RUSSIA: Pro-Putin youth group protest outside Georgian embassy, as Russians express views on crisis with Georgia

As Russia stepped up pressure on Georgia by announcing a suspension of transport links on Monday (October 2), a pro-Putin youth group demonstrated outside the Georgian embassy in Moscow. The area around the embassy had been cordoned off during the weekend, but officials allowed the 30 demonstrators to march to the embassy and deliver a formal protest against the Georgian government's arrest of four Russian military officers on charges of spying. The protest ended without incident after demonstrators delivered a bag of plastic toy soldiers to the embassy. The leader of the demonstrators said the toy soldiers were meant for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to play with. "Georgia is trying to provoke Russia to take military action,'' said Kirill Shitov, head of the central Moscow district branch office of the Young Guards, the youth wing of the pro-Putin party, United Russia. "Georgia needs to enter NATO and for that it needs a big war for a small country.'' Tensions between the two countries date to the end of March when Russia announced a ban on all imports of Georgian wine and mineral water. These products comprise the lion's share of Georgian exports, and Russia was their largest market. The loss of the Russian market is devastating for the Georgian economy. Tensions increased last week when Georgia arrested four Russian military officers on charges of spying and plotting several bombings over the past few years. The root of the conflict is Russia's disapproval of Georgia's desire to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Georgia was absorbed into the Russia Empire in 1801, and except for a brief period of independence from 1918-21, it was ruled by Moscow until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Besides NATO, Georgia wants to join the European Union, and since Saakashvili came to power in 2003 in the so-called Rose Revolution he has established warm relations with the United States and launched a reform of the country's economy and political system based on western models. Georgia, located on Russia's southern border in the Caucasus Mountains, has a population of 4.5 million. It is one of the oldest extant states in the world. Russian television news, most of which is under either the direct or indirect control of the government, has taken a hard-line on Georgia in this conflict. This has turned Russian opinion against Georgia, yet many people wish to avoid military conflict. "I think that [Georgia] is dependent on Russia and to behave that way is unacceptable, especially for a country like Georgia,'' said Larissa Kibareva, an ethnic Russian resident of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. "We need peace, everywhere in the world; we need to avoid war,'' said Elena, from St. Petersburg. "But because Georgia is playing dirty tricks, the [Russian] government has to do something. But the people, neither Russian nor Georgian, are to blame.'' Another major source of conflict between the two nations is Georgia's accusations that Russia supports the secessionist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia has already given citizenship to all residents of these regions who want it. Russian troops, who first came to these regions in 1992-1993 as peacekeepers, continue to vex Georgia, which wants them to leave. "Georgia will never give up the coastal region because the coast has resorts and citrus foods,'' said Irina Karbo, a native of Georgia's break-away region, Abkhazia. "Georgia can't afford to lose such a piece of land.'' "All of Abkhazia, including my parents, are already citizens of the Russian Federation, and the only hope that this conflict won't flare up again is that Russia intervenes,'' said Irina Karbo, a native of Georgia's break-away region, Abkhazia. Despite Russian state TV's campaign against Georgia, most people questioned on the street expressed no interest in the conflict with Georgia, and couldn't make sense of its roots. "We're not at all interested in politics, so we can't be of any help,'' said Anastasia Nesterova, a Moscow university student. "If you have any other questions about Georgia we will be happy to answer.'' "We should be friends the way we were before,'' said one woman, who didn't want to give her name. "I have no idea why this is happening. The governments are to blame.'' Some politically aware and active Russians disagreed with their government. "It's aggression that Russia first bans imports of Georgian wine, and then bans Georgian mineral water,'' said Alexander Vondarev, a Moscow high school student. "Russia hasn't done the right thing by making such a flagrant ban.'' "For the past seven years, Putin has not seen any success with its economy,'' said Viktor Anpilov, leader of the Russian Worker's Party, during an anti-capitalist rally in Moscow. "[Putin] hasn't done anything. Our economy is based primarily on exports, of oil and gas. And this is totally dependent on world markets. This is not a solid foundation. And so [Putin] needs some action to raise his popularity.'' Besides the worsening of relations between the two countries, the conflict has raised the fear of more nationalist attacks against people with dark skin. Many Russians have a strong dislike of people from the Caucasus region and other southern countries, and frequently use racist slang when speaking of them. Nationalist rhetoric from some Russian politicians is also common in the public realm. Racial attacks against people of colour have been on the rise in Russia over the past three years. Last week, a student from India was murdered in St. Petersburg.

ITN Source | October 3, 2006

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