Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor
Two different journalists, two different media outlets, Moscow Times and Sky News reporting on the same topic, one with a differing perspective in what is going on in Georgia.
One thing is for sure, public opinion is against Russia, and the US politicians lambasting Russia over invading a sovereign country, show when the USA is pointing a finger for invading a country and toppling a government, three of those accusing fingers are pointing right back at them (USA).
Below is my Opinion piece and the the Moscow Times Link to this story. http://www.nowpublic.com/world/medvedev-backs-independence-bids-russia-georgia-conflict
Russia: The Bear Is Back
Lisa Holland, Sky News correspondent in Moscow
Take a look at the Moscow Times front page today and it’s clear what the ‘Russian view’ is.
Russia has flexed its military muscles in the conflict Listen for just a few hours to the strong rhetoric coming out of the Kremlin and the message is the same – the bear is back.
The Times reports the visit by the leaders of the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia meeting with Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev at the Kremlin.
As one analyst said to me they looked more like two regional governors summoned to Moscow to see the boss than leaders of potentially independent states.
The Russian game then, it seems, is all about power and influence and pride. And the moment has come when Russia will no longer take a back seat to American diplomatic dominance on the world stage.
The ex-superpower is back – or at least that’s what Moscow is telling us – and it’s a position which seems to be enjoying wide-spread support domestically.
The newspapers heavily feature stories about the humanitarian crisis in South and North Ossetia following Georgia’s offensive to try to re-gain control of the break-away provinces .
There have been fewer headlines on diplomacy and hardly any column inches reporting the movement of Russian forces inside Georgia itself.
But it’s not just about the propaganda war, which always shrouds the truth in any conflict. Vladimir Putin, formerly President and now Prime Minister of Russia, has seized on something which has slowly been fermenting since the humiliation which many felt after the collapse of the Soviet Union – national pride.
Domestically the Kremlin could not have stood idly by as Georgian forces exerted themselves in South Ossetia.
With 90% of South Ossetians holding Russian passports they had to be seen to be riding to the defence of their tiny neighbours.
Tags: Georgia | Russia | opinion | World | sky news | gori | Ossetia | Dmitry Medvedev | Barry Artiste | Moscow Times