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Tag Archives: Russia
Georgian Mutiny Put Down
Georgia has stopped a tank battalion mutiny. Naturally the Russians are suspected of being behind it. I’ve been wondering if President Obama will continue support for Georgia, and cause the ire of a belligerent Russia.
The West as Nuclear Proliferator
(NYT) The New York Times has a fascinating little chart today, illustrating the primary sources of nuclear weapons proliferation over time. In looking at the diagram, one cannot escape the overall impression that until recently the West has been the … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Technology
Tagged Africa, Asia, authoritarianism, chart, China, civic culture, communications, democracy, diagram, DPRK, eastern bloc, English, espionage, former soviet republics, government, individualism, infographic, lingua franca, military intelligence, networks, New York Times, North Korea, nucelar research, nuclear proliferation, nuclear weapons, political dissent, prc, proliferation risk, rogue states, Russia, scientific community, Soviet Union, Technology, technology transfer, trade, translation services, Transportation, USSR, western democracy
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Sarkozy The Georgian Hero?
Not sure how true this is, but here’s what the London Times says about how close Putin came to over throwing the Georgian government. With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin … Continue reading
Posted in Chris' Page, Foreign affairs
Tagged ceasefire, France, Georgia, Putin, Russia, Russo-Georgian War, Saakashvili, Sarkozy
1 Comment
Georgia’s Tapes
Who jumped first in South Ossetia has become a bit of a information war between Georgia and Russia. Today, the Georgian government went a ways toward resolving it by releasing recordings of intercepted radio traffic preceding the Russian invasion. The … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged ceasefire, Daily Telegraph, Georgia, Georgian army, infrormation war, intercepts, invasion, irrationalism, lies, peace, Putin, radio, recordings, Russia, Russian invasion, South Ossetia, strategy
3 Comments
When They Came for Kenny…
Photos of Russian kids mounting a street protest against the banning of South Park by the state. This is no small or meaningless act. As daily experience, one of the worst aspects of living under a repressive fascist regime is … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Foreign affairs
Tagged boredom, entertainment, fascism, Kenny, liberalism, Media, opera, photos, pics, propaganda, Putinism, radio, repression, Russia, South Park, State, teenager, television, tv, youth
1 Comment
The New Russian Diplomacy of Profanity
Russian FM Sergei Lavrov reportedly went berserk on David Miliband in phone discussions over the Georgia war. Apparently he was raving, shouting obscenities, and ridiculing Miliband’s knowledge of history. There’s something incredibly deranged about that government. They’ve taken the traditional … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged Britain, David Miliband, diplomacy, foreign secretary, Georgia, History, invasion, Putinism, Russia, Sergei Lavrov, UK, United Kingdom, war
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Four Hours to Tbilisi
Well, well. Mr. Putin held a press conference and there’s much to condemn as usual. Not the least of which is Putin’s continued delusion that Russia was invaded by Georgia. But foremost perhaps, is an education for those who argued … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged Abkhazia, Bagpash, CIS, Eduard Kokoity, Georgia, Kokoity, Mikheil Saakashvili, Putin, Russia, Saakashvili, Sergei Bagpash, Tbilisi
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Buying Tymoshenko
As the European Union commendably attempts to pull Ukraine closer into the safety of the West, Russia has reportedly earmarked $1 billion to fund suddenly pro-Kremlin Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, against heroically pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko in the 2010 presidential … Continue reading
A Shattered Idol in the Black Garden
(photo: Rahim Alizadeh) In Verdi’s opera Nabucco –the namesake of the western gas pipeline to Europe that holds the promise of partial independence from Russian energy reliance– the Jewish patriots take the daughter of the Babylonian king hostage, in order … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged Abkhazia, administration, Aliyev, Armenia, Artur Rasizade, Azerbaijani, Azeris, Babylon, Baku, black garden, Boris Yeltsin, Clinton, crypto-fascism, Denena, Dick Cheney, Dmitry Medvedev, Elmar Mammadyarov, energy, ethnic, Europe, Henry Kissinger, hostage, imports, Iran, Jerusalem, Karabakh, King, Kommersant, Medvedev, miltiarism, Moscow, Nabucco, Nabucco pipeline, Nagorno-Karabakh, natural gas, opera, OSI, Persia, petrocracy, Rahim Alizadeh, Russia, security, South Ossetia, Soviet Union, United States, Verdi, Washington, Yagub Eyubov
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Uneven Anti-Western Attitudes in Russia
A survey finds that public perspectives in Russia are turning sharply anti-Western in matters of international relations. But what’s particularly interesting about this, is that such sentiments have grown fastest and strongest in Russia’s most cosmopolitan and urban regions, whereas … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged anti-Western, cosmopolitan, far east, government, international relations, Moscow, poll, Russia, St. Petersburg, survey, Urals, urban, xenophobia
