Tuesday, August 26, 2008
See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.
Russia has formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia today. Below are some of the initial reactions from LiveJournal's Cyrillic sector.
Russian LJ user sholademi (Samson Sholademi) writes (RUS):
[...] Now the most interesting part begins... P.S. The line has been crossed, sort of. Though, in the past two weeks, since the beginning of the war in Georgia, everything that Russia does, for the first time in several years, does not cause me to feel outraged and critical (despite my "love" for Putin & Co.). Quite the opposite: everything's been done correctly. Long live the isolation! Hm... And what do you think about the recognition of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's independence?
A few comments:
lyks:
Isolation - that's a good point. Soon we'll be traveling withing clearly defined borders, right? Farewell, India, goodbye, America [...]?
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schtv_girl:
I think that we can, at last, be proud of our country! Regardless of how controversial it all is, regardless of how much they are accusing us of double standards, we've become strong! Russia is coming back! Join the action! [...]
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zenya_zenya:
..............Couldn't care less..........Absolutely........
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kirill_praha:
I think that those who live in Russia and wants to travel around the world, they should consider moving. Or getting a dual citizenship, which is difficult.
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sethnagh:
Great. Now a wide river of the money of the Russian tax-payers will flow to these new "brotherly republics," damn it, to the stinking [Caucasus natives].
Georgian-Ukrainian LJ user vaxo (Vakhtang Kipiani) writes (UKR):
[...] You're a fool, Medvedev. Not a single normal country will support Russia. Now we'll see what a direct confrontation with the world is like.
A few comments:
yangel:
Such a scenario was to be expected (
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viebelle
I have an impression that for the past couple of weeks [they couldn't care less and were doing as they pleased]. As for [Medvedev], I don't think he played the lead part in this.
vaxo:
Right, but he was the one to sign this order. And legally, he is the one responsible for it.
[...]
yangel:
[...] At one point, Turkey unilaterally recognized the independence of Northern Cyprus - do you think that Turkey has spent all these years in international isolation?
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deniko76:
With so much oil, Russia can afford self-isolation. But I don't really understand why they should prefer isolation and being surrounded by "a circle of hatred" to normal friendly relationship with the neighbors.
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steel_archer:
Their oligarchs keep their money in Swiss banks, and their villas are in London. We'll see what kind of isolation it will be )))
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a_kulik:
There won't be any confrontation with the world. If there hadn't been Kosovo, there would've been a confrontation. But after Kosovo, everything will be OK for Russia. America has exchanged South Ossetia for Kosovo.
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ledilid:
And these people are not allowing others to recognize Kosovo... [...]
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agrp_xtb:
Direct confrontation with whom? With small but proud Estonia? Do you still believe that there is "confrontation" between the United States and the Russian Federation? [...]
Georgian LJ user djdrive (Misha Tavkhelidze) writes (RUS):
Looks like Putinodvedev has gone totally nuts. What are they pulling their country into?
1. War
2. Economic abyss
3. Disintegration
Russian, all of you who can, flee this country, while the curtain is still up! It'll be impossible to get a visa later.
One of the comments:
dimanklg:
Oh please. We are used to that.
Georgian-Russian LJ user som writes (RUS):
"Russia, you've gone nuts" (c)
I remember our answer to the civil defense teacher's question: What should you do if you see the nuclear mushroom at the horizon? - Pull a white bed sheet over your head and crawl to the cemetery.
Looks like the idiots believe that it's possible to win WWIII.
During the Caribbean Crisis, Kennedy and Khrushchev had enough of common sense to stop 20 minutes before the catastrophe. Will these ones have it, too? I don't really want to check.
Some of the comments:
psa_98:
Your lovely country (and especially two of its regions [Abkhazia and South Ossetia], whose population is smaller than Butovo [one of Moscow's districts]) aren't really worth a nuclear mushroom. I think that the Russian Federation is wrong in this conflict, but Saakashvili (and his curators from the State Department) have to be blamed equally - they've lost the game, too.
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piligrim:
[...] Do you really think that Georgia is enough of a reason for the United States and NATO to start WWIII?
luarvique:
Well, Prince Ferdinand and Serbia were much of a reason, either...
a_gru:
And are you sure that only Americans and NATO states can start a war? Is there really no one but them out there?
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pindle:
[...] I think Europe will thank us - quietly, of course. We've closed the situation, created a new, long-term and stable status quo, which is a lot more convenient for Europe than the previous one. [...]
LJ user physik_alfa writes (RUS) in the ru_politics LJ community:
Personally, I pity Abkhazia. They've been basically equaled with the thieves from South Ossetia. They could've been flourishing on tourism... Slowly, perhaps, but on their own and without blood. And now Kremlin [thugs] will seize everything for themselves there.
A few comments:
vyacha:
The Abkhaz aren't that naive when it comes to foreign investments. According to their laws, a foreign (including Russian) company cannot independently get involved in, say, construction there, can't even open a branch [...] office there. What's possible, though, are 50/50 investments with an Abkhaz [individual or company] [...]. I don't think anything will change much now. They know how to count their own money.
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afx237_v7:
I was [in Abkhazia] a couple years ago and learned a lot of interesting things. Turns out many touristic objects [...] have already been bought (rented for 50 years, since the Abkhaz constitution does not allow to sell land to foreigners) by the Moscow guys.
LJ user dmitrivrubel has posted a graph illustrating what happened to the Russian stocks after Dmitry Medvedev made his Abkhazia and South Ossetia announcement at 3 PM Moscow time today:
LJ user onkel_hans commented (RUS):
In countries where economy rules, things like this lead to the fall of the government.
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