I know this has little to do with what we are talking about right now in class, but we have from time to time addressed the evolving of Russia, especially in regards to the situation with Georgia. Some have feared the possibility of a Cold War II, while others fear a return to the Imperial Russia of the 19th century. Judging from this latest report from Russian President Medvedev, Russia seems to be returning to it's old roots. In this report, he outlines 5 major goals of the Russian Federation that definitely deserves taking a look at. You can read the article that dropped on the BBC on this by clicking here. This will definitely be a conversation we'll continue to have throughout the year as we watch Russia (another one of my passions) emerge and develop. Feel free to chime in if you feel like chatting about current foreign policy issues...
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A New Russian World Order?
I know this has little to do with what we are talking about right now in class, but we have from time to time addressed the evolving of Russia, especially in regards to the situation with Georgia. Some have feared the possibility of a Cold War II, while others fear a return to the Imperial Russia of the 19th century. Judging from this latest report from Russian President Medvedev, Russia seems to be returning to it's old roots. In this report, he outlines 5 major goals of the Russian Federation that definitely deserves taking a look at. You can read the article that dropped on the BBC on this by clicking here. This will definitely be a conversation we'll continue to have throughout the year as we watch Russia (another one of my passions) emerge and develop. Feel free to chime in if you feel like chatting about current foreign policy issues...
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42 comments:
who in the h$%# is he to say america is controlling the war.... just because we can stand on our two feet without picking own smaller countire dousnt mean anything ... he annoys me alot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRR....!!!!
wow i just read over that and i cant spell lol
Good for Russia. Atleast now they're trying to, if only pretending, to become more globally accepted. If Russia's smart, they won't listen to the US on any foreign policy. What does a country who owes the rest of the world $4-$10 trillion, enters every war that it doesn't belong in, and bombs just about every country it comes in contact with, know about peace. America is nothing more than a war hungry country. We have a War College, but where's the Peace College? If peace is so important to the American goverment, why then, do we need the majority of the world's nuclear weapons, and the most powerful army? Russia has my respect for rebelling against the US/Allies-controlled world, and trying to make it more equal.
i didn't bother reading the article, but i know a bit about it from watching the news. one thing is that it was georgia that invaded the area. it makes sense that russia would try to get that army out of there.
i dont think america is exactly in a position to give advice. i think russia should keep on what they are doing, if it fails it won't be much different than the situation they are in now
we have to have the majority of the worlds nuclear weapons beacuse if another country attacks the united states then we can attack the back 2 times harder.
Any society has to have a firm leadership in order to succeed. In this case, the world is that society and America is the main source of power. When all parts of the world are equals, there will always be a fight for supremacy. America's global standpoint must be maintained in order to achieve peace.
Class connection: Political structures in Classical China and Classical India. Unification exists under the rule of one central power.
In any society there is leadership. If the US is on top then there is a fight to be on top. It is a vicious cycle.
I think it is good that Russia is trying to become more involved in the global picture. Achieving peace does not come easily. Countries have to work to obtain it.
Georgia did invade Russia first, but I think their rebutal was a little vicious.
again, just to clarify, georgia NEVER invaded russia. there was a breakaway province in georgia called south ossetia. this breakaway region has always been supported by russia, but it is NOT a part of russia. since the collapse of the soveiet union in 1991 and the formation of the republic of georgia, south ossetia has been bent on independence from georgia even though the rest of the world has recognized south ossetia as part of georgia. georgia in turn has vowed to assert it's power and sovereignty over south ossetia eventually, and on 08/07/08 georgia did just that by invading the breakaway region. on 08/08/08 russia retaliated against georgia in show of support of south ossetia and to assert their domination of the region. hope that clarifies things a bit. we need to have our facts straight if we're going to have a political discussion here.
i think georgia asked for it by attacking south ossetia. They knew that Russia was supporting them but they still envaded. It seems that whenever a country loses land by any means they always want to take it back and usually do or try to by force. Maybe these countries should stop and think about not using violence and how it would benefit them.
is this that large of a political reform?
it seems like its new guidlines but it isnt a large political shift is it?
mr. nicely, i would refer to this as russia publically asserting itself for the first time since the fall of the berlin wall. that in itself is huge news.
i feel that Georgia got what was coming to it and that the rest of the world needs to mind there own business. I'm with Robert saying Russia has earned my respect in some ways but i think Russia needs to make a more sutler approach instead of attacking over night. If they had done some quit operation then the world would not be freaking out that Russia is just invading neighboring countries.
