Interpreting the Tension in Georgian-Russian Relations

Author(s): Tornike Sharashenidze
Editor(s): Lili Di Puppo, Iris Kempe, Heiko Pleines, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 41
Pages: 2-4
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2012

Russia's current leadership has many reasons to view Georgia as a threat, but the most important is that Georgia's partial success in reform and democratization serves as an alternative to the Russian model in the post-Soviet space. The Georgian leaders, for their part, benefit from presenting Russia as an enemy, but ultimately Georgians would like to see its powerful neighbor as a friendly, peaceful democracy.

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