What originally caused the Russians to go into Georgia?

Question

I heard that the Georgian started it, but could not find anything on it.

Answer 1

When Russian empire(USSR) broke up in 1991, all former soviet republics became independent.

Russia never wanted to let go its former territories and started fueling national tensions wherever it could. For last 17 years Russia supplyied arms and money to local separatists and helped militarily when needed, On words Russia always acknowledged Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Last conflict was escalated on Aug. 1st 2008 when S.O. separatists started daily shelling and shooting at Georgian side, few days later they planted a bomb on Georgian side which injured 6 police officers. On aug. 7 S.O. started shelling 2 Georgian villages around Tskhinvali. In return Georgia started full scale attack to restore order, IMHO really shortsighted move.

That's pretty much it.

To Anarchist - S.O. was part of Georgia long time. Much longer than Chechnya in Russia. Still, when Chechnya declared independence Russia bombed them back to stone age for 12 years or more.

As for the repeated claims of genocide committed by Georgians, it's sickening.

First Russia tells us 2000 civilians are dead, next day it becomes 1600 and they still repeat that. However, international Human Rights Watch(HRW) reported form Tskhinvali 44 dead including civilian and military and 273 treated for wounds, also accusing Russia and Ossetia in grossly inflating numbers of casualties and overall destruction.

To Larisa M - Oh, and if you're so historical, I'm sure you do know that first in 19th century Russia violated their own treaty with Georgia and annexed it, next in 1921 red  Russia  occupied Georgia again, and today it's trying to gobble it up part by part.

To Katya S - Yes,one grad will destroy very large area. Which is why I think Russian and S.O. media is lying about continued and barbaric Georgian bombardment.

HRW reports that only central and southern parts of the city were damaged. The rest of it is pretty much intact.

If multiple Georgian grads really pounded small town like Tskhinvali for even few hours, devastation would've been complete.

Do you ever ask yourself why is it  that Neither Russians nor Ossetins can produce a single photo of 1600 dead they claim for so long? Or why they refuse to let international investigators in?

In short - "Bad guy" Georgia attacked "good guys" S.O. and Russia, killing 44 civilians and military.

In return "Good guys" went into Georgia, killed 175+ civilians and military(so far) and finished the whole thing with ethnic cleansing of S.O. from Georgians.

That is the Russia  today and now they're surprised all of their  neighbors are in a hurry to get into NATO or installing missile defense systems...

Answer 2

One "GRAD" attack destroys everything in an area of two football fields.  

Answer 3

Georgia, like Iraq and may other countries, is divided by race/religion/class/whatever. One of the minority groups being targeted is the Osetians. Almost all live in the north-west of Georgia and across the border in Russia.

The russian government has been giving the Osetians protection in many ways. By letting them cross the border, by granting them russian citizenship, etc. The situation reached a point where they decided that there was no other choice but invade the region and keep the Georgia government from doing more harm.

Pretty much this is the basics of the situation. Georgia didn't attack Russia but attacked its proteges (some of them Russia considers its own citizens). I don't support the invasion even if all the facts are true but I can understand where they coming from.

It's funny the reaction of the people over this incident. Completely different from the reaction when the US army invaded Iraq. Even when based on similar justifications. Saddam bad, minorities being exterminated, yadda yadda.

Even inside the UN. USA can police the world without objections, Russia can't police across its own borders (where it's more reasonable to justify because you don't want turmoil next to your own home).

Funny world we're living in...

Answer 4

For the last 17 years South Ossetia and Abhazia were independent........

and now Georgia decided that they like to have that land for themselves. Well actually :

The $4 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, named for the capitals of Azerbaijan and Georgia and a Turkish province, passes within 100 miles of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali.

Carrying a million barrels a day, the BTC pipeline is separated from the Russian-backed region (which Monday is said to be totally under Russian control) by over 10,000 Georgian soldiers. It has also been buried underground for most of that stretch to prevent attacks by saboteurs.

It is about oil supply to Europe.......and now Georgia need this land.

That land DO NOT BELONG TO Georgia.

President of Aphasia, Sergey Bagapsh, and Ossetia's Edward Kokoyte would like their country to be independent from Georgia, and Georgia denied that request.

THAT LAND NEVER BELONG TO GEORGIA.

Stalin(Georgian himself started the genocide) and now Georgian military  have been killing abhazians and osetians for years.

So they ask for help from Russia. Russian Federation has taken the autonomous Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia under its wing.

MONEY AND OIL IS AT THE ROOT OF THIS CONFLICT. WHO IS GOING TO CONTROL IT........

Saakashvili or Putin.......

