| dc.description.abstract | The bilateral relationship between Russia and Georgia has been particularly
difficult after the end of the Cold War. It is also a relationship that affects the
policies of powers like the United States and European Union in the South Caucasus.
This study starts with an overview of Georgia’s strategic significance for
Russia, the US and the EU. Georgia and Russia’s complex relationship is traced
back to the Russian annexation of Georgia in the early 19th century. The evolution
of nationalism in Georgia as a response to Russian domination and Soviet
policies is one topic.
Another topic is the fusion of economy and politics into one corrupt system
in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, that survived into the post-Soviet period
with only minor changes. The study discusses the radicalisation of Georgian,
Abkhaz and Ossetian nationalists and the wars in Georgia in the early 1990s.
Particular attention is given to the evolution of the Russian-Georgian relationship,
and Georgia’s domestic development, between 1995 and 2008.
For the period after the Rose Revolution in 2003, the main topic is president
Mikheil Saakashvili’s emphasis on reintegration of the separatist regions,
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Lastly, the study includes a brief summary of the
war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008. A brief conclusion outlines
the impact of the war on regional security, Georgia-NATO relations and the
relationship between Russia and the West. | no_NO |
