russia was not afraid of another cold war; and
although Putin was widely believed to be calling the shots, Medvedev seemed
to be emerging as his own man, winning popularity among the public because
of the Russian “victory” in Georgia.
It prompted suggestions that Putin was getting jealous which inspired him, so
the theory goes, to allege that America had goaded the Georgians into war to
help the prospects of the hawkish John McCain, the Republican presidential
candidate.
Some believed, nevertheless, that the crisis had strengthened Putin more than
Medvedev and one Russian newspaper reflected the extent of public support
for him by using a picture of a fist with the middle finger raised at
America. Yet the peculiarity of this “new cold war” is that America, for
once, seemed hardly to notice.
When Barack Obama, the US presidential candidate, stood up to deliver his
speech at the Democratic convention in Denver last week, he was never likely
to dwell long on foreign policy before an audience concerned mostly about
domestic economic problems. Even so, he gave short shrift to the crisis in
Georgia, a measure of America’s startlingly relaxed response to Russian
aggression. In his 44-minute address, Obama devoted just two sentences to
the Russian threat, with a bland promise of “tough, direct diplomacy . . .
that can curb Russian aggression”.
The candidate’s swift dismissal of what may prove the next US president’s most
difficult foreign policy challenge confirmed a curious effect of the Russian
invasion of Georgia. Despite warnings from numerous US officials that
Moscow’s actions represent a serious long-term threat to the West, neither
the US media nor most of the American public have shown the remotest
interest in the turmoil in the Caucasus.
Indeed there was a widely expressed belief that this was a crisis that Europe
ought to be able to handle. “The sooner Europe equips itself to confront the
challenges of a resurgent Russia, the better,” declared Sally McNamara, a
senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation.
Nevertheless, President George W Bush will this week send Dick Cheney, his
vice-president, to Europe and Georgia in the hope of stiffening backbones
against the Russian menace. Widely regarded as the only western politician
who is more frightening than Putin, Cheney will visit Azerbaijan and Ukraine
– and also Italy to try to dissuade Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from
cosying up to Moscow.
Yet the timing of the Georgian invasion and the prospect of a change of US
administration in January have severely reduced the prospect of decisive
American action and are already creating potential headaches for both Obama
and his Republican rival, Senator John McCain.
“There’s the danger that things could be left in such a poisonous state that
the next administration has no options and finds it difficult to get on a
productive track,” said Robert Einhorn, a former arms control negotiator.
No one in America appears to have the stomach for a military response and, as
officials reluctantly acknowledged last week, Putin was plainly aware that
Washington offered little as a short-term threat. It was left to the
Europeans to try to prod the bear back into the cage and Miliband, at least,
was talking a big game.
However, some believed that his appearance in Kiev, where he was accused of
ratcheting up the tension with his call for solidarity, was as much
electioneering as it was a gesture of support for Ukrainian independence:
there had been dismay in the Labour ranks that David Cameron, the Tory
leader, had beaten Miliband to Tbilisi for talks with Mikhail Saakashvili,
the embattled Georgian leader.
One respected Labour backbencher said: “David Miliband was caught short. Now
he is running around trying to play catch up.”
Certainly his suggestion that the question for Russia was ultimately “whether
it wants to suffer isolation and loss of respect” will not have left
Medvedev and Putin quaking in their boots.
France holds the European Union’s rotating presidency until the end of the
year and Sarkozy is deeply frustrated by Russia’s refusal to abide by the
ceasefire agreement that he brokered. He sees tomorrow’s extraordinary EU
summit in Brussels as a big test of the newly enlarged Europe to pull
together and would be happy with a communiqué “firmly” condemning Russia’s
“unacceptable” recognition of Abkhazian and Ossetian independence.
The prospects for an agreement among 27 countries on anything, let alone
sanctions against Russia, were not good. Poland, the Czech Republic and the
Baltic states, still pained by memories of Soviet domination, were in favour
of a tough response to the Russian “bully”. But Angela Merkel, the German
chancellor who was brought up in communist East Germany and has bitter
recollections of the experience, joined the French and Italians in
advocating caution, not wanting to risk Russian retaliation.
