Nobody in Russia tries to bring back Soviet Union. South Ossetia crysis is a remnant of Stalin's policy. He had both Georgian and Ossetian forefathers and he wanted those nations to live in the same republic (and to squabble). That's all, basically. Nowdays South Ossetia clearly belongs with the much larger (and richer) North Ossetia in Russia. They are the same nation. And south ossetians don't want to be in Georgia. They want to be with their northern brothers in Russia. It's plain and simple.
I'm from Russia, I know this stuff.
Which alliances? Trade? Trade away! Ukraine can sell and buy anything. Military alliances? American bases near Russian border? American rocket bases near Russian border? That shit we don't want. Remember Cuban crysis? You never wanted Russian rockets on Cuba - we don't want American rockers in Ukraine.
Then again, we have naval base in Ukraine and we love it. Sevastopol is basically Russian (ethnically, culturally and historically). We don't want to lose that base. We fought for it in several bloody wars. It's like America losing Perl Harbor. Also, we have all kinds of military manufacturing cooperation with Ukraine. Soviet economy was very complicated and stretched across the country. It will very hard to compensate all those losses. And NATO will force Ukraine to buy American weapons and to shut the local production. Who will pay for that?
And we don't want to target American bases in Ukraine. We don't want to target anything in Ukraine. We spent centuries fighting for those territories with Poles, Germans, Turks. We assembled present Ukraine like puzzle from blood soaked pieces.
Lets not drag football into this.
I am going to that stadium Friday, actually.
Why, in the last half of hte 20th century, would we not let Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, Nicaruagua or El Salvador cozy up to Russia?
Not to mention Korea, Afghanistan and Vietnam.
Guess we felt it worked against our national self-interest.
Did it make us evil?
Should Russia have obliterated us?
