Comparisons between the Russo-Georgian War and the Ukrainian Crisis

West versus East, the age-old battle of capitalism in opposition to communism, was the underlying factor of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, many former Russian controlled territories created their own countries and governments mirroring that of Russia’s. As the years passed, these countries are now finding themselves pulled between their historical Russian ties and European opportunities. This split had caused a lot of uproar in these countries on their future alliance, and has been the one of the lasting areas of conflict between the Russia and Europe. One conflict in particular, the Russo-Georgian War, rocked global politics for the five days that it lasted and demonstrated that these conflicts are still potentially volatile. Years have passed and now a new threat has arisen and the sharp rift between the West and Russia is apparent again. The Ukrainian Crisis, a conflict now reaching the stage of military intervention, has caught the world’s eye, and is showing very similar happenings that transpired to create the Russo-Georgian War, and it may likely end in a similar manner.

Many outside observers to the Russo-Georgian War believe it was a perfect example of Russian imperialism, a remnant of the Soviet past that still persists in the back of Russians' minds. The Russian public, however, denied this claim, some seeing this conflict as a proxy war with the US, like those fought within the Cold War. Putin’s regime however is highly supportive of this imperialistic agenda within the country. (“Shlapentokh”). The war began on August 7, 2008, a day before the start of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. (“Lašas”). It was spurred when Georgian forces responded to attacks by secessionists i...

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...ernational affairs and government, on his take on the result of the Russo-Georgian War, “Russia's actions have distanced the country from Western institutions. But the deeper worry is that the Kremlin and average Russians can now imagine a world in which they do not have to care.” (“King”)

Works Cited

King, Charles. "The Five-Day War." Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. Web. 20 May 2014.

Lašas, Ainius. "When History Matters: Baltic And Polish Reactions To The Russo-Georgian War." Europe-Asia Studies 64.6 (2012): 1061-1075. Business Source Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

"NATO - Homepage." NATO. Web. 18 May 2014.

Shlapentokh, Dmitry. "Russian Nationalists As Georgian Allies." Iran & The Caucasus 16.3 (2012): 337-353.Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.

"Timeline: Ukraine's Political Crisis." Online Posting. - Aljazeera. 15 May 2014. Web. 19 May 2014.