Vladimir Putin’s global offensive began in 2008 when Russian forces invaded Georgia. This week on October 8, the imperial resurgence Putin launched could receive its first serious setback when Georgians go to the polls to elect a new parliament. Pro-Western parties could retake power but polls indicate a virtual dead heat. It will be near-run thing. It shouldn’t be and wouldn’t be but for America’s neglect of the region – really since the invasion – alongside the EU’s passionless embrace. Should we care if Georgia drifts further back into Moscow’s orbit? I reported on the invasion for the Wall Street Journal and, yes, we should care. It matters a lot. To understand why, we need a brief history excursion.
Putin’s punishing invasion of Georgia went unanswered, provoking Georgia’s ardently pro-West president of the time, Mikheil Saakashvili, to warn that Putin would strike next in Ukraine. Putin did so in Crimea. Before the sanctions could bite, he was fomenting bloodshed in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Undeterred by sanctions, he entered Syria and has taken a commanding role and America’s influence has withered. Now Putin has struck at the democratic process in the US by hacking the DNC database and publicly favoring one candidate over another. At every stage, he tested the ground first with a prior outrage and, feeling no resistance, planned the next.