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Independence to Scale
Another splendid ad for SOSGeorgia. I say again, in the conceptual appeal to world opinion, the Georgians are simply better at this sort of thing than their far better financed adversaries. (Carpetblog)
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged advertisement, advertising, Georgia, no surrender, Russia, SOSgeorgia
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Containing Russia – The Battle for Ukraine
Westhawk“Ukraine is the big prize and thus a dangerous flash point between Russia and the West. For the West, a firm alliance with Ukraine would anchor the containment of Russia. But for Russia, such an alliance would be a step … Continue reading
Posted in Around the Web, Foreign affairs, MikeR's Page
Tagged containment, foreign policy, NATO, Russia, Ukraine
3 Comments
Medvedev’s Caribbean Dream
A depressingly confused analogy from Medvedev on US aid to Georgia: “I wonder how they would like it if we sent humanitarian assistance using our navy to countries of the Caribbean that have suffered from the recent hurricanes.” (AFP) We’d … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged 1898, Caribbean, Cold War, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Grenada, Haiti, hegemony, human rights, humanitarian, hurricane, Medvedev, Moscow, Putin, Putinism, resistance, Russia, United States, Venezuela
1 Comment
Anders Aslund on the Russian Economy
After forcefully savaging the Russian invasion of Georgia, controversial Swedish economist Anders Aslund lays out ten reasons he expects an impending economic collapse in Russia. Each point is sound, although some are more problematic than others. Particularly cogent are the … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Foreign affairs
Tagged Anders Aslund, banking, commodities, East Asia, Economic Development Ministry, economy, efficiency, finance, GDP, Georgia, industry, invasion, investors, Mechel, Medvedev, Moscow Times, oil, Putin, Renationalization, Russia, Russneft, UBS, United Heavy Machineries, VSMP-Avisma, World Bank, WTO
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Declinism as Exceptionalism
Francis Fukuyama argues in the Financial Times that the United States should have traded European missile defense and/or Kosovar independence in order to pacify a resurgent Russia. This strange proposal of strategic charity work for the Kremlin, is animated by … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged American exceptionalism, Declinism, Financial Times, Francis Fukuyama, Georgia, imperialism, Iraq, Kosovo, machtpolitik, power politics, Russia, United States, war
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Black Signs at the Exhibition
The IMF has come through for Georgia in an enormous way, approving a $750 million credit line for the beleaguered republic. Beyond the much needed aid, it’s a powerful political reminder for Russia of the gargantuan economic advantage the West … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page, Media
Tagged Atrocity Exhibition, Ballard, Ballardian, competitive advantage, complex interdependence, credit, Domestic Politics, English, Georgia, IMF, industry, JG Ballard, Johanna Neuman, markets, Media, mercantile, military, power, productivity, Russia, sensationalism, SOS Georgia, Wall Street Journal, West
1 Comment
Albright Supports Georgian NATO Membership
I often find former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s supporting arguments irksome and occasionally even masochistic. But she has a certain knack for ending up in the right place by the wrong course. It’s a unique skill really. Thus it … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged Abkhazia, Georgia, Kremlin, Madeleine Albright, Russia, Secretary of State, territorial security
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Russia Kills Another Critic
Magomed Yevloyev, a prominent Ingushetian critic of the Kremlin, has been gunned down by Russian police while in their custody. Earlier this month his website was ordered shut down by the state. Russian police are claiming they shot him to … Continue reading
Posted in Around the Web
Tagged Ingushetia, Kremlin, Magomed Yevloyev, Moscow, murder, Russia, Russian, website
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Georgia Cuts Loose
Saakashvili has finally severed all Georgian diplomatic ties with Russia. A bit overdue, I must say. Meanwhile, Putin, in his ongoing effort to legitimize the Russian invasion of Georgia, again compared his country’s actions to the NATO intervention against Serbia … Continue reading
Posted in Around the Web
Tagged Brussels, diplomacy, Europe, Georgia, Putin, Russia, Saakashvili, Serbia, South Ossetia, United States, White House
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War of Conquest
A couple of days into Russian-declared, universally unrecognized independence (excluding Hamas and Belarus), South Ossetian officials have expressed their desire to be annexed by Russia. The brave new defenders of Russian imperialism on the American Left have thus suddenly found … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged American, annexation, Belarus, Boris Yeltsin, comonwealth, conquest, Georgia, Hamas, imperialism, independence, left, Russia, self-determination, South Ossetia, trade
1 Comment
The Truth About Russia in Georgia
Michael Totten is in Georgia interviewing actual Georgian soldiers and finding out what went on behind the scenes of this conflict. Turns out Saakashvili didn’t start it after all.