The key to their timidity is energy security. Europe relies on Russia for
about 40% of its gas. With bills already soaring, politicians cannot afford
to lose that supply. As the Kremlin’s relations with its former satellite
states have deteriorated, it has shown that it is not afraid to use these
tactics. After the Czech Republic agreed to allow the United States to build
bases for an antimissile shield in the country, Russia’s Gazprom cut
supplies drastically. It blamed the shutdown on “technical” reasons.
Adopting similar tactics with the bigger EU countries would, however, be a
huge gamble. Not only would Russia lose billions in revenues, it would also
alienate its most important customers and catalyse European investment into
alternative energy sources or providers.
“There’s always the possibility and the fear in people’s minds,” said Julian
Lee, at the Centre for Global Energy Studies. “The Russians haven’t cut off
gas supplies to consumers in western Europe before, but that is no guarantee
they won’t do so.”
Gazprom’s answer to the paranoia is simple: it points out that even in the
depths of the cold war it has never failed to fulfil a contract to western
Europe. Alexei Miller, Gazprom’s chief executive, has also said: “Gazprom
relies as much on Europe as Europe depends on our gas.” Fears that Russia
would shut off the pipelines that run through the Caucasus and supply the
West have also proved groundless so far. THE countries that have most to
worry about are the ones in Russia’s “near abroad” (see panel), especially
those that do not have the protection of Nato, which regards an attack on a
member nation as an attack on the whole alliance.
Ukraine and Moldova – which is already host to the Russian 14th army in its
separatist Transdnistria region – are consequently next in the firing line.
The tension in Ukraine between its divided population, 17% of whom are Russian
ethnically and live in the east and south of the country, has been building
for years, particularly since the “orange revolution” of 2004. This had
overturned the result of the presidential election which had been rigged in
favour of the pro-Moscow candidate.
Crimea, where the Russian navy has a lease on a base at Sebastopol until 2017,
is the obvious flashpoint. Ukraine has angered Russia by saying that it will
not renew the lease. It has also introduced restrictions on Russian vessels
entering or exiting Sebastopol after ships based there took part in shelling
Georgian coastal defences and landing troops there during the first week of
the conflict.
Ukrainian officials fear that Russia is just waiting for a single act that it
can portray as intolerable provocation to use as an excuse to seize the
peninsula. The results of such an action could be catastrophic for the
people of Ukraine, as Georgians know to their cost.
Last week hundreds of Georgian refugees from South Ossetia, displaced by the
war and a wave of ethnic cleansing, were sheltering in tents erected in a
dusty sports stadium waiting for permission to go back to their battered and
looted villages. They were a fraction of the tens of thousands who fled and
are now scattered in schools, government buildings or with relatives across
the country.
The economy is certain to shrink as foreign investment, which had begun to
make Georgia feel prosperous, is frightened away. When winter approaches the
unemployed queues will lengthen. “We’re looking at a creeping catastrophe,”
said Peter Semneby, the EU ambassador.
And the Russian eagle, it seemed, was looking away from the West.
Glad to see there are so many UK and US guys who see the picture right and don't listen to the anti-Russian propaganda. I thought it was worse.
There are no Russian TROOPS in left in Georgia. Those left are PEACEMAKERS who are staying there quite legitimately. They will be replaced by UN guys soon.
Kirill, Moscow, Russia
Unfort. western people are very axiomatic about "Russia is Evil West is an ideal etc." Both UK and USA try to draw away people's attention from economic problems with starting a new crusade against Moscow. Just visit Osetian sites and read evidencies to understand the hypocratic lie of US/UK media
Ann, Moscow, Russia
It is very ridiculous to play a card of "Medvedev versus Putin' , saying that the last is 'jealous' of the first, they seem to be a very good team, indeed!
N.Strommer, melbourne, australia
Mister Putin should be carefull not to start a new cold war with west because his policy of threats and invassions is turnin from prophesy into reality, by all means Mister Putin has managed to mirror his other side, that of being paranoyed warmonger and very dangerous to Democracy and free world.
Lec Neli, London, UK
I will say both Georgia and Russia have blame on this, the Russians more for going over board on force. But its time for EUROPE to stand up and do something with out the US. We had to bail out the Europeans for Kosavo because the didnt want to do anything there. Now Georgia , will they ever wake up
Allen, Stockton, USA
Our friends are China, India, other East countries, but not US and NATO
Dmitry, Vladivostok, Russia
"We should realise, that against Russian people well planned war is conducted, which has for an object to destroy them."
