In the January of 1920 the Caucasian Territorial Committee of the Bolshevik Party appealed to the workers for an ARMED UPRISING, and on March 15 it applied to Soviet Russia, on behalf of all the Communist organizations and working people of Caucasia, for help in the struggle for the victory of the Soviet power.On March 23 the same Committee held a session and decided to proclaim Soviet rule in “South Ossetia” and organize the South Ossetian Revcom. This was an outrageous violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia.Soviet Russia acted upon the concepts of benefit of the strategic position of Transcaucasia and its oil fields, upon the interests of the world revolution and proletarian internationalism expressed through an idea of “bringing liberation to the workers on the bayonets of the Red Army.

Although an alliance for military purposes was refused, a friendly approach to Russia was welcomed. Eventually a definite treaty of peace was made with Soviet Russia (7th May 1920) whereby both powers mutually recognised each other, and promised to live in peace and harmony.

Georgia has faithfully observed this peace, but not so the Soviet Russia. Scarcely had the latter concluded peace than its troops invaded Georgia from the side of Azerbaijan, which Soviet Russia had seized shortly before by a coup d’état. Once more the Georgians succeeded in throwing back the invading enemy, and again offered peace as soon as the beaten foe was ready for it. Scarcely had peaceful conditions been re-established than the Bolshevists organised new military invasions from the north (Roki), in order to provoke insurrections in northern Georgia. Almost at the same time (July, 1920) a Communist conspiracy was discovered in Abkhasia, having relations with the Russian Military Command, and implicating two officials belonging to the Russian Mission in Tiflis.

Soon Russian troops from Azerbeijan proceeded to Armenia, in order to seize the country and transform it into a vassal of Russia. Both in Armenia and Azerbaijan Russian troops assembled in a threatening guise, on the borders of Georgia. This fact compelled the latter to mobilise also.

The language of the Russian Representative in Tiflis became increasingly threatening. In the middle of December, a conspiracy was discovered in Tiflis, the object of which was to provoke street-fighting in that town, which would furnish a pretext for the invasion of Georgia by the Russian troops watching on the border, 60 kilometres from Tiflis. Among the conspirators, officials of the Russian Embassy were again discovered.

This would have justified the Georgian Government in giving Herr Scheimann, the Russian ambassador in Tiflis, his passports, but it contented itself with asking Lenin to recall Scheimann and replace him by another person, because his activities disturbed the good relations between the two States.

But Soviet Ambassador Scheimann remained in Georgia.

Thus at the beginning of January,1921 the situation of the small Republic had become very troubled. The Bolshevist invasion which threatened in the spring if the Moscow Dictators had not themselves been checked, bas now come sooner than was expected. The fate of Georgia only depended on the strength of her arms. In the first period of independent Georgia, its forces had been put to many hard tests. But its severest trial came last spring, as the result of the Bolshevist invasion by the strong Russian forces, simultaneously from the south, from the north, and from the east.

This treacherous invasion occurred without any declaration of war in the first half of February, 1921. The world first heard of it from the Georgian side. The Social-Democratic Party and the Trade Unions, as well as the Federal Socialist Party, announced positively, together with the Georgian Government, that Georgia had been invaded by Russian troops and was threatened to the utmost. They expected an immediate and vigorous protest against the proceedings of Moscow would be forthcoming from the International Socialist Congress at Vienna.

The representations which came from Moscow, and which decisively denied any invasion of Georgia by the Russian Army, served to confuse the judgment.

In order to be able to deny the invasion of Russian troops, it was first stated that some villages on the Georgian frontier had revolted, embittered by the tyranny of the, Georgians. Some Armenians on the southern border had given the signal, and then the rebellion spread to Signakh, which lies in the east of Georgia, towards Azerbaijan. Simultaneously, Abkhasia had risen in the extreme north-west Georgia, close to the Russian border.

It is a remarkable fact that the rebellions broke out precisely in those places, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Abkhasia, where large and constantly increasing masses of Russian troops had been quartered since November. If, in spite of all, the Russian Government still attempted to create the belief that its three strong armies on the southern, eastern, and north-western boundaries of Georgia refrained from any share in the fight between the Communists and Menshevist Georgia, this is obviously because invasion by the Russian Armies would represent the most impudent and shameless mockery of the principles most sacred to every Socialist, which principles even the most hardened Bolshevists still had doubts about throwing on the scrap-heap.

But scarcely was Tiflis captured than the picture immediately changed. No further mention was made in the Russian telegrams of ethnic minorities, rebellions, but now it suddenly appears that Communists had captured Tiflis and overthrown the Georgian Government.

