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If Putin Succeeds In Ukraine, Is Georgia Next?
On Shifting Ground
English - March 21, 2022 12:05 - 16 minutes - 22.5 MB - ★★★★ - 163 ratingsNews Government council global policy affairs arts business democracy development economy foreign Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
This is not the first time Russia invaded a neighboring country that was being considered for entry into NATO. In 2008, Moscow took advantage of a conflict in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia as a justification to invade. A brutal five day war followed and today, 20% of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory remains under Russian military occupation. Journalist Levi Bridges traveled to the former Soviet republic of Georgia to see the remnants of its 2008 war with Russia – and what the conflict can or can’t tell us about Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. This is part 2 of a three-part series looking at how Vladimir's Putin consolidates power in former Soviet republics. Please be sure to listen to part 1: A War Between Dictators and the Free World with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and watch the podcast feed for part 3 to drop on Thursday.
Guests:
Liana Chlachidze, Ergneti village resident
Galina Kelekhsaeva, German language teacher
Gerard Toal, professor of government and international affairs at Virginia Tech
Shalva Dzebisashvili, head of political science at the University of Georgia in Tbilisi
Nino Tsagareishvili, legal advisor to German development agency GIZ
Host: Ray Suarez
Reporter: Levi Bridges