Russian soldiers have been seen capturing Georgian soldiers and taking American Humvees out of a Black Sea port. This comes after a week of sightings of Russians destroying Georgian equipment in the city.
Russian soldiers have been seen capturing Georgian soldiers and taking American Humvees out of a Black Sea port. This comes after a week of sightings of Russians destroying Georgian equipment in the city.
The Bad Old Days are back. In Russian-speak, marching forward is called “withdrawing.”
I am worried about Georgia. If Russia slowly draws them into a strangle-hold, will we or other countries do anything about it? It’s terrible. Not that I want the US to world’s policemen . . .
I recently read a good book that explains the International situation better than anything else I’ve seen, Empires of Trust.
The Bad Old Days are not exactly back. Putin is trying to revive them, but he’s doing it with a lot less resources. During the cold war Georgia wasn’t even in play, it was clearly Russian territory.
It’s telling Russia did not conquer all of Georgia, even though it could have militarily (AFAIK). I think Putin is trying to check the water and see what the reaction will be like. Sort of like the Sudetenland.
This is somewhat off the topic, but I’ve been listening to ‘Young Stalin’ – a biography by Simon Montefiore. I recommend it highly. (I assume people know Stalin grew up in Georgia, and became a bank robber and terrorist there.)His life seems too fantastic to be real… but there it is.
I forgot to mention that Stalin in early days was a ‘union organizer’ in the new oil fields in that area. (Second only to the U.S. in size and importance, at that time.)
I confess I did not know this. I remember that Stalin was close to Lenin while he was in office, and that it’s possible Lenin didn’t like him as a successor.
I wish I had some ability to write with eloquence, so I could convince people they need to read this book. In some way it ‘capsulizes’ the 20th century. Stalin may have had the most remarkable life of anyone (in all history)we know about. (e.g. in his twenties he was a famous,(in Georgia)poet; I could go on and on. He was a kind of ‘Fagan’ character, with a gang of young boys under his control, etc.)
– p.s. at several times, growing up, he almost died; he seems to have been beaten by everyone he ever knew; including mother and father. etc. etc.)