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Russia keeps a watch on former Soviet states
August 13, 2008
Now, as former Soviet states increasingly align themselves with the West, through trade agreements and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation membership, Russia's scowl grows darker.
Some believe that Moscow is exploiting pro-Russian sentiment in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as an excuse to enforce its will on Georgia, which seeks NATO membership, and as a show of force to Ukraine, which has also expressed interest in NATO.
The Ossetians hail from Iran, but they came to the Caucasus after they were driven out of their homeland by Mongol invasions in the 13th century. They settled in the territory known as Ossetia. The region is culturally homogenous, but politically divided into North and South, with North Ossetia, a part of Russia, and South Ossetia, a part of Georgia. Today, many of the residents of South Ossetia are Russian citizens holding Russian passports.
Image: A file photgraph of US President George W Bush with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, prior to the welcome banquet at the Great Hall of people in Beijing, on August 8, 2008.
Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: PM, Putin had secret, strategic discussions
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