In a nutshell, what led to the situation between Russia and Georgia?

Question

I have been hearing this being talked about, and if someone could just simplify it for me that would be great. I am not and idiot, I know that there is conflict between them both, I would just like to know what led to the conflict.

Answer 1

The main reason Russia pounced on Georgia is that the west is so weak and can do nothing about it. With the dependence on Russian oil and natural gas Europe is helpless and The US being so exhausted by Iraq and Afghanistan fighting signaled a green light for Russia to do whateverr it wanted.

Answer 2

Georgia does not want to be a part of Russia. They want to be independent & free from a communistic county...

Answer 3

remember it's not conflict between russia and georgia, it's georgia vs s.ossetia. russian peacekeepers were there since 1992(the UN mission)

8th of aug(1st day of war)

Appeal to the Governments and peoples of the world by ossetian people:

Our people have been systematically exterminated for the past 19 years by the fascist Georgian regime, and their inhuman atrocities have been neglected by the world for the sake of geopolitical interest of the United States.

The conflict is being resolved in compliance with international law. However, skillfully applying falsification of historical facts and political insinuations, under a patronage from the US government, Georgia misrepresents reality to the world.

As of today, the major part of South Ossetia has been eradicated by Georgian aggressors. Our elderly, women and children continue to die. The total death toll is unknown as the Georgian side was opening heavy fire at those trying to help the wounded. Including children.

...

Answer 4

Russia wants to dominate the nations around it, so it set up a situation where it could invade Georgia and make an example of them while pretending to play a peace keeping role.  They claim Georgians killed thousands of Ossetians, but in reality only 44 Ossetians were killed.  The report below is by Human Rights Watch.  If a real genocide were taking place they'd report it.  Instead, they report only 44 deaths.

Casualty numbers in Tskhinvali  



A doctor at Tskhinvali Regional Hospital who was on duty from the afternoon of August 7 told Human Rights Watch that between August 6 to12 the hospital treated 273 wounded, both military and civilians. She said her hospital was the only clinic treating the wounded in Tskhinvali. The doctor said there were more military personnel than civilians among the wounded and added that all of the wounded were later transferred to the Russian Ministry of Emergencies mobile hospitals in South and North Ossetia. As of August 13, there were no wounded left in the Tskhinvali hospital.  



The doctor also said that 44 bodies had been brought to the hospital since the fighting began, of both military and civilians. The figure reflects only those killed in the city of Tskhinvali. But the doctor was adamant that the majority of people killed in the city had been brought to the hospital before being buried, because the city morgue was not functioning due to the lack of electricity in the city.  



From August 8 to 11, the doctor said, staff had to move all the patients into the hospital basement because of the constant shelling. The doctor said the hospital was under fire for 18 hours. Human Rights Watch documented the damage caused to the hospital building by a rocket believed to have been fired from a Grad multiple rocket launcher which hit the hospital, severely damaging treatment rooms on the second and third floors.  



The doctor told Human Rights Watch that she could not leave the hospital because of the heavy shelling. She also said that two sisters, hospital employees, were killed on August 8 or 9, as they were hiding in the basement of their house.