Answer 5

Larrisa M

u know what, we had our languge for ages and it was RUSSIA who wanted Russian become the native language for Georgians, your first steps in Former Soviet Union was that Univercities should teach students in Russian., turkish never ever asked for it, so think twice before u say smth, Gergians are proud of its language and traditions,

as for the question i know that South Ossetia started to fire towards Georgian villages in conflict zones since August 6 ( backed by Russia of course) and invilved Georgia in provokation that was planned by Russians long ago

Answer 6

If not Russia the Georgians would have been speaking Turkish for the last 150 years...Begging Russia for help to liberate and protect them from the Ottomani once, grateful friends are ready to l**k the asses of whoever finance them now. I mean that crazy tyran Saakashvili and his men. Fortuanately most of the  Georgian ppl don't support him, last elections were nothing but a comedy. Russia will never go there unless it is shooted n bombed by the US bulltes from their side. Mr Bush should have better supported the unseparated borders of Serbia against the 2-3d generations of Albanian immigrants who proclaimed Kosovo independant  .  

Answer 7

After the collapse of USSR, Georgia invaded S.Ossetia in 1991, which wanted to be independent and had the right to be.

This was the result of the war between Georgia and Ossetia, which ended in 1992 with Russia as the mediator.

99% of ossetians voted for the independence.

Georgia, S.Ossetia and Russia agreed to keep peace there and placed the peacekeepers.

But August 7, Georgia broke the peace and started genocide again, ruined the capital of S.Ossetia, destroyed 10 villages, killed 2000 civilians, more than 10 russian peacekeepers.

So as the peacekeeping force Russia is protecting the civilians from the genocide.

Now Russian army is returning to S.Ossetia, georgian to their bases, though there are some georgian provocations like sniper fire in S.Ossetia and spy planes.

Answer 8

Georgia has given Russia a casus belli by killing peace-keepers and attacking civilian population of Osetia. Saakashvili says he was provoked by separatists. That provocations were very handy ... right between olympics opening. Coincidence?

Saakashvili says, russians were behind these provocations. Well this is very possible, however that was Saakashvilis choice to strike back on eve of olympics opening. In the night ... and with disproportionate force. Look:

Both US and Russian media are lying. Thats obvious, as mass-media is a weapon too.

Its difficult to expect any pro-Russian stuff from CNN, right?

On the first day of fighting there was a nice movie by CNN. Featuring dark night and bright flares of starting missiles in the background of voice telling us about Russian invasion. Wait, it was only evening in Georgia and russians have joined war in the midday. It takes time to send the movie to some studio and prepare some breaking-news, at least an hour I'd say. And camera men should travel that to the front, Tskhinvali city is far from Georgian capital city of Tbilisi. So that couldn't be that night, this is previous night: August 07. And there were no russian forces in Georgia at that moment... So missiles are Georgian!

Lets take a closer look on them. They're flying in the very fast rate. Axelerate, then rocket engine stops and disappears in the night. Do you know what this weapon is? It is 'Grad' soviet era indirect missile artillery designed to kill lots of infantry in the field. It is useless against tanks and strongpoints. And it is very inacurate... Warhead turns into numerous splinters on detonation effectively killing everyone around. And 'Grad' provides rain of such rockets. Rain of death.

Do you imagine this? Without declaration of war, warnings et.c. in the middle of night, when people are sleeping at their homes someone bombards city with 'Grad'. This is not a police action against rebels, this attempt to kill as many of them (children, women, everyone) as possible and make others run in terror. That exactly happened. Saakashvili is a war criminal.

Answer 9

Georgian government tried to do what Saddam did with the Kurds in Iraq, what Hitler did with the Jews in Germany and occupied by him countries, what Kemal Ataturk did with Armenians, Pontic Greeks and Assyrians in Turkey, what Stalin did to Crimean Greeks in USSR, what Milosevic tried first and Albanians with Clinton later did in Kosovo etc. That's called in a kinder way ethnic cleansing or realistically genocide. If you think that's nothing, I cannot change your opinion.

Answer 10

georgia has a good location which russia needs, plus they can't stand the fact that the country that used to be their puppet is getting stronger now , and its saakashvili that's making it stronger, and that's why putin hates him that much (even some georgians don't understand that), and america doesn't want the russians to occupy the teritory of georgia, plus georgia is america-s ally ...

that's why russians go into georgia since 1921!!! and georgians haven't ever started a single war against anybody in it's entire history!!

georgians just entered tskhinvali to protect the georgians living there. tskhinvali is said to be russian but there still are georgians living there. they were shooted for whole 4 days and then the georgians entered the region. and that was all the russians wanted to enter georgia passing through roki , and saying they were trying to protect their people they started bombing the capital of the country and other cities. seeing as you ask that question i don't think you have a full view of the situation. i have cos i'm georgian, and the one who lost friends who were trying to save ppl in the willages and cities which russians entered or bombed...just don't read russian web sites so you get the right information, that's the only country saying awful lies...  

Answer 11

Georgia went into South Ossetia...a breakaway territory that claims independece but is not recognized.

A large population of Russians are there, so Russia came in under the guise of protecting its citizens.

Georgia Retreated and Russia continued into Georgia Proper.  

Answer 12

Check the below link. It's an excellent collection of questions and answers on the situation.