Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Forums
Other Stuff
The Clubhouse Bar
Russian troops leaving Georgia
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Maccaweeny" data-source="post: 222351"><p><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (redunderthebed @ Oct 8 2008, 10:07 PM) <a href="http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=352027" target="_blank"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div></p><p></p><p>I agree to the extent that liberal democracies in the West have the tendency to patronise nations like Russia and China for not conforming to euro-centric models of representative government, but in this circumstance the Russian government has not really advanced their case. Apart from the points already raised by Prestwick, Russia has continually disrespected Georgian territorial sovereignty due to the need to appease various nationalist groups (both the communist party and far-right agree on one thing, that the Ukraine and Georgia should remain under Russian suzerainty) and to control the regions potential for oil and natural gas production. </p><p></p><p>Take for example the provision of Russian passports to thousands of citizens residing in Georgia immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On face value it's a pretty harmless gesture, almost similar to how a great deal of Australians hold British passports, except the British legislature has not actively endorsed the use of wholesale military intervention when their dual-citizens in other countries are under risk, in fact a British passport does little to protect dual-citizens, and for good reason. On the other hand, there is an express grant in the Russian constitution that provides Medvedev with the means to say "oh well there are a few 'Russians' who have been living and working within your borders, subject to your laws, your welfare and protection for years, who <em>we</em> believe to be under direct threat, we're going to declare war." So handing out tens of thousands of these passports to philo-Russian Georgian citizens was a pretty provocative move. </p><p></p><p>Also as Prestwick already said, the 'freedom fighters' in Abkhazia and South Ossetia bear a striking resemblance to the various Unionist militants and the Real IRA in the late nineties, crooks who hide behind a veil of legitimacy by saying they're fighting for a cause. </p><p></p><p>To be fair though, this isn't exactly a unique Russian policy. I mean the Americans and Brits actively supported the growth of Opium by Nationalist warlords retreating from Yunnan into the Shan state of Burma so they could buy arms to fight the commies, only the retreating Chinese did nothing but grow and sell Opium for self enrichment. It's part of the reason why Shan state is such a happy place these days. It seems that the countries that rave on about individual rights, democratic process and minimal state intervention are also quite proficient at lighting fires in other people's back yards.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Maccaweeny, post: 222351"] <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (redunderthebed @ Oct 8 2008, 10:07 PM) [url='index.php?act=findpost&pid=352027']<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div> I agree to the extent that liberal democracies in the West have the tendency to patronise nations like Russia and China for not conforming to euro-centric models of representative government, but in this circumstance the Russian government has not really advanced their case. Apart from the points already raised by Prestwick, Russia has continually disrespected Georgian territorial sovereignty due to the need to appease various nationalist groups (both the communist party and far-right agree on one thing, that the Ukraine and Georgia should remain under Russian suzerainty) and to control the regions potential for oil and natural gas production. Take for example the provision of Russian passports to thousands of citizens residing in Georgia immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On face value it's a pretty harmless gesture, almost similar to how a great deal of Australians hold British passports, except the British legislature has not actively endorsed the use of wholesale military intervention when their dual-citizens in other countries are under risk, in fact a British passport does little to protect dual-citizens, and for good reason. On the other hand, there is an express grant in the Russian constitution that provides Medvedev with the means to say "oh well there are a few 'Russians' who have been living and working within your borders, subject to your laws, your welfare and protection for years, who [i]we[/i] believe to be under direct threat, we're going to declare war." So handing out tens of thousands of these passports to philo-Russian Georgian citizens was a pretty provocative move. Also as Prestwick already said, the 'freedom fighters' in Abkhazia and South Ossetia bear a striking resemblance to the various Unionist militants and the Real IRA in the late nineties, crooks who hide behind a veil of legitimacy by saying they're fighting for a cause. To be fair though, this isn't exactly a unique Russian policy. I mean the Americans and Brits actively supported the growth of Opium by Nationalist warlords retreating from Yunnan into the Shan state of Burma so they could buy arms to fight the commies, only the retreating Chinese did nothing but grow and sell Opium for self enrichment. It's part of the reason why Shan state is such a happy place these days. It seems that the countries that rave on about individual rights, democratic process and minimal state intervention are also quite proficient at lighting fires in other people's back yards. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Other Stuff
The Clubhouse Bar
Russian troops leaving Georgia
Top