The patriarch Moscow and all of the Rus', Alexiy II
thf, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
De-stabilisation in Caucusus would appear to be the result of the ambitions of a triumphalist NATO led by the US coupled with an unstable, reckless and fiercely anti-Russian Georgian nationalist government in Tblisi. Georgia provoked this crisis is is now reaping the whirlwind they have sown..
Stewart Lawson, Halifax, United Kingdom
If West will make mistake, he will buy oil for rubles.
Paul, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
First of all, Europe is not NATO. Second, why is not Russia
'part' of the EEC.? Third, any war will be killing Europeans. USA does not fear land armies landing on their soil. So lets
look to a cooperative 'all european solution', to what is a
european problem. Stop sabre rattling at once!
geoffrey swain, Almancil, Portugal
the article is a lot more balanced than the title suggests. As unbiased as one could expect from the Times
Dmitry, Moscow,
Russia,as Russian Federation(Impire)never attacked anyone and if you're talking about USSR,leaded by Stalin(Georgian) who attacked Finland 1939 and killed millions of Russians or Brezhnev(Ukranian)who invaded Checkoslovakia,so point at Georgia and Ukrain,your so-called friends!!!Blame them!!!
yulia, Moscow,
The more you do for people the more they hate you,it's correct.All our history we protected Georgians when muslim countries killed millions of them.We presented Crimea to Ukrain for nothing,we paid all the debts to the world of ex-republics and let them all go for free,we don't need your thanks!!!
natalia, Moscow,
Who cares??
I don't and I don't think anyone in the states really cares. It's time for The U.S. to withdraw form the world stage. Take care of its own problems and not worry about who's doing what around the world. If I were you guys, I'd learn to speak either Russian or Chinese.
Scott3249, Covington, USA
LT, Warminster, UK, you mean those the US put in place to steal from Russia. Hence the real reason the US does not like PUTIN.
The US backed alot of the Oligarchs, hence why they escaped.
Darren, London, UK
Kevin Finnerty, Atlanta, USA All Russia needs is a fair democratic vote in Ukraine, not one backed up and tainted by the US.
Considering there are more Russians in the Ukrainian armed services, you might get a surprise...
The President and the prime minister are not as popular either as you think.
Darren, London, UK
If Mexico wa pro Russian & 2 of its culturally different regions who are pro US, wanted independence, wouldn't the US have done the same thing? I just wish americans would stop with cold war talk & stopping russians, its the incompetent americans who ought to be stopped from ruining world afairs
heath, Surrey, UK
Russia has never had a real democracy. All the West can do is to sit back and hope. There is no other alternative except to wait until Russia blends in with the rest of the world. Or until economics tone down their rhetoric.
Neal, East Lansing, USA
Kevin is right: the Ukraine-Russia conflict might be bloody indeed. We should also remember that the specifically Soviet pseudohumanitarian myth, in which much of the West believed during the Cold War, is now dead. The little KGB bureaucrat and his ventiloquist dummy will find no support abroad.
Stephen, Philadelphia,
I am all for freedom and democracy, but I feel the Europeans should put their money where their mouth is and take care of "the Russian problem" on their own, they need to build up their armies etc....No one wants a war that could destroy most of the world...and Im sure east/west wont risk it...
Joel M, Miami, USA
Russia should definitely take Sebastopol back and it will. As it was Russian town for hundreds of years and thousands of russian soldiers deid there. It was excluded from the Crimea when Khruschov gave it to Ukraine. There are only russian citizens there now.
Dmitry, Moscow,
Russia is just keen to provoke the US and Israel into action. The more the US fail in the middle east and Afganistan, the more China and Russia laugh. Its a no win situation really. 1. Israel attacks Iran and energy prices go to the moon. 2. Russia and China buy Irans oil and prices go up anyway.
Ritchie, strasbourg, France
McCain's principal foreign policy advisor is Randy Sheunemann, of Orion public relations. He was an adviser to the Georgian government in 2006 and allegedly lobbied for US security guarantees to Georgia. Google him and see. What Putin said may not have been so wide of the mark...
