The 2008 Russo-Georgian war was an incredibly important event that shaped the geopolitics of the Caucasus region and Europe. The war began as a regional escalation in Georgia's separatist region of South Ossetia, but quickly evolved into a full-blown war with Russia and Abkhazia, Georgia's other separatist region. In the aftermath, Russia temporarily occupied parts of Georgia while Moscow also recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. Today, only four other UN member states do the same.

The story behind the Russian Georgian conflict is very complicated and has only become more relevant as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues. Georgians, Abkhazians, Ossetians and Russians have a deeply intertwined, complex and often tragic history - from the early Middle Ages to the chaos of the 1990s.

In this video, we explore the origins of this conflict and try to answer three questions: Who are the actors involved? Why did they fight? And how does the geopolitical conflict between Russia and the Western world influence this issue?

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Music:

Laendler in C Minor Hess 68 (by Kevin MacLeod)
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Folk Round (by Kevin MacLeod)
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Teller of the Tales (by Kevin MacLeod)
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Russian Dance (by Joey Pecoraro)
Source: YouTube Audio library

Magic Escape Room (by Kevin MacLeod)
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Miri's Magic Dance (by Kevin MacLeod)
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Vespers on the Shore (by The Mini Vandals)
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Time stamps:

0:00 Introduction
0:50 Broad history
4:20 Soviet period
5:07 After independence
9:15 2008 war
11:29 Situation today
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Main Sources:

Thomas de Waal (2019) The Caucasus: An Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Donald Rayfield (2012) Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. Reaction Books.

John F. Baddeley (1999) The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus. Curzon Press.
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