SOUTH OSSETIAN WAR

(2008)

In an atmosphere colored by worsening relations between Russia andGeorgiaover the former’s military support of the breakaway republics ofAbkhaziaandSouth Ossetiaand the latter’s talks to join theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) alliance and significant cooperation with theUnited Statesmilitary, Georgian PresidentMikheil Saakashviliordered his military to attack the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali on the night of 7 August 2008.

Responding to casualties among Russianpeacekeepersdeployed in the region, Moscow immediately responded by ordering a fullscale invasion of South Ossetia.Themilitaryaction was Russia’s first offensive deployment outside its borders since independence. The Russiannavyquickly moved to block Georgian ports, and, acting in conjunction with Abkhazianseparatists, the Russian army opened a second front in the Kodori Gorge in northwestern Georgia. After five days of fighting, Russian forces had secured the breakaway regions and moved on the Georgian cities of Poti and Gori. As the Russian military drew closer to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, the international community—led by French President Nicholas Sarkozy—put pressure on Moscow to agree to a cease-fire, which was brokered on 12 August 2008. Over the next week, Russia evacuated most of its positions in Georgia proper but retained control of so-called buffer zones around Abkhazia and South Ossetia; this allowed the separatist governments to consolidate control of certain territories that had been under Georgian control prior to the conflict. Russian PresidentDmitry Medvyedev, at the behest of theFederation Council, recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on 26 August 2008, a move mirrored by only two otherUnited Nationsmembers, Nicaragua andVenezuela. A final pullout from Georgian territory occurred in early October. Approximately 400 soldiers died in the fighting and more than 150,000 civilians were displaced. The U.S. and other countries committed substantial funds to rebuilding Georgia’s infrastructure in the wake of the summer war, while Moscow has plowed money into Abkhazia and South Ossetia and signed deals to establish military bases in the regions. Since the war, Medvyedev has described Transcaucasia as a “zone of privileged interest” for Russia, prompting fears of future military actions.