Why does Russia even bother fighting to keep Georgia? Whats so great about that place? Why not let them be?

Question

Why does Russia even bother fighting to keep Georgia? Whats so great about that place? Why not let them be?

Answer 1

You might say the same thing about San Francisco.

Answer 2

They aren't fighting to keep Georgia, and have stated they have no interest in reclaiming the territory.  That war was 17 years ago.

The reason they're fighting is to protect the independent state within Georgia called South Ossetia.  A fight broke out between the Georgians and Ossetians, leading to the invasion of South Ossetia.  The Russians, as allies of the Ossetians, jumped in to defend them.

But to answer your question of "What's so great about that place?": there's a very nice oil pipeline that runs straight through the country.  And Russia has been launching air strikes strangely close to there.