The full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24 was a shock for many — it seemed like something beyond the realm of possibility. But is that really the case? Twenty years of Putin’s rule prove that nothing unexpected has happened.
Many people recognize that the war with Ukraine has actually been ongoing for over eight years — since the annexation of Crimea and the FSB-orchestrated “uprising” in Donbas. However, the truth is that another country has been under Russian occupation for even longer — for 14 years now. That country is Georgia.
Shortly after coming to power, Vladimir Putin shed his democratic mask and began shaping a neo-Soviet ideology, a key component of which became imperial ambitions and the desire to subjugate independent states by force. Georgia was his first victim.
Even before Georgia gained independence, the Soviet authorities were provoking internal conflicts. As a result, after the collapse of the USSR, between 200,000 and 250,000 Georgians became refugees, fleeing ethnic cleansing carried out by Abkhaz separatists. The Russian authorities took advantage of the situation to strengthen their “influence” in Georgia.
Before a new government emerged in Georgia through nonviolent protests and open elections, Vladimir Putin had already begun supporting armed separatists and distributing Russian passports in the regions they had captured. Georgia’s reforms and its aspiration to collaborate more closely with democratic states only deepened its conflicts with the Kremlin.
On August 8, 2008, during the Olympic Games, when the Olympic Truce was in effect, Russian troops attacked Georgia. This was followed by widespread destruction and looting of Georgian villages in the Tskhinvali region and the occupation of 20% of Georgia’s territory.
Due to the genocide, tens of thousands of Georgians were forced to flee their homes, and the self-proclaimed authorities of the so-called South Ossetia banned them from returning. To this day, the occupied territories remain impoverished and devastated. Russian forces continue their tactic of creeping occupation, slowly moving the “border” deeper into Georgian territory — often through areas where people live.
Tragically, the military aggression of 2008 went unpunished for Putin’s regime. The lesson learned was clear: war can be gotten away with. As a result, just six years later came the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Fourteen years later, it escalated to a full-scale invasion.