AndrewC, Birmingham , UK
According to OCSE (to day's der Spigel) is Gerogia to be
blamed.
B.Benzi, Cesena, Italy
acording to OCSE Russia is comiting ethnic cleansing...
OCSE said that it has no idia what spigel is talking about...
Putins apoligets,shame on you!
REZO, Tbilisi, Georgia
Gibson Australia: it’s too much to dream Australia challenging China. Australia is safe as it can shield itself behind NATO and USA. If left alone, it will be a game of cat and mouse. Play safe and concentrate in uplifting the standards of Australian natives, wihout feeding yourself to the Dragon.
Jayawardana, Colombo,
If I had a chance, I would love Putin to be our president and vote for him for 3d time, like most Russians do. Unfortunately, our Constitution doesn't allow. So please respect Russia's choice in elections, if you want respect of yours.
Leonid, Moscow,
For simpletons Georgia may be an agressor. Most Russians(60%) think that Georgia is Moslem country. Ridiculous!You should know history and than talk big about global problems.
nariko, Tbilisi, Georgia
It is incredibly paranoid to suggest that there will be further expansion of the Russian Federation. Russia does not want to take parts of Ukraine - although Sevastopol looks good. Russia knows they hold all the cards - energy, nuclear arms, and the world's second highest foreign currency reserves.
Bill, Sydney, Australia
Bushs unilateral political attempt backfires on Europe. It annoys me to see Europe being the playground for Russia and the US once again. My solution: let the UK have a referendum to leave the EU, then build a European defence force and do everything towards energy independence.
Chris, Potsdam,
US wants to start war with Russia.1st US provocation was with Kosovo's independence(west said:we do all we want,we don't care about int.law,about opinion of Russia)2d US prov. was from Georgia,impudent agression of Georgia in SO.3d would from Ukr,then Ukraine'd join nato,so could be war,as US wants.
Alina, Ufa, Russia
Evil ex-KGB boss psycho-Putin, has said that he will not rest until he has brought back the old evil empire.
Is this the new dangerman of the 21st century?
roger, brighton,
According to OCSE (to day's der Spigel) is Gerogia to be
blamed.
B.Benzi, Cesena, Italy
So how many minutes to midnight are we at now then?
George Owens, Bracknell, UK
If it's about the gas, Russia is pursuing it with unmatched aggresion. Russia has aroun eighth of world's land and more then that of gas. Despite it she is also after the gas supplies from neighbouring countries, buying them cheap and in bulk. Now, that's agressive and dangerous for the West.
Aldo, Amsterdam,
For Russia - Sanction - Isolate - Remove Visa rights to USA & EU - No Entry to WTO. Let Russians travel to Syria & Iran.
If defied then US should build a new range of defensive & agressive weapons systems that will once again bankrupt Russia & simutaneously stimulate the US economy.
Richard, Bucharest,
I don't think NATO would standby, if the Ukraine comes under attack. Its time to put the bully in its place. How much more land does Russia need? Their population can't support the land they have now. hard to believe they have to steal our military equipment, and loot the poor Georgians
DP, USA,
‘Ukraine is next for Vlad's barbarian hordes. Specifically, the Crimean peninsula and Sevastopol’.
Kevin Finnerty, Atlanta, USA
It appears you to be informed about the White House’s agenda to provide next provocation there.
Alexey, Moscow,
Ukraine will be divided, either peacefully (i hope) or in the civil war. The level of mutual tension is already at the verge of clear hatred.
This is the chance for Poland to get some lands, those population gravitate to the Poland in particular.
In its present borders, Ukraine has no future.
Alexander, Novosibirks, Russia
Hey guys, don't you know that if you keep poking a sleeping bear, he will eventually wake up and mauls you??? The West has treated post Soviet Russia as the looser of the Cold War conflict . Russia is back on the saddle and looking after its own.
Abbas
Abbas, Toronto, Canada
Many thanks for an excellent analysis. From where I sit in Athens Miliband would be well advised to stay at home and learn from the American non-action: even we Brits in Europe now rely on Russian gas. My greatest fear now is the French. Hopefully they can remember Hugo's "En retraite de Moscou"!
