Russia 'deploys missiles' in breakaway region of Abkhazia

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Russia says it has deployed S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in the breakaway region of Abkhazia in Georgia.

The Georgian government - which refuses to acknowledge Abkhazia's independence - says it is "concerned" by the move.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10940297

[formercia]

1. Similar to the US Patriot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-300_%28missile%29

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. Sorta kinda...they are both SAMs

Security has to be damned tight...1 rogue RPG-7 and its a lot of millions up in flames.

[formercia]

8. The Russians assign security units to protect them

SPETZNAZ trains routinely with the security units to test their response.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. There is no love lost between Russia and the Georgians...

With a completely different culture and language, Georgians have never gotten over having been under Soviet control and this is one conflict that will probably never be resolved. :(

[AtheistCrusader]

3. Actually it could be very simply resolved.

International recognition of Abkhazia as a country. (Or allowing them to join Russia, if they choose)

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. So if part of the West Bank decides it wants to remain with Israel, you are good with that too?

That is the logic you are using.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. Not quite.

Russia isn't introducing settlers to the region, so Russia isn't swinging the local vote (to the best of my knowledge).

Israel is. So I would not necessarily trust the local vote of the west bank, because Israel has 'stuffed the ballot box' so to speak.

Like South Ossetia, the Abkhazians aren't ethnically Georgian. Based on language, the Soviets thought they were related, but ethnogenetically, they aren't. The Soviet Union put them together forcefully, they did not join voluntarily. I don't believe S. Ossetia or Abkhazia should be forced to remain part of Georgia if they democratically vote to leave. Whether they vote to become part of Russia, or a sovereign country of their own is a separate question, and up to them.


Given their chops, I would bet South and North Ossetia would like to rejoin as one, and I think it would be even money as to whether they become a nation, or join Russia. With North Ossetia part of Russia, currently the southerners are asking to join Russia. (and quite a lot have obtained Russian citizenship and passports.)

It is a complex situation, and I am by no means trying to make light of the situation, either in the caucasia, or in Israel/Palestine, but I think it's fairly clear that Georgia doesn't really have any claim to them.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. There was a lot of "relocation" encouraged in that area while the USSR existed

And if part of a recognized nation is allowed to secede, then by the same logic, portions of the west bank should also be allowed to secede from any Palestinian state to join Israel. The situations are quite analogous

[AtheistCrusader]

9. There was indeed. Unfortunately it was

an influx of Georgians. If you look at local population growths, the greeks, abkhazians, armenians, and russians, they actually have lived there since th 1800's. Near the turn of that century, there were less than a thousand georgians in the area. Between 1959 and 1990, the georgian population in the area had exploded to over 150,000, the largest single ethnic group in the area.

They are still outnumbered by all the other ethnic groups collectively, and the russian and georgian populations have been tryin to kill and drive each other out, so yes, there are some distortions in the two populations. But overall, there is a large enough native population to make a credible vote on independence from Georgia. It will simply include greeks, armenians, and others, that have been living there for hundreds of years.


Edit: Actually, I'm looking at the 2003 census, and perhaps I should be more concerned about ethnic cleansing. Every group except the abkhazians is showing signs of having somewhere TO go, and getting out quick. Even the greeks and the russians. Maybe the local situation resembles Israel a little more than I thought.