Remember how
Russia was grousing when
Kosovo declared independence? Remember how they said it would open a Pandora's Box of evils like autonomy, diversity, cultural expression and self-determination? Well, in an unprecedented about face, Russia invaded the breakaway region of
South Ossetia today to repel
US-encouraged Georgia's forces who launched a surprise attack on the hapless
Ossetians at the encouragement of the
Bush administration, killing unconfirmed numbers of Ossetian civilians without provocation. Perhaps the most surprising thing is how most of the media have used this to denounce Russia, and not to defend the Ossetians, whose homeland was invaded without apparent provocation.
Condoleeza Rice said, “This is not 1968, and the invasion of
Czechoslovakia, where Russia can invade its neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it,” she said. “Things have changed.” It's sort of funny coming from the people who invaded
Afghanistan and
Iraq, occupied their capitals, overthrew their governments and got away with it. But they're not our neighbor so it's ok. So why did the media throw their support behind the breakaway republics of
Yugoslavia but not Georgia? Because Georgia is a tool and partner in the US's efforts to expand influence in the area, so they aren't beholden to the same standards as our enemies.
The Ossetians homeland lies both in Russia and Georgia. They're an
Aryan people who moved to the region some 7,000 years ago. The word "Ossetia" comes from the Georgian name for them. Their own name for their country is
Irættæ. Their ancestors founded the kingdom of
Alania, which was a beneficiary of the Silk Road. They migrated to their current home in the
Caucasus to flee the
Mongol Horde. When the
USSR collapsed, some Ossetians proposed reviving the name of Alania. Soon afterward, the term Alania was revived in many enterprises and added to the official title of the Russian-occupied north, making it
Republic of North Ossetia-Alania.