I dont think that US should step in but i guess they have no choice, they've made allies with like everyone, right? so they have to help georgia, but i think georgia shouldn't fight over south osseta. Russia shouldn't be as violent as they are right now. what are they gonna gain from this, a ruined state and a new friend. Russia is getting up..again..long time no see..
why doesn't south ossetia just decide whose control they want to be under. Why is it so important to Georgia? I don't think that they should go around taking things and expecting people to be there to help.
I understand that Russia was supporting South Ossetia, but their retaliation towards Georgia was a little harsh. i saw the pics on the internet and it was pretty brutal.
Kevin Shin
I think that Russia has taken this a little to far. Under the International Law principle Medvedev states, "Russia recognizes the primacy of the basic principles of international law, which define relations between civilized nations. It is in the framework of these principles, of this concept of international law, that we will develop our relations with other states." But they signed up to Security Council resolution, which reassured Georgia’s independence. But they have since abandoned that position. He also said that Russia doesn’t seek confrontation. But this requires Russia’s needs to be met first and then they will act accordingly.
WOW. Most of that article sounds like a whole bunch of b.s. to me. I mean like i understand how they want the world to be multi-polar, but they didn't have to mention the US in that way. Gosh, it kinda makes it like we are the bad people here. Oh and about the part where Russia does not want any confrontation with any country...yeah so does the rest of the world. Why can't every one just get freaking along? I mean, would a country want to spend millions of money on war...AGAIN?
I really dont care about russia, but i do fear wwIII. the way russia attacked Georgia, they could've easily attacked our American pipelines that are in Georgia, and the U.S would've probablly gone in.
Okay, so Russia is "publicly asserting itself", but I think that they're going a little too far. They're basically implying that if people don't do exactly what Russia wants them to do, there will be consequences. They're trying to force the world into obeying Russia's command, which sort of goes against their own multi-polar statement.
This a crazy situation. I think though that south ossetia needs to become either part of russia or part of georgia. I think they would be better of becoming part of russia since russia is their ally but some deal needs to be made so it is more peaceful rather than destructive. But who are we kidding. nothing is ever going to be peaceful. Its not human nature. no matter how hard we try. Although people from our perspective might think that it should be resolved peacefully, if we were in that situation there would probably be rebellions and crap that occur. So I have mixed feelings about the russian presidents thoughts. i think some of it is just politics to make them look better but i also think they might be trying to fix this problems. its really hard to to tell because people can be truthful or deceitful. homo sapiens are a screwed up species.
I think this is just Russia trying to reassert themselves as a major player in world affaires and that even after being weakened by the efects of communism they still have they strength to bully around another country, but in this case they attacked the global of the equivalent of the school nerd and since did not have much to lose.
I would like to also add the fact that the U.S. gave Georgia 1 billion dollars to help rebuild after the Russian invasions. I think this was a very smart move on the part of the American government because it sends a message that we do not aprove of the actions Russia has taken but we do not getting too involved. If we had sent troops to help Georgia or had sent money or supplies in support of their military then we would be making a mistake getting involved in someone else's fight. So, I think the billion dollars does just what it needs to, it sends a message to Russia and helps a country in need.
i think that this is good fro russia because now they will become more globally accepted. and i think that russia should keep on doing what they are doing
The president of Russia is basically under control of the prime minister of Russia, Vladimer Putin. As former Head of the formerly called KGB, the now called secret police, he seeks the ultimate power in Russia. He is a very power hungry individual that is there only for himself. In Russia the people are oppressed by the government, this causes a deppression throughout most of the country, excluding the city of Moscow. i love Russia and it's people, but their leaders in their society and government are not very bright. The people of this oppressed nation deserve better than what they have. Their government is not a democracy like they say but rather a communist government in discise. They can't blame all their problems on the US but they have to accept and deal with their own set of problems to make a better society. On top of that i think it's wrong to force your beleifs on other countries. i also think that it's wrong to protect your people if they are in another country because they are in another country because they want to be. I had more but my computer froze and lost it all.
Russia is doing a good thing for themselves. They are striving to make themselves recognizable on a global scale. With the invasion of Georgia and the new principles being stated. Possibly, the invasion of Georgia was an excuse to gather attention so that they could announce these principles. Their method was a vicious, yet clever one. By invading Georgia on the ground that they are defending South Ossetia, they assert themselves, much like animals try to make themselves seem bigger using a variety of techniques when fighting for dominancy. Then Russia shifts its standpoint to world order. As Greg stated, when all societies are equal, there is a fight for supremacy. Although America can be seen as "on top", truthfully it's NATO. By uniting strong countries to form a central power that units to help govern the world, this helps maintain stability, without the threat of someone taking over. Russia states that the United States is calling the shots for the world. NATO as combined government authorities helps govern but noone calls the shots. United States is a powerful country that other countries look to for guidance, and while some views are strewed, such as Russia's, others see the US as a great country. The strategy to send in money to help Georgia, but not military aid to avoid conflict as Coty stated was a wise move for the US.
