Russian bear said has finally awoken, who will tame it?

Last month, Russia signed a deal establishing a military base in the breakaway state of Abkhazia, reinforcing Russia’s image as a threat to stability in the region.

The deal allows for the building of a military base that would house 3,000 Russian troops for 49 years. Plans to build a naval base in Abkhazia’s port of Ochamchire also indicate Russia’s commitment to future presence in the region. Abkhazia is one of two breakaway regions of the Republic of Georgia, the other being South Ossetia. South Ossetia was the center of a conflict between Russia and Georgia, won by the Russians, that elicited condemnations from the world community against Russia and its violation of Georgia’s territorial integrity.

Russia withdrew from Georgia but promptly recognized both South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s independence, taking them under Russia’s protective wing and effectively using them as buffer zones against Georgia. Russia claims that they are in favor of state sovereignty and the interests of both states and their peoples.

But according to Reuters, “both use the Russian rouble and Moscow has issued most residents with Russian passports.”

With both regions lacking any realistic form of economic independence, we can only conclude that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are another notch on Russia’s belt.

The Russian bear, the symbol and personification of Russian imperialism, hibernated throughout the 1990s, trying to reform its economic system and adapting to a new world. Even though powerful oligarchs controlled the corporate scene contributed to Russia’s financial crisis in 1998, the Russian state continued to use them their advantage.

Many times they bought companies in the energy sector, directly funneling revenues into Russia’s pockets. Russia used its natural gas and oil reserves to strong-arm countries like Ukraine, Poland and others in the Eastern bloc into buying its gas and oil, necessary for the area’s frigid winters.

Organizations like the European Union as well as NATO only solidify Russia’s mindset in a “them versus us” game. Tensions are running high along the expanding borders of NATO, the military alliance formed to combat the Soviet Union and something Russia still takes to heart. The Berlin Wall may have fallen and the USSR may have collapsed, but old feelings and perceptions run deep.

Russia has awoken from its hibernation, its eye on an empire once again. It has flexed its muscles in the continuing conflict in Chechnya, the war with Georgia in South Ossetia, its continued military buildup in Abhazia and South Ossetia as well as threatening to place short-range nukes on its borders in response to US plans to install a radar station and missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

“Der Spiegel” reported that Mikhail Margelov, a Russian foreign policy expert, felt “Russia’s uncompromising position on the issue” forced the United States to opt out of constructing the missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. In short, Russia’s stubbornness and opposition got the country what it wanted.

Russia still knows how to play the game of power politics, throwing its weight around in the right situations. Europe, which receives large reserves of natural gas from Russia, fears being cut off if they institute any economic sanctions and the United States, even with its warm relations with Georgia, can only do so much without risking an international conflict.
Although international treaties can set certain borders and conditions, in the end there are loopholes and gray areas and many of the rules are not enforced. Sometimes there might be a lack of evidence but most of the time it’s because the amount of effort and time required to go through the entire process of charging a country with violations of treaties, especially Russia.

The Russians know they hold political sway. They are power brokers who can bend countries to their will with memories of the Cuban missile crisis. Russia has a history of bending the rules, testing the waters and stretching the limits of international law.
As long as the present attitudes exist and international laws continue to be ineffective, Russia will stay on its imperial course. The Russian bear has finally awoken. Who will tame it?

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