Russia’s interest in the South Caucasus, contrary to popular belief is still going strong. The Russians still have military bases in Abkhazia Georgia, in Armenia, and some troops in Azerbaijan, while more than 70 thousand soldiers have been injected into Chechnya to tame the rebels, with an extra fifty thousand men and 350 tanks on the Georgian Northern border, and 15 hundred men in South Ossetia. With such forces spread out all over the region, it is pretty clear that Russian president, Vladimir Putin’s economic and military ambitions in the Caucasus are more than just a healthy foothold. But the question is, why?

    The answer is two fold. The Russians think they cannot afford to give independence to anybody who wishes it, and also Russia believes its territorial integrity depends on maintaining a presence in the region. For instance in Tartarstan, where more than 18 million Muslims live in central Russia, sits Russia’s largest oil reserve. Putin and his government cannot afford a rebellion if they want to maintain their natural resources and keep a unified Russia.

    The other possible answer is more historical and political. Russia is still a country attached to its perhaps more glorious communist times, when the Soviets controlled more diverse nations and natural resources than any other countries in the world. This nostalgia can explain the Putin government’s tough policies over its neighbors who were once part of the Soviet block.

    South Ossetia, truly the Southern extension of North Ossetia where the horrible events in Beslan took place (commandos stormed a school where militant rebels held hundreds of children and teachers hostage, 200 hundred died, many of whom were children) is just one peace of the puzzle in Russia’s overall military policy towards the South Caucasus. This rather small region populated by no more than 70 thousand, in which 30% are Georgian and the rest Ossetian, is trapped between high hills in the East, West, and the impassable Caucasus mountains in the North separating Russia from Georgia.

    Since August fighting has been on and off in the region creating a potentially explosive situation where Ossetian separatists and Cossack mercenaries from the Don river, who are aided supported by Russian troops and advisers have been battling Georgian soldiers situated both inside South Ossetia and outside in Georgia. The military situation is complicated and riddled with small offensives, firefights, and sometimes bombardment—civilian and military casualties are light but continuous.

    Living in the trenches in the hills surrounding the Ossetian valley are hundreds of Ossetian and Cossack soldiers supported by heavy artillery and tanks. Only one paved road exists in the region on an axis North/South. There are six Georgian villages where 10 thousands people live. Of these six villages, Tamaracheni, the most Southern of the villages, is the most exposed to Ossetian firing and RPG attacks.

    These villages are the very sources of the conflict. The Ossetians want the villages back. In order to prevent such action, the Georgian government has sent in its best battalion. The unit has taken positions in the villages, and on two surrounding hills to keep watch on their enemies. However, the Georgian soldiers in the battalion, all trained and equipped by the US army, keep close watch.

    Every day patrols deep inside Ossetian territory over the hills are organized to retake positions, or to spy on new enemy positions. Snipers are also sent in the surrounding hills to hunt down Ossetian soldiers or bring back intelligence to the company’s headquarter in Tamaracheni. During the heavy fighting in mid-August, the Ossetians tried to retake one of the Eastern hills and its forest overlooking Tamaracheni. More than 400 on the Ossetian/Cossack side were killed, while the Georgian lost only 16 men, while125 managed to stop the offensive.

    Today the overhaul situation in South Ossetia remains explosive. The 15 hundred Russian “peace keepers” were put in place supposedly to maintain order and peace. However the reality of the situation in the region is far from what the Russians want the international community to know.

    Officially, no Russian help or soldiers are aiding the Ossetian cause, they do not supply them with weapons, training, night vision technology, or even troop reinforcement from Russia. And they don’t provide mercenaries.

    In fact, the Russians have even supplied the Ossetians with tanks, two combat helicopters, and hundreds of Cossacks mercenaries paid one hundred dollars a day, with extra pay of 200 dollars if they kill a Georgian, and one thousand if they blow up a tank.

    It is hard to say what the future holds for the people and soldiers living inside the South Ossetian region. However it is safe to say that the situation will remain dangerous at least until the end of the year, as none of the opposing parties are ready to concede any terrain. The Russians too are far from sponsoring peace, and wish to see an independent Ossetian state, which could be attached to Russia once more.

    Heavy propaganda work has influenced the Ossetians over the past ten years in such a way that they would rather be part of Russia, than to be a small nation led by a young Georgian president like Mikhail Saakashvili.

    To follow Georgia and its will to change into a more modern and western society would mean in the long run a more economically profitable and stable situation for Ossetia. The answer for Georgia and the separatist regions can be found in a system where all ethnic groups would have a say in Georgia’s future while keeping its cultural and ethnic particularities. However such utopia will not convince most Ossetians or Abkhazians who wish to remain independent or part of Russia. The struggle for Ossetia is far from over, and future clashes and deaths among civilians as well as military are likely to continue.