Pravda (in Moscow) congratulates the Georgian comrades, and says that “Menshevist Georgia has become the last refuge for the counter-revolution.” Death sentence of Democratic Republic of Georgia was pronounced in Moscow.

COMMENT: Let’s explode the myth disseminated by the Russian government (and accepted by many in the Western media) that Georgia started this fight by “invading” so-called South Ossetia. Setting aside the fact that South Ossetia is legally a part of Georgia, this fight began with a set-up worthy of Hitler’s machinations in Czechoslovakia and Poland.

Having created, funded and fully backed the South Ossetian separatist movement since the Soviet crack-up, in late JULY the Kremlin ordered Kokoiti regime they own to provoke the Georgians. In the WEEK prior to the invasion, South Ossetians, aided by Russian “peacekeepers,” had shelled and raided Georgian villages beyond so-called South Ossetia.

Was Separatist violence against Georgians not provocation enough for Saakashvilli to act on? Who do you think encouraged the pro-Russian separatists within Georgia in the first place? Russian influence has been destabilizing the region.

The lessons of the past have demonstrated that shortsightedness, adventurism and extremism in politics invariably lead to a tragedy that makes hundreds and thousands of innocent people suffer. From what I understand, the people of so-called S Ossetia are a mixture of pro-Georgian and pro-Russian supporters. So both country have legitimate claim to protecting their citizens.

Oh, and as for those Russian claims that it “had to protect its citizens,” well, the Russians simply handed out passports to South Ossetians over the years in a de facto annexation the world ignored. Those “Russian citizens” are about as Russian as the citizens of Dulles, Virginia.

Those sympathetic to Georgia can point out the hypocrisy of Russia brutally suppressing separatism in Chechnya while fostering it in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. If Russia really wished to protect the citizens in so-called. South Ossetia ( without pressing in a question on how they there have appeared and why the Russian passports everywhere where distributed as contraband), – than for what Russian armies occupied even territories where no Russian citizens are present, and there are only citizens of Georgia? If Russia really was engaged in compulsion to the world for what its politicians and diplomats needed to demand President Saakashvili’s resignation absolutely seriously? I cannot carry myself to admirers of this politician, but is absolutely convinced that the question of his resignation is a problem of the Georgian people, but not Russian Government.

Georgia remembers Soviet invasion and occupation in 1921 and the reason stated by Bolshevik Russia – Protection of local Communists. Today, Russians are protecting ethnic Osetian “Russian Citizens” in historic region of the central Georgia. We also remember early 1990′s when invaded two Georgian provinces and was bombing Georgia from sky and black see, enforced 450.000 people (80% of total population – mostly ethnic Georgian refugees) to leave their homes.

In addition, at inactivity of the Russian “peacemakers” in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region were killed more than 2000 civilians of the Georgian nationality in 1994-2007 – the world (UN, EU, OSCE) ignored & never provided international peace keepers

Even before STALIN granted historic Georgian land to Osetians BY ARTIFICIALLY CREATING “SOUTH OSSETIA” Georgians lived there AND RULLED this central part of motherland even 2000 years before the Ossetians arrival. The area around the present-day Tskhinvali was first populated back in the Bronze Age. The unearthed settlements and archaeological artifacts from that time are unique in that they reflect influences from both Iberian (east Georgia) and Colchian (west Georgia).

Place name (toponym) “South Ossetia” for the first time has been used by Russian military, and then civil authorities in the beginning of XIX century. This term had collective character and meant historic-geographical areas of former Georgian Kingdom of Kartli where mainly lived the Ossetian population migrated from the North Caucasus.

Transformation of the term “South Ossetia” in a designation of administrative-territorial formation with certain administrative borders begins since 1922. Following the Soviet occupation of Georgia (1921) “Osetia” was ARTIFICIALLY created by Bolsheviks in Georgia and areas with not only Osetian villages, but with mainly Georgian population (eastern Racha & Imeretia and mostly central Kartli) also have been included. In addition, old Georgian town Tskhinvali become a capital city of artificial “Osetia” (please note: by 1910 ONLY 11% Osetians lived in Tskhinvali). Subsequently, the town became largely Ossetian due to intense urbanization and Soviet Korenizatsiya (“nativization”) policy which induced an inflow of the Ossetians into Tskhinvali. Today, there is an obvious manifold instrumentalization of the local minorities by Russia for the purpose of destroying the Georgian state.

