On August 8, 2008, the 29th Summer Olympic Games officially opened in Beijing, which is an unforgettable day for many Chinese people.
On the day of the opening ceremony, Putin, then Prime Minister of Russia, was also present.
Also on this day, almost at the same time as the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, Georgia sent troops to South Ossetia, then a disputed region.
Just as the opening ceremony of the Olympics was in full swing, Putin in the stands received a phone call: "Georgia has sent troops to South Ossetia." ”
Without a moment's hesitation, Putin simply replied: "Start fighting." ”
In this way, there was no long and intense discussion, no long mobilization and assembly, as if Russia had prepared for this in advance, and Russia's military operation in Georgia was quickly carried out under Putin's brief order in two words.
As we all know, truce during the Olympic Games and stop all acts of war has always been an internationally agreed tradition, so why did Georgia launch military operations during the Olympic Games?
It turned out that Saakashvili, then president of Georgia, took advantage of the gap between then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on vacation and Prime Minister Putin attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, and wanted to use a surprise attack to quickly take South Ossetia.
So what is the origin of this military conflict between Georgia and Russia? What was the course and outcome of the war? Please listen slowly.
Introduction to basic information about Georgia
From any point of view, Georgia is a small country on the international stage, with a land area of only 69,700 square kilometers and a population of only 3,896,600 as of the beginning of 2022.
Although it is only a projectile land with an area of less than 70,000 square kilometers, due to the peculiarity of its geographical location, the country has historically suffered invasions by Arab, Mongolian, Turkish and other countries.
Until the beginning of the 19th century, it was annexed by Tsarist Russia and became part of Russian territory.
In 1918, with the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, Russia was in turmoil, and Georgia gained temporary independence and established the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
In 1922, Georgia joined the Soviet Union as a member of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
In 1989, the drastic changes in Eastern Europe broke out in Georgia, and Marshal Yazov, then Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, personally led troops to suppress it. It was not until April 29, 1991, that independence was officially declared and it became the Republic of Georgia.
It is worth mentioning that Stalin, who served as the supreme leader of the Soviet Union and single-handedly brought the Soviet Union on the road to industrialization, is a Georgian.
Where did the contradictions between Georgia and Russia originate
The contradiction between Georgia and Russia is actually a long-term and complex historical issue, as mentioned earlier, although Georgia has been at war continuously, it has always existed as a relatively independent small Caucasian country, as can be seen from its own language and culture.
The history of Russia is a history of continuous expansion, and during the Tsarist period, through a long war, the Caucasus was finally included in the territory.
After the establishment of the Soviet Union, the three Transcaucasian countries joined the Soviet Union as the "Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Federative Republic", including Georgia.
However, Georgia's independence tendencies have always been very high during both the Tsarist and Soviet periods, and the independence movement in Georgia was severely suppressed during Stalin's period as leader of the Soviet Union.
During the drastic changes in Eastern Europe in 1989, Georgia, one of the three Transcaucasian countries, took the lead in attacking the Soviet Union for independence. It can be said that after being annexed to the Soviet Union, Georgia has always been the most stubborn "thorn".
Georgia has always held a grudge against it because it was historically annexed by Russia, and it has not ceased since its formal independence in 1991.
At the end of the same year, the Soviet Union collapsed, and the North Caucasus was included in Russia, including Chechnya, which was also bent on independence at the time.
Georgia has always spared no effort in supporting the independence movement in the Caucasus, and in the two subsequent Chechen wars, Georgia was an important channel for Chechnya to obtain outside assistance.
Then, in the process of NATO's continuous eastward expansion, Georgia is also the most active of the three Transcaucasian countries to join NATO, which is undoubtedly hitting Russia in the face.
Before Russia sent troops to Georgia in 2008, it can be said that Russia always wanted to say to Georgia: "I have put up with you for a long time!" ”
Careful readers may have noticed that when it comes to Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia, what role does this South Ossetia play between Georgia and Russia?
After Georgia joined the Soviet Union in 1922, the Soviet government divided the Ossetian region into two with the Caucasus Mountains, the north of the mountain range is called North Ossetia, which belongs to Russia, and the south of the mountain range is called South Ossetia and belongs to Georgia.
After the independence of Georgia in 1991, South Ossetia became part of the territory of Georgia and was also separated from the Soviet Union.
