ossetia geopolitical wtf continued
PART TWO -- THE SADNESS OF BEING AN INFINITESIMALLY SMALL BREAKAWAY REPUBLIC
As mentioned in part one, the topography of the Caucasus mountains naturally breeds microcultures, one of which is OSSETIAN! The Ossetians are an Iranic mountain people* who are predominantly Orthodox Christians. They like dancing, cheese pies, and -- like the Georgians -- are prone to the wearing of fabulous hats.
aside from the timeless ossetian lady, these photos came from ossetians.com
Unfortunately, the Ossetian people are bisected by an international border. "North Ossetia" is on the Russia side and "South Ossetia," obviously, is on the Georgian. And though the two regions are divided by both the border and mountains, the Ossetians -- overlooked by cartographers and nation-makers -- long to join together. OSSETIA UNITE!
you can see north and south ossetia outlined together in red
Which seems reasonable, right? But while the Ossetians say they've inhabited South Ossetia since the dawn of history, the Georgians claim that the South Ossetians are North-Caucasus-originating-Johnny-Come-Latelys trying to usurp Georgian heartland -- essentially, that they're houseguests who want to move in and keep yr house.**
Be that as it may, South Ossetians have been yearning for unification throughout the last century.
But why did the conflict suddenly explode? And why does Russia care so much? And why does the West care so much? After all, the population of South Ossetia is about 70,000. And as I said before, Georgia is about the size of West Virginia.
THESE QUESTIONS TO BE TACKLED IN PART THREE.
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Notes
* This is an interesting corner of the world because cartographers like to show us pictures of "culture regions," i.e. the "Middle East," "Eastern Europe," "Russia," "East Asia," "South Asia," but the Caucasus and Central Asia are IN THE CROSSROADS, or NEIGHBORS OF MOST OF THE ABOVE. It can be hard for the culture-region-accustomed-atlas-gazer to understand that Iran and Russia are really just a tiny Caucasus away from each other.
**“Historians are to nationalism what poppy-growers in Pakistan are to heroin-addicts: we supply the essential raw material for the market." -- Eric Hobsbawn. That said, for more about the background of South Ossetian separatism, I recommend this nicely written and sober history.
As mentioned in part one, the topography of the Caucasus mountains naturally breeds microcultures, one of which is OSSETIAN! The Ossetians are an Iranic mountain people* who are predominantly Orthodox Christians. They like dancing, cheese pies, and -- like the Georgians -- are prone to the wearing of fabulous hats.
aside from the timeless ossetian lady, these photos came from ossetians.com
Unfortunately, the Ossetian people are bisected by an international border. "North Ossetia" is on the Russia side and "South Ossetia," obviously, is on the Georgian. And though the two regions are divided by both the border and mountains, the Ossetians -- overlooked by cartographers and nation-makers -- long to join together. OSSETIA UNITE!
you can see north and south ossetia outlined together in red
Which seems reasonable, right? But while the Ossetians say they've inhabited South Ossetia since the dawn of history, the Georgians claim that the South Ossetians are North-Caucasus-originating-Johnny-Come-Latelys trying to usurp Georgian heartland -- essentially, that they're houseguests who want to move in and keep yr house.**
Be that as it may, South Ossetians have been yearning for unification throughout the last century.
But why did the conflict suddenly explode? And why does Russia care so much? And why does the West care so much? After all, the population of South Ossetia is about 70,000. And as I said before, Georgia is about the size of West Virginia.
THESE QUESTIONS TO BE TACKLED IN PART THREE.
----------------
Notes
* This is an interesting corner of the world because cartographers like to show us pictures of "culture regions," i.e. the "Middle East," "Eastern Europe," "Russia," "East Asia," "South Asia," but the Caucasus and Central Asia are IN THE CROSSROADS, or NEIGHBORS OF MOST OF THE ABOVE. It can be hard for the culture-region-accustomed-atlas-gazer to understand that Iran and Russia are really just a tiny Caucasus away from each other.
**“Historians are to nationalism what poppy-growers in Pakistan are to heroin-addicts: we supply the essential raw material for the market." -- Eric Hobsbawn. That said, for more about the background of South Ossetian separatism, I recommend this nicely written and sober history.