Even before Vladimir Putin became Russia’s president, the Kremlin was making mischief in Georgia, issuing Russian passports to citizens of Abkhazia (the largest breakaway region) and pouring money into its economy. Russia’s supposed “peacekeeping troops” in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia’s other secession-minded region, have in fact protected their rebel governments.
甚至在普京成为俄罗斯总统之前，克里姆林宫就在格鲁吉亚暗渡陈仓，向Abkhazia（最大的分离主义地区）的公民发放俄罗斯护照，并向其经济注入大量资金。俄罗斯在Abkhazia和南奥塞梯（格鲁吉亚的另一个企图分裂的地区）的所谓“维和部队”实际上一直在保护叛乱政府。俄罗斯也一直在强化对格鲁吉亚的全面贸易禁运以期削弱亲西方的总统Mikhail Saakashvili的决心。