Today there are several pro-Russian republics in Europe

Putin announced the independence of the two pro-Russian republics through a lengthy speech, which, in essence, had the denial of Ukraine’s existence as an independent state. It is certainly not the first time that Russia has used the recognition of separatist or ethnic minority territories as a pretext to interfere in another state’s policy, or even to intervene militarily. In Ukraine, various analysts are convinced that Russia’s goal is to overthrow the government and establish a new, more favorable regime, transforming the whole country in some way into a “pro-Russian republic.”

For years, Putin has aimed to restore Russian influence in former Soviet territories that still maintain cultural and political ties with Russia. In addition to the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, there are other territories that after the end of the Soviet Union, were declared independent with the direct support of Russia.

Even today, many of these territories define themselves as independent, but are not recognized by the international community and in fact they are a protectorate of Russia and depend on it both economically, militarily and politically. In some of these territories, among others, citizens can obtain Russian citizenship, or can obtain a dual passport.

South Ossetia

Georgia is a Caucasian state that was part of the Soviet Union, made up of different ethnic groups often in conflict with each other. Within the country there are two separatist territories that enjoyed broad autonomy during the Soviet era and which, when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, began to make demands for independence from Georgia. One of them is South Ossetia, where about fifty thousand people live, mostly of Ossetian ethnicity.

South Ossetia declared independence in 1991, but provoked a backlash from the Georgian government. The military clash came with the intervention of paramilitaries from North Ossetia, which is located in Russia. The Georgian government accused Russia of massively aiding Ossetian militias by sending vehicles and military forces.

For months, the conflict continued in several stages, then in 1992, Russia proposed to the Georgian government a ceasefire, signed in Sochi on June 24. The Georgian government also agreed because at the time the situation was deteriorating in another separatist region, Abkhazia.

The Sochi agreement left South Ossetia in a hybrid situation, divided between Georgia and the local government unknown to other countries. In short, it was a temporary solution and in fact, after a few years there were several episodes of violence between the two sides, but the conflict was revived in 2008 even more violently than in the 1990s.

This time, Russia’s intervention, already led by Vladimir Putin, was more decisive. The Russian army occupied Georgian territory and in five days ended the armed confrontation. This war marked hundreds of casualties, thousands of refugees, and relations between Russia and Western countries, especially the United States, deteriorated, and the response of Western countries in Georgia was judged to be weak by public opinion later.

Also, the Republic of South Ossetia is recognized by very few countries; Russia, Syria, Venezuela, Nauru and Nicaragua.

Abkhazia

At the western tip of Georgia is another breakaway territory. Abkhazia, like Ossetia, had its autonomy within the former Soviet republic of Georgia. And as with Ossetia, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this autonomy led to claims of independence, further exacerbated by the nationalist positions taken by the Georgian government in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Georgia tried to oppose the autonomy of Abkhazia, which nevertheless declared independence by restoring the old Constitution that had been in force before the Soviet Union in 1925. Later, the war, which became known as the Second Russo-Georgian War, began. where paramilitary forces from the North Caucasus participated, particularly from Chechnya and Russia, which also provided air support to the Abkhazians.

Even in Abkhazia the consequences of the war were devastating, but unlike Ossetia, it managed to recover faster, due to its large economic resources, mainly tourism and its energy autonomy. Abkhazia is even more populous than Ossetia, with over 200,000 people living there.

After the war there were various conflicts with the Georgians, until in 2008 Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia. Since then, for Georgia, Abkhazia has been officially a Russian-occupied territory. In both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia continues to maintain military forces, which it says serve only for peacekeeping operations.

In recent years, Abkhazia has gone through a turbulent political period. In 2014, the policies of openness towards the ethnic Georgian minorities in Abkhazia, implemented by the then President Alexander Ankvab, led to large-scale popular protests and Ankvab’s resignation.

There have been other protests recently, in December 2021, organized by several political movements opposing the current president, Aslan Bzhania. One of the reasons for the protests is the privatization of a large power plant.

TRANSDNIESTRA

Transnistria is a thin strip of land between Ukraine and Moldova. It is home to 500,000 to 600,000 people, and during the 20th century, Romania and the Soviet Union claimed it. In different periods it has been part of both and this has influenced the creation of a clear division in the population.

After the fall of the Soviet Union and the independence of Moldova, Transnistria remained annexed to the latter, but only for a short period. Driven by the majority of Russian and Ukrainian citizens living within it, it declared itself independent and in 1992 Transnistrians and Russians fought for independence against Moldovans and Romanians. After four months of war and a thousand casualties, Transnistria declared itself an independent republic, despite the fact that no one recognizes it.

Years later an attempt was made to find a political solution to the situation in Transnistria. In 2005, a multilateral dialogue was launched with Russia, Moldova, Ukraine and OSCE countries to find an agreement to establish a federal Moldova, which would include Transnistria. But negotiations were hampered by Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Since then there has been regular talk of a hypothetical annexation of Transnistria by Russia, especially after a statement by the head of the local parliament in 2014.

Nagorno-Karabakh

In Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia’s intervention belongs to recent times and dates back to the end of 2020, the year after which Caucasian territory became another Russian protectorate. Less than 150,000 people live in Nagorno Karabakh.

It is officially located in Azerbaijan, but controlled by Armenia. A war broke out there that began in September 2020 and lasted two months, after the end of which Russia and Turkey negotiated a ceasefire. Today there are almost two thousand Russian soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh, officially as a peacekeeping force. Russia continues to distribute Russian passports to local citizens.

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