Dr David Green, Athens, Greece
Knowing both Russians and Georgians I am 99.99 % sure “Thanks Uncle Sam for the uniforms” to be specially written for western media by Georgians. If Russian did that he would write the phrase in Russian.
Alexey, Moscow,
Russia sees it right to punish Georgia for ruined Tskhinval and to ensure no repetition of the attack. NATO sees it right to reward Georgia and to help it to repeat the attack.
Mikhail, St.-Petersburg, Russia
The blame goes to the US and her European allies whose double standard runs deep. Killing the anti ballistic missile treaties, putting missiles in Poland and Czech, accepting Kosovo as an independent nation...the list goes on and on. What was Russia supposed to do?
Hank, CA, USA,
Everybody knows that Crimea was given to Ukraine by Khruschev.
Alex, Seattle, USA
Obama will be even more anti-russian than Bush-Cheney neocon cabal.
Biden, Brzezinski, Michael-McFaul, Strobe Talbott, Abright all these russophobes are advising Obama.
Brzezinski wants to destroy Russia and break it into 4 pieces.
Solzhenitsyn wanted Russia to unite with ukraine, belarus.
Steve, Boston, USA
We know Maolyn, Shanghai...its China the old dragon who later invades the South Lands.
Hopefully by then Australia will be waiting. Already China has her spies here photographing and documenting everything. One day we will get some guns from the USA and build a big citizens army...watch out then.
G Gibson, Sydney, Australia
Once again the EU looks to the US for a solution. This is your problem. Russia will not selttle down until their influence is absolute. They want to rule and will use blackmail to get that influence. Your energy is from them. US can't supply you all with energy. EU must stand up to Putin/Russia.
Sandra , Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Why Georgia a small country with a population of less than 5 million and most of the citizens living under poverty line spends highest amount of money per capita on army? Why knowing a Russian retaliation is imminent, it has decided to attack S. Ossetia? Why to provoke Russia, if is so evil?
Matt, Toronto,
Russia started by chucking out those who made them rich (BP etc & Western Companies' Shareholders/Expertise) and claimed this a victory. Wrong! Now this Mugabe-like landgrab. Who will invest? No-one. Who will trust anything Russian? No-one! Pay-back sooner rather than later. Oligarch exodus - Soon!
LT, Warminster, UK
Marco of Krakow misses the point. Splitting nations is exactly Moscow's plan. Ukraine, the Baltic States, & other countries near Russia want to be part of NATO but do not want to split. Arik Silverman - using your logic I could state that the USA belonged to the UK so it should now be returned !!
Brent, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Dear Russian friends. It is really pointless to discuss who attacked first. Both sides are to blame. However, SO formally was and still is part of Georgia. Moreover, Russian troops are still in places in Georgia that are farm from separatist regions. So Russia is agressor after all,.
Ivars, Riga, Latvia
As long as RF's understanding of protecting its citizens abroad in case of danger involves invading and occupying other countries instead of evacuating its citizens all Russia's neighbors need to prepare for a possible invasion. Pretexts are easy to find and Russia seems eager to redraw its borders.
Tanel, Tallinn, Estonia
Is this another smoke screen for some bigger more sinister picture? Dare i say it......control of quickly dwindling energy resources. Sometimes the news is in what they don't say. All this clap trap about freedom hasn't done a single Iraqi any good. Funny bout all that oil though. Now Georgia.
Udo, Melbourne, Australia
Cynical world! OK for Kosovo to be recognized because that's what the people wanted, the spread of democracy. NOT OK for S. Ossetia to be recognized when its people want it because they are aligned to Russia! So who started "cold war"! Double standards all the way down the line!
Rod Garr, Miami, USA
Russia has every right to strike threatening military installations; such as the proposed nuclear shield in Poland. Just as Israel had the right to strike Syrias' and Iraqs' nuclear facilities. The message is simple; "if you don't want a pre-emptive strike- don't threaten."
keith bentham, wigan, uk
I blame Bush for all of this. Obama will clean up this mess once he is President. If Russia wants Ukraine and Moldova, let them have it!
colin, San Francisco, USA
Sorry if Ive harped on about this in recent stories but you older folk need to tell your youngsters not to come to Australia to live. Defence is 3rd world and the armies to our north are large & growing. Google up Invader to Australia: visions and prophecies and u will see what Im talking about.