Let me assure you – Tskhinvali (capital city of so called South Ossetia) was annexed to Imperial Russia with the rest of eastern Georgia (Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti) in 1801. The so-called South Osetia is not a native land of Osetians. It has never been part of “United Ossetia”. Georgians always lived there and ruled the region even 2000 years before the Ossetians arrival in the 14th-17th centuries as well as after newcomers settled to central Georgia. The so called South Ossetia, which is one and a half times the area of Luxembourg broke away from Georgia in the 1991–1992 war.

By the early 18th century, Tskhinvali was a small Georgian “royal town” populated chiefly by monastic serfs of the Georgian orthodox church and serfs of local Georgian aristocrats (such as Prince Matchabeli family, etc.) Tskhinvali was first chronicled by Georgian sources in 1398 as a village in Kartli (central Georgia) though a later account credits the 3rd century AD Georgian king Asphagur of Iberia (eastern Georgia) with its foundation as a fortress. The city contains several monuments of medieval Georgian architecture, with the Kavti Church of St. George being the oldest one dating back to the 8th-10th centuries, as well as Soviet time buildings and the old Jewish Quarter (Jewish lived peacefully in Georgia under Georgian rule more than 24 centuries.

The Osetians are originally descendants of the Alans. They became Christians during the early Middle Ages, under Georgian and Byzantine influences. Under Mongol rule, they were pushed out of their homeland south in present-day Republic of Alania (north Caucasus) under Russian rule from 1767.

Another part of Osetians migrated towards and over the Caucasus mountains, to Georgia in the central region of Georgia – Tskhinvali, Shida Kartli – Under rule of the eastern Georgian Royal Dynasty (abolished by Russians in 1801).

Little part of Osetians also moved to in Western Georgian Kingdom – Imereti, and principality of Racha ruled by another branch of Bagrationi Dynasty.

Located on a trade route which linked North Caucasus to Tbilisi and Gori, Tskhinvali gradually developed into a commercial town with a mixed Jewish, Georgian, Armenian and Ossetian population. In the 1910s, its censused population was 5,033 with 42.3% Jews, 33% Georgians, 13.4% Armenians and ONLY 11% Ossetians.

Russia has a history of causing problems in the “near abroad” , around the “whole perimeter” and then coming to “fix” the problem.

Declaration of the Georgian Peace Committee

Once more Georgia was launched into a situation of chaos and bloodshed. A new fratricidal war exploded with renewed strength on Georgian soil.

To our great disappointment, the alerts of the Georgian Peace Committee and of progressive personalities of Georgia on the pernicious character of the militarization of the country and on the danger of a pro-fascist and nationalist policy had no effect. The authorities of Georgia once again organized a bloody war, feeling the support of some Western countries and of regional and international organizations. It will take decades to cleanse the shame poured by the current holders of the power over the Georgian people.

The Georgian army—armed and trained by U.S. instructors and using also U.S. armaments—subjected the city of Tskhinvali to a barbaric destruction. The bombings killed Ossetian civilians, our brothers and sisters, children, women and elderly people. Over 2,000 inhabitants of Tskhinvali and of its surroundings died.

Hundreds of civilians of Georgian nationality also died, both in the conflict zone as well as in the entire territory of Georgia.

The Georgian Peace Committee expresses its deep condolences to the relatives and friends of those who have perished.

The entire responsibility for this fratricidal war, for thousands of children, women and elderly dead people, for the inhabitants of South Ossetia and of Georgia falls exclusively on the current president, on the Parliament and on the government of Georgia.

The irresponsibility and the adventurism of the Saakashvili regime have no limits. There is no doubt the president of Georgia and his team are criminals and must be held responsible. The Georgian Peace Committee, together with all the progressive parties and social movements of Georgia, will struggle to assure that the organizers of this monstrous genocide have a severe and legitimate punishment.

The Georgian Peace Committee declares and asks broad public opinion not to identify the current Georgian leadership with the people of Georgia, with the Georgian nation, and appeals to all to support the Georgian people in the struggle against the criminal regime of Saakashvili.

We appeal to all the political forces of Georgia, the social movements and the people of Georgia to unite in order to free the country from the Russian-phobic and pro-fascist anti-popular regime of Saakashvili!

The Georgian Peace Committee Tbilisi, Aug. 11, 2008

Please stop this discussion. Some facts to you from history:
1) Stalin,georgian by nationality by the way, simply included this territory (South Ossetia) to Georgia in 1920-th.
2) Ossetians live on their land for centhures… they are the oldest civilisation, which still stay on the place where it was born….They have right to have their own country more then Kosovo people for 100%!
3) Saakashvili had attacked not “rebels” and “separatists”. He bombed against civil city for 8 hours before russians came.The result is Tskhinvali is totally destroyed, 2000 civils killed.