What Georgia, which has been fighting for decades in the independence movement, did not expect that South Ossetia was also "born to be anti-bone" and was bent on independence from Georgia.
Although South Ossetia is located in Georgia, it is not Georgian who lives there.
Because of the brutal rule of Georgia, the people there have a deeper affection for Russia than Georgia.
After the independence of Georgia, there were many independence movements in South Ossetia, and Russia also openly and covertly helped South Ossetia to become independent to contain Georgia, which can be regarded as retaliation for Georgia's help to Chechnya.
Russia's aid has doubled South Ossetia's affection for it, and it even wants to join Russia directly after independence.
Georgia is also very anxious about this, after all, when South Ossetia goes out of independence, its already small territory will be further "shrunk", which is undoubtedly cutting a piece of meat on itself with a knife.
So in 2007, Georgia changed the name of "South Ossetian Autonomous Region" to "Tskhinvali Region" by amending the constitution.
This move immediately aroused strong protests from the people of South Ossetia, who not only refused to recognize it, but also organized armed forces to confront the Georgian government, and Russia also sent peacekeepers to South Ossetia.
Although the two sides occasionally clashed, they never deteriorated into a large-scale war, and Georgia understood that after all, behind the independence of South Ossetia stood Russia, and if it mistakenly hit the Russian peacekeepers, the situation would not be under its control.
Georgia knows that it is no match for Russia, and it has never dared to make much move.
However, the United States issued a statement at this time, condemning Russia and promising to give Georgia assistance, and with the United States as a "backer", it was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for Georgia, and his self-confidence came up at once.
Basic overview and results of the war
So the time came to the opening scene, in the early morning of August 8, 2008, Georgia took the lead in launching artillery attacks on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia.
The large forces then advanced rapidly, and in just a few hours they basically controlled more than two-thirds of South Ossetia.
The South Ossetian armed forces were surrounded in the capital Tskhinvali and took it for several hours.
Just when Georgian President Saakashvili was proud of the "blitzkrieg" of his army, at 15:20 on the afternoon of the 8th, the Russian 58th Army stationed in the North Caucasus Military District marched into South Ossetia.
Saakashvili thought that he had seized Russia's "leaderless" position, but he did not expect Russia to react so quickly, and he did not expect that Putin could launch such a large-scale military operation after receiving a phone call and replying with two words.
It is impossible to say that Russia is not prepared at all, Russia, which inherited the intelligence capabilities of the KGB of the former Soviet Union, has always known Georgia's every move, and Saakashvili's careful thinking has actually been taken by Putin for a long time.
Before leaving for Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Olympics, Russia had already planned for a possible military operation in Georgia.
After the Russian army entered the South Ossetian region, it also responded to the "blitzkrieg" with "blitzkrieg", defeated the Georgian army with the momentum of destruction and decay, and pursued it all the way, and the road was full of destroyed armored vehicles in Georgia.
At the same time as the capture of South Ossetia, units of the Russian 74th Airborne Division invaded Abkhazia with the aim of clearing the region of Georgian military forces, and Abkhazia, like South Ossetia, had long wanted independence from Georgia.
After taking Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russian troops continued to advance towards Zugdidi and Senaki in Georgia, and by August 12, Russia had basically met the expectations of military operations, announced the end of the operation and withdrew its troops.
From sending troops to completely defeating Georgia, Russia took less than five days.
The only help the United States gave Georgia throughout the war was to protest together internationally.
In this way, Saakashvili's blitzkrieg, which he thought was in the right place and in the world, was defeated by Putin's use of another, bigger and faster blitzkrieg.
As a result, they not only failed to control South Ossetia, but also lost Abkhazia.
On August 26, 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and on the 28th Georgia announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia.
epilogue
There is a passage in "Han Feizi": "The country is small but not humble, the little strength is not afraid of the strong, the rude and insults the neighbor, the greedy and clumsy friend, can also die." ”
This phrase could not be more apt for Georgia.
Saakashvili thought that he had seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to control South Ossetia at the risk of sending troops during the Olympics, but he did not know that he had jumped into the trap that Russia had been waiting for for a long time, and the final result could only be to break his teeth and swallow in his stomach.
The international political arena is full of treacherousness, but those who can make a name for themselves are often powerful countries, small countries have the way of survival of small countries, small countries do not know it, credulously believe the "empty promises" promised by other countries, and provoke countries that are much stronger than themselves, the result is also to suffer from themselves.