(no subject)
PART FIVE: SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(also see: part one, part two, part three, and part four.)
"Why is Russia defending Abkhazia and South Ossetia? I thought Caucasian breakaway republics were a problem for them too."*
"Well, I'd say their motives are more anti-Georgian than pro-Ossetian."**
Grozny, the capital of Chechnya
"Why should Russia want to mess with Georgia, though?"
"I think the energy corridor stuff is the main reason...Russia doesn't want to get cut out of the Caspian oil deal, and it doesn't want Nabucco to endanger Gazprom's monopoly, either.
But I also think Russia's feelings are a little hurt that so many of its ex-satellites are joining the EU -- and joining NATO! That's definitely a provocation. NATO was invented as an anti-Russian deal, y'know?"***
lots and lots of pipelines, with more to come! they say nabucco has already 'booked' ALL the gas it will transport, and it hasn't even been built yet
though bill clinton promised yeltsin that NATO would never expand into former Soviet territory, it sure has
"So, NATO, the EU, and pipelines? That's what this war is about?"
"Well, yeah. That and bad blood. I heard this Russian foreign minister on the radio a couple months ago, and the BBC guy was like 'Why are you so obsessed with tormenting Georgia?'**** and the Russian dude was like 'WE HAVE NO CHOICE! HAVE YOU HEARD THE STUFF THEY SAY? IT'S LIKE AN ANTI-RUSSIAN HATE CRIME THAT SAAKASHVILI IS EVEN STILL ALIVE.'"
bad for putin's blood pressure
"How come they hate Saakashvili?"
"Well, partly 'cause he's gung-ho about America -- was educated in the States and is a big time free-marketeer, sent 2,000 Georgian troops to Iraq, changed the name of Tbilisi's airport road to ' George W. Bush Street,' and oversaw US military forces doing trainings on Georgian soil. The Irish times called him 'a neo-con darling'.
But the Russians don't just see him as pro-American. They perceive him as ' reckless, hot-headed...somebody who from the beginning has really cast his lot with the West...in a way that's anti-Russian'."
"Anti-Russian?"
"Yeah. Fr'instance, he makes fun of Putin. Did you know that Putin is only five foot seven and sensitive about it? Saakashvili calls Putin 'Lilliputin'."
Besides impolitic remarks about Putin's height, Saakashvili talks general smack about Russia. Maybe a lot of what he says is true, but it isn't diplomatic. The New York Times, for instance, said Saakashvili describes today’s Russia as a belligerent power...implacably hostile to democratic neighbors like Georgia and Ukraine. He has thrown in his lot with the West.
That NYT also calls the Georgians "melodramatic" as a people. Meanwhile, in the LA Times a former Bush "administration ally" said that the Georgians ...are the most romantic people in the world. They're very gallant, in the stupid sense...very much 'the Charge of the Light Brigade' people. It has a lot to do with personal honor.
saakashvili like a towering giant
5'7, but could kill you w/his bare hands
"So the war's about oil, gas, hegemony, tactlessness, and Putin's feelings about his height?"
"Pretty much. Well, that and Russia's declared a New World Order -- I hear it's not an 100% America-polar world anymore? But let's get to THAT some other day."
"Awright."
--------------------------------
Notes
*"You hypocrite, why beholdest thou the S. Ossetia that is in thy brother's eye but considerest not the Chechnya in your own?"
...and while we're at it, this photo from a documentary about an orchestra playing in Grozny made me tear up a little. It kind of reminds me of that famous photo of the guy playing cello in the destroyed library of Sarajevo.
**"Why do South Ossetia and Abkhazia want to secede anyway? Can't the Ossetians just visit their over-the-border relatives without seceding to join them? Isn't Abkhazia too small to be an economically viable country? Do they really think they'd be less oppressed as part of the Russian Federation?"
"Well, I think Georgia got kind of nationalistic at the point when it broke away from the USSR. They wrote a constitution which wasn't big on ethnic minority rights, the regions tried to secede, and it went downhill from there. Also, Russia has been distributing its passports to Ossetians and Abkhazians. So that if, one day, Saakashvili attacked one of the regions, the Russians could move in claiming that they had to 'protect their citizens'. Sooo, even if the Ossetians and the Abkhazians aren't inherently Russia-lovers, Russia has definitely become their ardent protector, and that's worth something."
***These are, of course, also reasons why the West is interested in Georgia.
****A MINI-HISTORY OF RUSSIA'S RECENT ATTEMPTS TO BREAK GEORGIA:
Since the Rose Revolution where Saakashvili came into power, and maybe since Saakashvili asked Russia to speed up the withdrawal of their Georgian military bases, Russia has just been TORMENTING THE BEJEEZUS OUT OF GEORGIA. Remember how I said that the Georgians invented wine? Wine is also one of their biggest exports, but Russia banned Georgian wines saying that there were too many fraudulent Georgian wines in circulation THUS the real shit had to be banned "for health reasons."
Then they banned Georgia's mineral water, Borjomi. I can't remember how they justified that. Then they started deporting a bunch of Georgians living in Russia. And there have been those mysterious gas outages and price hikes.