You talking about interestof USA,Georgia,Russia…..
oil,weapon,money…..etc. stupid world! Think about ossetians! Ask them what they want! This is the only right way of thruthful people.Peace!

I wish you would not single out the Israeli example, though, for it brings out the Zionist nutters on the one hand and obscures ugly little operations like East Timor and Chilie on the other.

Their army bugged out, setting a new land speed record in a headlong rush South.

Now the Russians have all that brand new US tactical gear (and where do you think the Israelis got it?) to ponder, examine and adjust their tactics accordingly.

Russia wants to intimidate all the former Soviet Republics, especially the Western-brokered ones like Georgia, Ukraine and the Baltic States. This is a clear signal that NATO should go slow there and that possibly the Baltic States should reconsider. Point LJ.

The pipeline was probably under Larry’s radar. I am certain that it is presently front and center, now that a Russian tank column left Gori today en route to Tbilisi. Point BSG.

One thing that Johnson said is spot on. The Russians did their homework on this one: I saw the Russian Ambassador the UN today on Charlie Rose. This guy is media savvy and served his boss well. He talked about the Georgians rolling over the Russian Peacekeepers (yup, there were there but I don’t know if they were steamrolled), 20,000-30,000 refugees streaming into Russia through the tunnel, the code name for the Geogian Operation being “Clean Field”, etc.. Christ, he made it sound like France in 1940. Like I said, this is no bumbling Soviet aparatchik with a thick accent, this one is media savvy.

Now UPI’s managing editor of international affairs is running an article that paints this operation in shades of approaching the Iraq blunder. We do live in interesting times.

Russia’s invasion of Georgia has little to do with Georgia’s actions in Ossetia and more to do with Russia sending the United States a clear and defiant signal.

A nice theory, Larry, but it’s wrong.

Russia’s invasion has little to do with sending the US a signal and everything to do with protecting its energy monopoly.

Toronto Globe and Mail

As Russia’s unnecessary, immoral and illegal military campaign in Georgia grinds onward, the world should not be fooled by President Dmitri Medvedev’s claim that his troops are fighting “to restore peace to South Ossetia.”

The Russian assault has very little to do with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ill-advised decision to send troops into that troubled region, and owes much more to Moscow’s determination to control energy supplies in the Caucasus and strengthen its position as a near-monopoly supplier to Europe.

Georgia is a crucial transit point for oil and gas. Three major pipelines connecting energy sources in the Caucasus and Central Asia to European markets pass through its territory. One of these, the South Caucasus pipeline, is an important part of the plan for the Nabucco pipeline to Austria, which would deliver natural gas directly to the European Union, bypassing Russia entirely, if built.

The Russian government, which controls Gazprom, has been trying to get the EU to ignore the Nabucco pipeline and invest in Gazprom’s pipelines. The attack on Georgia just makes that investment look more risky.

Medvedev was the chairman of Gazprom’s board until late 2007. The current chair is also Russia’s deputy prime minister.

The story concludes that “rewarding its transgression by acceding to the Kremlin’s plans for an energy monopoly in Europe would encourage even worse behaviour in the future.”

Today, BP closed its 90,000-barrels-per-day pipeline, which runs to Supsa on Georgia’s Black Sea coast from Baku in Azerbaijan, “indefinitely as a precautionary measure.”

Here’s a report on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

Russian planning for this action proves nothing about Russias intentions. In fact, if you knew anything about the conflict beyond something you skimmed off a wikipedia entry, you’d know that Russia has contingency plans for Georgia since 1992. As for Georgian maneuvers for Ossetia, they are about 3 years old in practice.

Israel, on the other hand, is not abandoning an ally, as Georgia was never in any shape or form an Israeli ally. Nor had Israel any official ties to Georgia. These were commercial – guns for hire. To claim abandonment is akin to claiming that Israel abandoned El Salvador when it withdrew its commercial operations there in the eighties.

You conveniently ignore all the facts of the actual Georgian invasion of Ossetia. Impressive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_South_Ossetia_war

Russia wasn’t the aggressor. And McCain isn’t telling a straight story.

Not too bad seeing they were 384 billion in debt 8 years earlier & not able to pay IMF interest.

Russia is not a superpower but they are getting back to a middle power.