This is one piece of evidence that the Unitaed States isn't a war-hungry country as Robert Garrison stated. We have been involved in many wars, absolutely, but don't call the country a war-hungry country. For one thing, the president declares war, and for another we don't always include ourselves in the conflict. In World War II, we stayed neutral for 4 years until we were provoked into involving ourselves. The Revolutionary War was for independence, a reasonable cause. The Civil War was for unification of the US, another reasonable cause. Involving ourselves in The Vietnamese War was possibly a mistake, but no other war was not for a good cause.
(P.S. If I stole any ideas from other blogs, I didn't read past the first nine or so, so my apologies if it seems like I'm trying to steal your ideals.)
Ok well i think that Russia is taking this a little to far. They are basically saying that if we don't follow there rules that their will be consequences for us, which goes against what they were saying in that multi- polar statement.
Russia is developing these policies to become more globally accepted. Hopefully it works out for them, it seems to be a better idea then cold war 2.
Personally, I think the US should step out of this confrentation. WE already had our issue with Russia, and again, DO we want Cold War pt 2???? NO becaus eas stated we have roughly 1/2 of the worlds nuclear power, and Russia has roughly the other half... You see the dillema?? We do something to royally piss Russia off (either by backing someone or by utting our nose where it doesn't belong...) and we have a potential war on our hands... but thats just my personal opinion...
mr prill can you please grade the compartive essays already?! i think i did good and i want to see what i made!! thanks :)
I think the conflict between Georgia and Russia, may be benifiting Russia a little!?
Becuase of the conflict and the attacks...Russia's president and their governmental views are changing. I still think it was wrong for Georgia to take the actions that it did, but still maybe it will eventually help both countries. For example,Russia is already making an attempt trying to become more globalized and more involved in the the world.
Russia never stated that it is forcing these principles, but simply stating the principles. They know(or should know) that they are in no position to make demands. Russia stated they are not seeking confrontation. (As I stated before Russia was most likely using the excuse for marching into Georgia as a way to draw attention to themselves, not start a war) Russia is only using the opportunity to state the five principles that Medvedev established. And if they were truly trying to protect their citizens, they wouldn't start a "Cold War II", as it would be impractical. Russia is trying to negotiate. They want to be recognized, and so far they're doing a good job by vicious means. It's a twisted thought process, but it works.
i'm going to get as many essays as i can graded this weekend. i don't think i'll finish, but i'm going to try to knock out a chunk.
So much for multi-polar, right? Russia, in my opinion, is being hipocritical. "We want everyone to have an equal part of the world... but South Ossetia, you're either with Georgia or with us. No independence for you." If Russia is asserting it's so called domination over the region, how does this show support to South Ossetia to become independent? Wouldn't South Ossetia just be breaking away from Georgia to immediately become a part of Russia? This just goes to prove that there is no way for each country to have an equal say in anything that goes on. The United States has the right to support whomever we choose. If Russia can "support" South Ossetia, the U.S. can back up Georgia.
that article sounded pretty fake to me...I don't know. But I agree with Nidhi, the US has way too much on its hands right now..it wouldn't be good to step in.
I don't understand why they would say that America is running it. It just doesn't make sense.
I think that Russia needed this. But i also think that America hs the right to state their opinon but they should just back off for now. THat would make everyone's life alot easier.
I think its very interesting. Its interesting to hear the country is changing, but i think it will be cooler to see what this turns into and how the laws will take. Will it cause rebellion? Chaos? Peace? or even war? i wonder what the flaws will be since there never is anything close to a flawless political system.
i dont get why they say America is controlling this mess?..
I think Russia should stick with there plans because theoretically it seems like it would work as well disregard what other country's think about it and try to better there country and the people that live in it.
ive been reading some of the conversations in the comments to this post, and
i think that georgia shouldve expected this to come, and that all the fault shouldnt be on russia. even though i dont think anyone in debt by that much should be going to war that often, its up to them, and i really dont think that america should have a big say about it either.
Marissa Gordon, the U.S. has no right to get into this. Russia is supporting South Ossetia because South Ossetia has allied itself with Russia. It was/is apart of Georgia, but it sees itself as more apart of Russia. Therefore when Georgia invaded, Russia took offense, and supported it's "little brother." So you see, the U.S. is not involved in this Russia-Georgia conflict in any way, shape, or form. The U.S. may be "allied" with Georgia, but only through the UN. In my opinion, the UN is the world's way of saying, "You're either with us, or we get to drop on bomb on you that will blow a chunk of your country into orbit."
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