Russian bear claws Georgia

For all his higher education, including Columbia University’s law school, Georgia president Mikhail Saakashvili never learned a lesson that most American kids learn in grammar school.

If you’re going to pick a fight with a big bully’s little toady, you have to be ready for the big bully to clock you for it.

Unfortunately, that’s the lesson that the 4.6 million citizens of the republic that once was securely behind the Soviet Iron Curtain is learning the hard way, including hundreds of deaths at the hands of invading Russian military.

Russia, which has been itching to return to true superpower status since the dismantling of the Soviet empire, and no doubt feeling a flush of machismo from petro dollars, has been at odds with the fledgling democracy of Georgia for some time. Like the proverbial bully with the chip on his shoulder, Russia’s de facto leader, Vladimir Putin, has been looking for someone like Saakashvili to knock the chip off so he’d have an excuse to flex his military muscle.

Saakashvili obliged last week when Georgia forces cracked down on South Ossetia, a breakaway province that, along with Abkhazia, has been too pro-Russia for Saakashvilli’s tastes.

In response, Russian military swept into Georgia with a show of force that was the equivalent of gunning down a pesky mosquito with a stinger missile. Saakashvili accused the Russian forces of ethnic cleansing. Russian news agencies said troops had moved on “after liquidating the danger,” which sounded suspiciously like vintage Cold War doublespeak for wiping out people who disagree with you politically.

To say that Saakashvili badly underestimated the magnitude of Russia’s response is an understatement all its own. His decision to assert his own political and military muscle backfired in the worst way as Russian troops practically cut his nation in half and threatened to topple his government.

Even Tuesday’s cease fire was questionable as Georgia officials complained that Russian troops continued bombing after Moscow ordered them to halt hostilities.

Meanwhile, the United States, busy with its own problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, could do little more than watch the Russian Bear pummel Georgia and yell for him to stop, which was pretty much the tact taken by Europe.

There was talk Tuesday of taking punitive measures against Russia, such as kicking it out of the prestigious Group of Seven (G-7), which is more appropriately G-8 after the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan let Russia join. There’s talk of revoking Russia’s invitation to join the 30-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is mainly composed of European democracies. A joint NATO-Russia military exercise could be canceled, and other Russian events may be boycotted by the U.S. and others.

Those measures are symbolic at best. The reality is much harsher.

The reality is that Russia has demonstrated to potential U.S. allies, including Georgia, that there is little the United States can do to prevent Russia from imposing its will in its backyard. The reality is that Russia continues to show a disturbing tendency to embrace the tactics and philosophies of the old Soviet empire. The reality is that Russia’s oil reserves — not to mention its nuclear stockpile — guarantee it major-player status. The reality is that the Cold War is neither as long ago nor forgotten as some want to believe.

Even in the sweltering heat of August, there’s a distinct chill in the air. And it’s blowing out of Moscow.

— The Albany Herald Editorial Board