G Gibson, Sydney, Australia
Of course, you mean to say-Georgia's aggression.
will mauthe, Eau Claire, USA
Putin is a KGB guy. That should be enough.
Pedro, Los Angeles, United States
This article is so patronising to Russia it actually makes me a bit vomitous.
Maria, London, UK
Nationalist gangs, xenophobia, seizing of Russian enclaves, reassertion of power and a popular elected strongman. All Russia need is an olympics and you could almost believe its 1936 again.
Tom, Epsom,
Agree with the Russian Landgrab or not - I don't. But to all you Russians out there who so compassionately defend your country's right to do so, at least be honest about one thing; Who do you see as head of Government and makes the decisions: Putin or Medvedev? The answer itself will speak volumes!!
LT, Warminster, UK
More anti-Russian propaganda coming out of GB.
Jake, Ottawa, Canada
This is a very difficult situation.
Most in the West do not want another Cold War. But Ukraine, the Baltic States and the Caucasuses all face being brought back into a retro version of the Russian Empire.
This is exactly what NATO is designed to prevent.
Shall we do it twice?
gary, austin, USA
" Many prophecies shown an invader to OZ. "
G Gibson, Sydney, Australia
OZ is invaded,guess by whom(?)!
maolyn, shanghai, china
Putin is right. Bush started this war. I hope the USA does not get involved in these matters. These are simply old disputes in Russia's sphere of interest, I think people are making to big a deal of it.
colin, San Francisco, USA
Anybody noticed how many Russians are reading The Times these days?
Andy, London, UK
Arik Silverman, MIlwaukee, USA
Do Western "democracies" really want to support Joseph Stalin, who gave Crimea to Ukraine only in 1954?
Stalin died in March 1953 :)
it just proves that russian propoganda mashin is based on lies!
Rezo, Tbilisi, Georgia
Who cares!? The increasing Israeli rhetoric in the face of the most recent Knesset revelation confirming plans for a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities is of far more concern.
Scott, Durham, NC, USA
USA started the game of non-legal decisions by giving 'independence' to Kosovo.
The only way to stop that game is to cancel the 'independence' of Kosovo so Russia will have to cancel its decision on Osetia and Abkhazia.
If not, Crimea and many other parts all over the world will become independent.
savo, london, uk
Kevin, i do hope Russia doesn't push Ukraine into civil war. Arik, self-determination would be a good thing for the Ukraine - though they seem a little confused - perhaps a Czechoslovakia-style split would be the best thing for them. yes, Russia would get their naval base, but at least peacefully.
Marco, Kraków, Poland
>Do Western "democracies" really want to support Joseph Stalin, who gave Crimea to Ukraine only in 1954?
If you know how much redrawing of various borders was done by the Soviets you shouldn't suggest this course of action. It would lead to a LOT of trouble.
Tanel, Tallinn, Estonia
What about Kosovo? No double standards please!
Ron, Amsterdam, Holland
"Russia’s aggression towards Georgia"
August 7th Georgia attacked South Ossetia a few hours after declaring a cease-fire. Possibly there was South Ossetian provocation (according to Georgia) but South Ossetia denies it so there is no way to see who tells the truth. Georgia is the agressor here.
Ivan, Moscow, Russia
The west is full of it.
Alex, Moscow, Russia
If we read Luke chapter 21 in the N. T. and the Book of Revelation we see that war is coming in different places. All we can do is prepare for it and not get caught surprised. I expect China to be a major problem for Asia/Australiasia region later on. Many prophecies shown an invader to OZ.
G Gibson, Sydney, Australia
Do Western "democracies" really want to support Joseph Stalin, who gave Crimea to Ukraine only in 1954? East Ukraine historically was associated with Muscovy, and there's no good reason not to apply the Principle of Self-Determination to its people.
Arik Silverman, MIlwaukee, USA
Ukraine is next for Vlad's barbarian hordes. Specifically, the Crimean peninsula and Sevastopol. But Ukraine will not be a pushover like Georgia; Ukraine has proper anti-aircraft defenses which Georgia lacked. This will be bloody.
Kevin Finnerty, Atlanta, USA