Logistically Untenable?
Belmont ClubWe could be forced to entirely revamp our strategy in Afghanistan if the situation in Pakistan continues to deteriorate and the Russians intend to be uncooperative. There are in fact serious concerns that troops in Afghanistan can be cut … Continue reading
US Warship Docks in Georgia
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS McFaul docks in Poti, still under Russian occupation. Hopefully Russian troops are sober enough not to freelance an ill-advised incident like they have elsewhere in Georgia.
Posted in Around the Web
Tagged Arleigh Burke Class, destroyer, Navy, occupation, Poti, Russia, sobriety, US Navy, USS McFaul, warship
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How The West Will Win
Michael Totten has a succinct yet informative post up from the Georgian capital of Tblisi: And my translator, whose husband works for Georgia’s ministry of foreign affairs, made a similar guess that the West helped save the capital. “The night … Continue reading
Posted in Around the Web
Tagged George Bush, Georgia, John McCain, Michael Totten, Russia, Tbilisi
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NATO is Toothless
Westhawk “But the NATO ministers, at a rare emergency meeting, failed to agree on any specific punitive measures, despite pressure from the United States that NATO at least threaten Russia with unspecified “consequences,” and pleas from the Czech Republic, Poland … Continue reading
Not the Response Russia Had Hoped For
Instapundit “German Chancellor Angela Merkel is offering strong support for Georgia, saying the country is on track to become a member of NATO. Merkel flew to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Sunday, two days after she met with Russian … Continue reading
Further Fallout for Russia
Now Ukraine invites Western participation in her missile defense. Regionally, Russia’s actions in Georgia can only be poisonous to her interests. Coercive force is the only way to compel compliance once you’ve used it so malevolently. Not such a wonderful … Continue reading
Posted in Around the Web
Tagged air defense, force, Georgia, missile defense, Russia, Ukraine
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The Vandalism of Russian Occupation
Ceasefire be damned,* the Russian army reportedly destroyed the Metekhi-Grakali railway bridge. The bridge was used by Georgian refugees fleeing the mayhem in the Russian occupied zones given that the highway is controlled by the Russian army, which has naturally … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged army, Azerbaijan, Azeri, bridge, ceasefire, Condoleezza Rice, corruption, energy, export, factions, Georgia, humanitarian crisis, infrastructure, Medvedev, Metekhi-Grakali, military, occupation, oligarchy, oligcarch, refugees, Russia, vandalism
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Air Defense Retrospective
In From the Cold wonders why Russian tactical aircraft proved so vulnerable to an air defense system they knew intimately. I’d merely say that low-and-slow Russian tactics are going to get you shot eventually, whatever the SAM is on the … Continue reading
Posted in Around the Web
Tagged air defense, air defense system, attack, Georgia, Igoeti, In From the Cold, Javelin, mechanized, missiles, pilot, relations, Russia, SAM, Tskhinvali, Vyacheslav Markovich, war, weapons
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Russian Imperialism and the Election
(photo: Chris Dunn) John Bolton argues that the future of Russian imperialism in Eurasia rides on the outcome of the US presidential election. Unsurprisingly, he pitches McCain: “First reactions, before the campaigns’ pollsters and consultants get involved are always the … Continue reading
Posted in Election 2008, Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged campaign, centrism, consultants, divided government, Domestic Politics, election, Eurasia, Foreign affairs, Georgia, geostrategy, imperialism, indicators, invasion, John Bolton, McCain, Obama, political, polls, presidency, Rasmussen, revanchism, Russia, Russian imperialism, war
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NATO Protection only for Perfection?
Alex Harrowell reminds us that NATO wasn’t always so timorous about conflict risk exposure: [I]f we assume that Georgia, and specifically Mikhail Saakashvili’s version of it, wasn’t sufficiently responsible (adult, civilised, possibly even white?) to play, how do we explain … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged 1945, 1955, Aegean Sea, Alex Harrowell, conflict, cowboys, EU, Fistful of Euros, frozen conflict, frozen conflicts, Georgia, Germany, greece, indians, Mikhail Saakashvili, NATO, risk exposure, Russia, Turkey, war
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A Unity of Black Hearts
Russian Major General Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Borisov, in command of occupied Gori, has finally received orders to do something about the Russian allied irregulars who are rampaging in Georgia committing atrocities: “Ossetians are killing poor Georgians, this is a problem and … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged atrocities, caucasus, children, elderly, ethnic cleansing, Georgia, Gori, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, murder, occupation, rape, Russia, Slobodan Milošević, South Ossetia, Thomas de Waal, Tony Halpin, Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Borisov, war, war crimes, Yugoslavia
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Georgian Wine Solidarity and Other Things
Estonians and Latvians are apparently buying up all available Georgian wine in a demonstration of national solidarity with the beleaguered republic. Particularly popular is the consumer label Old Tbilisi (order here). Sandra Saakashvili, First Lady of Georgia, is weathering the … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged consumer, Estonia, Foreign Notes, Georgia, Georgian wine, humanitarian, Kateryna Yushchenko, Latvia, NATO, Old Tbilisi, Russia, Saakashvili, Sandra Saakashvili, snipers, Ukraine, wine
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Deny, Deny, Legitimize.