(also see: part one, part two, part three, and part four.)
"Why is Russia defending Abkhazia and South Ossetia? I thought Caucasian breakaway republics were a problem for them too."*
"Well, I'd say their motives are more anti-Georgian than pro-Ossetian."**
Grozny, the capital of Chechnya
"Why should Russia want to mess with Georgia, though?"
"I think the energy corridor stuff is the main reason...Russia doesn't want to get cut out of the Caspian oil deal, and it doesn't want Nabucco to endanger Gazprom's monopoly, either.
But I also think Russia's feelings are a little hurt that so many of its ex-satellites are joining the EU -- and joining NATO! That's definitely a provocation. NATO was invented as an anti-Russian deal, y'know?"***
lots and lots of pipelines, with more to come! they say nabucco has already 'booked' ALL the gas it will transport, and it hasn't even been built yet
though bill clinton promised yeltsin that NATO would never expand into former Soviet territory, it sure has
"So, NATO, the EU, and pipelines? That's what this war is about?"
"Well, yeah. That and bad blood. I heard this Russian foreign minister on the radio a couple months ago, and the BBC guy was like 'Why are you so obsessed with tormenting Georgia?'**** and the Russian dude was like 'WE HAVE NO CHOICE! HAVE YOU HEARD THE STUFF THEY SAY? IT'S LIKE AN ANTI-RUSSIAN HATE CRIME THAT SAAKASHVILI IS EVEN STILL ALIVE.'"
bad for putin's blood pressure
"How come they hate Saakashvili?"
"Well, partly 'cause he's gung-ho about America -- was educated in the States and is a big time free-marketeer, sent 2,000 Georgian troops to Iraq, changed the name of Tbilisi's airport road to ' George W. Bush Street,' and oversaw US military forces doing trainings on Georgian soil. The Irish times called him 'a neo-con darling'.
But the Russians don't just see him as pro-American. They perceive him as ' reckless, hot-headed...somebody who from the beginning has really cast his lot with the West...in a way that's anti-Russian'."
"Anti-Russian?"
"Yeah. Fr'instance, he makes fun of Putin. Did you know that Putin is only five foot seven and sensitive about it? Saakashvili calls Putin 'Lilliputin'."
Besides impolitic remarks about Putin's height, Saakashvili talks general smack about Russia. Maybe a lot of what he says is true, but it isn't diplomatic. The New York Times, for instance, said Saakashvili describes today’s Russia as a belligerent power...implacably hostile to democratic neighbors like Georgia and Ukraine. He has thrown in his lot with the West.
That NYT also calls the Georgians "melodramatic" as a people. Meanwhile, in the LA Times a former Bush "administration ally" said that the Georgians ...are the most romantic people in the world. They're very gallant, in the stupid sense...very much 'the Charge of the Light Brigade' people. It has a lot to do with personal honor.
saakashvili like a towering giant
5'7, but could kill you w/his bare hands
"So the war's about oil, gas, hegemony, tactlessness, and Putin's feelings about his height?"
"Pretty much. Well, that and Russia's declared a New World Order -- I hear it's not an 100% America-polar world anymore? But let's get to THAT some other day."
"Awright."
--------------------------------
Notes
*"You hypocrite, why beholdest thou the S. Ossetia that is in thy brother's eye but considerest not the Chechnya in your own?"
...and while we're at it, this photo from a documentary about an orchestra playing in Grozny made me tear up a little. It kind of reminds me of that famous photo of the guy playing cello in the destroyed library of Sarajevo.
**"Why do South Ossetia and Abkhazia want to secede anyway? Can't the Ossetians just visit their over-the-border relatives without seceding to join them? Isn't Abkhazia too small to be an economically viable country? Do they really think they'd be less oppressed as part of the Russian Federation?"
"Well, I think Georgia got kind of nationalistic at the point when it broke away from the USSR. They wrote a constitution which wasn't big on ethnic minority rights, the regions tried to secede, and it went downhill from there. Also, Russia has been distributing its passports to Ossetians and Abkhazians. So that if, one day, Saakashvili attacked one of the regions, the Russians could move in claiming that they had to 'protect their citizens'. Sooo, even if the Ossetians and the Abkhazians aren't inherently Russia-lovers, Russia has definitely become their ardent protector, and that's worth something."
***These are, of course, also reasons why the West is interested in Georgia.
****A MINI-HISTORY OF RUSSIA'S RECENT ATTEMPTS TO BREAK GEORGIA:
Since the Rose Revolution where Saakashvili came into power, and maybe since Saakashvili asked Russia to speed up the withdrawal of their Georgian military bases, Russia has just been TORMENTING THE BEJEEZUS OUT OF GEORGIA. Remember how I said that the Georgians invented wine? Wine is also one of their biggest exports, but Russia banned Georgian wines saying that there were too many fraudulent Georgian wines in circulation THUS the real shit had to be banned "for health reasons."
Then they banned Georgia's mineral water, Borjomi. I can't remember how they justified that. Then they started deporting a bunch of Georgians living in Russia. And there have been those mysterious gas outages and price hikes.