The Russian - Georgian Situation

[Sadena Meti]

I'm sure many of you have been following the exchanges of the past week. The most recent actions I find more than slightly disturbing:

OK, so the spies are arrested, Russia cuts gas, transport, and post. Basically bullying so as to get their way.

Then they start raiding Georgian businesses in Russia, now they are just being punitive.

Following that, they introduce a bill which would outlaw remittances to Georgia. Russian press prints reports about Georgian migrants being a drain on the Russian economy; stealing, cheating, embezzling, and leeching money.

And now... deportations:

BBC Report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5412672.stm)

Rounding up Georgians and deporting them, without due process and it seems on fictional visa violations.

And possibly the scariest part of the news: "Moscow police have also asked schools to draw up lists of pupils with Georgian surnames as part of their search for illegal immigrants, Russian media reported. "

Georgian surnames... to be rounded up...


1930's Germany, anyone?


Seems like Moscow has overreacted so much to the spy arrest they have decided to create a national scapegoat. I'm sure you can all imaging some possible nightmare scenarios.

*edit*

And perhaps most shockingly this went from 0 to scapegoat in one week!

[bolshevik butcher]

Actually I think that this is far more like a coldwar style battle for spheres of influence with America. A similar tactic was tried earlier this year to win over the pro ukranian government to Moscow's line.

[Anton]

yeah, i commented on this in a thread in the "discrimination" section.
Fucking awful when so many innocent people have to suffer for the stupidity of two sets of politicans.
There is no doubt a big factor in Georgia's relationship with the US and NATO ambitions and I have no doubt that the uS encouraged the bullshit of Saakashvili - he ismply wouldn't have risked it if he didn't have support.
But ah well, removes any illusions of mines about Putin and his bunch

[bolshevik butcher]

Yes it is quite sick to see so many people being used, whole countries, as pawns in a game of power politics. The 'revolution' ie competitions between pro russian and pro american despots in Ukraine and Russia have really exposed the Western media as a propagnda too of the ruling class though. These were given prime spots and highlighted as examples of democracy and 'the poeple' fighting for waht they want. On the otherhand events in Laitn America such as the recent events in Mexico where demonstrations of 3million and occupation of a souther town have gone unreported as in these instances it was the working class fighting for it's intersts against the capitalist class and their election fraud.

[ComradeOm]

Originally posted by rev-[email protected] 6 2006, 05:51 PM
And perhaps most shockingly this went from 0 to scapegoat in one week!
This has been going on for a lot longer than a week. The current spat dates from Saakashvili's coup in 2003.

The Nazi Germany comparison is also horribly inaccurate. The current tension is a result of Russia's attempts to maintain its sphere of influence, not some thirst or hunger for expansion. There is not a power in history that has not engaged, or continues to engage, in the exact same behaviour. Russia today comes off as a bully because Putin does not see the need, or simply does not care, for subterfuge.

[RedAnarchist]

Has the problem gone or just died down?

[cantona]

´Georgia says Russia attacked gorge´
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ANT225790.htm

What the...

[Guerrilla22]

Georgia has been trying to rid itself of Russian influence for a while now and Russia is responding. Russia has been behaving in the same manner towards the Ukraine lately.

[Cheung Mo]

I wonder if the Russian "Communist" Party will do anymore to oppose the political persecution of ethnic Georgians than it's done to oppose the persecution of homosexuals. Or maybe they'll play kissy-face with the far-right, the Putinistas, and the religious lunatics like they did when they fought against the Moscow Gay Bride Parade.

[Janus]

There have always been tensions between the 2 countries since Russia supported/backed Georgian separatists in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. But relations definitely took a turn for the worst after the espionage incident. I think that we will continue to see tensions mount as Russia increases its political and economic influence in the region.