It seems Russia is increasingly leaning toward dismembering the Republic of Georgia, something previously denied, now legitimized. The predominant characteristic of Russian policy in Georgia up to this point actually. In the same vein, Russia is finally admitting to being … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged Anatoly Nogovitsyn, General staff, Georgia, intelligence, invasion, Nogovitsyn, Poti, republic, Russia, war
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The Good Anti-War War?
Sometimes you just have to step back and gape at the truly contemptible nature of certain elements of the antiwar movement. It’s incredible how segments of an allegedly pacifist, anti-imperialist movement, have become willing, wholesale and even eager apologists for … Continue reading
Photos from the Front
89 amateur snapshots from the war in Georgia. Some are rather gruesome, so avoid this link if you’ve a weak stomach. It was good to see some US munitions and equipment in Georgian hands too.
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged amateur, equipment, front, Georgia, munitions, photos, Russia, snapshots, South Ossetia, US, war
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War Crimes Live
Georgian television reporter Tamara Urushadze gets shot by a Russian sniper as she delivered a live report near Gori. Tough girl, she finishes the report without a tear.
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page, Media
Tagged Georgia, girl, Gori, journalism, live, Media, reporter, Russia, sniper, Tamara Urushadze, television, tough, video, youtube
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Russia as Rogue
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says “the world can forget about” Georgia’s territorial integrity. Quite a remarkable statement from the former permanent representative to the United Nations. As a statement of purpose or justification in his country’s war, it is … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged Abkhazia, charter, conflict, conquest, Cuba, foreign inister, Georgia, irridentism, Russia, separatists, Serbia, Sergei Lavrov, South Ossetia, United Nations, war
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Going to Tbilisi?
Russian units are on the move again in Georgian territory, apparently in violation of the truce agreement. One Russian soldier in a large convoy shouted an ominous flirtation to a press photographer outside Gori, hopefully in jest or lust: “Come … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged Caucasian, Culture, democracy, Domestic Politics, factions, Georgia, Gori, Media, Medvedev, military, monocrats, photographer, political, Putin, Russia, Tbilisi, war
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Hey, Remember that One Time Some of You Made Fun of Me for Saying that Georgia Wouldn’t Be Occupied?
Exactly. Now, as for Lee’s latest… Let’s just say I’ll be shocked if Saakashvili lasts the year.
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged Georgia, Joshua Foust, Lee, occupation, Russia, Saakashvili, treaties, truce, war
7 Comments
Saakashvili has a Future
Last night Joshua argued that Saakashvili, having quite obviously failed to recapture his renegade territories, is certain to be finished one way or the other. Either overthrown by the Russian army, or by the Georgian people at the ballot box. … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page
Tagged ballot box, democracy, Domestic Politics, Georgia, Joshua Foust, nationalism, Russia, Russian Army, Saakashvili, United States, war
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Russia Cuts Central Georgian Highway
The country is officially, largely cut in two.
When There’s Nothing Left to Burn You Have to Set Yourself on Fire
Sorry for my absenteeism on this, guys, but I’ve barely had the time to write on Registan.net about the war in Georgia (seriously, go there for some really in-depth discussions about what is going on), and have simply neglected copying … Continue reading
Posted in Foreign affairs
Tagged absenteeism, blowback, Brussels, BTC pipeline, Caspian Sea, caucasus, conflict, Europe, Fidel Castro, frozen conflicts, Georgia, Medvedev, Moscow, NATO, policy, Putin, Registan, Russia, Saakashvili, separatism, South Ossetia, strategy, Tblisi, territorialism, Tskhinvali, war, western
9 Comments
Western Georgia Falling
Russian West-Georgia attack expands. UN meets to fret again.
Eager to Invest in an Emerging International Pariah?
Russia suddenly has an investor confidence problem. Can’t imagine why.
Gori Falls
It’s looking increasingly as if the alarmists were right and Russia intends to drop all pretense. Georgian troops are pulling back to Mtskheta to defend the approach to the capital, if Russia pushes to conquer and subjugate the entire country. … Continue reading
Russian Hacker Mob Takes Over Georgian Web During Invasion
As if the physical invasion of territory isn’t enough, it looks like it was preceded by a cyber-attack.