The Russian Military and the Georgia War: Lessons and Implications

Publisher Marketing: In August 2008, the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia broke out on the territory of Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russian-planned military campaign lasted 5 days until the parties reached a preliminary ceasefire agreement on August 12. The European Union (EU), led by the French presidency, mediated the ceasefire. After signing the agreement, Russia pulled most of its troops out of uncontested Georgian territories, but established buffer zones around Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, making them a part of what President Dmitry Medvedev called Moscow's "zone of privileged interests," and since then deploying five military bases on occupied Georgian territory. In their monograph, Dr. Ariel Cohen and Colonel Robert Hamilton show how Russia won the war against Georgia by analyzing the goals of war, which include the annexation of Abkhazia, the weakening or toppling the Saakashvili regime, and the prevention of NATO enlargement in the Caucasus. The war demonstrated that Russia's military is in need of significant reforms and it indicated which of those reforms are currently being implemented. Finally, the war highlighted weaknesses of the NATO and EU security system as it pertains to Eastern Europe and specifically to the countries of the former Soviet Union. Contributor Bio:  Cohen, Ariel ARIEL COHEN is Salvatori Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Heritage Foundation. Contributor Bio:  Institute, Strategic Studies SHEILA R. RONIS is Director of the MBA and Master of Management Programs at Walsh College. She is also President of The University Group, Inc., a management consulting firm and think tank specializing in strategic management, visioning, national security, and public policy. She teaches the "Strategic Management Capstone" course of the MBA, "Issues of Globalization" and "Strategic Management and Leadership" in the Doctorate of Management program at Walsh College. Dr. Ronis chairs the Vision Working Group of the Project on National Security Reform in Washington, DC, where she is responsible for the plan and processes to develop The Center for Strategic Analysis and Assessment, the venue where the President of the United States will conduct "grand strategy" on behalf of the nation. Dr. Ronis participates in many programs at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) at the National Defense University in Washington, DC including their National Security Strategy Exercise. In June 2005, she chaired at ICAF the Army's Eisenhower National Security Series Conference, "The State of the U. S. Industrial Base: National Security Implications in a World of Globalization." The Proceedings of that conference, which Dr. Ronis co-edited with Dr. Lynne Thompson, were published by the National Defense University Press in April, 2006. In March 2006, Dr. Ronis completed a study of the national security implications of the erosion of the U. S. industrial base for the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business. Her book, Timelines into the Future: Strategic Visioning Methods for Government, Industry and Other Organizations, was published by Hamilton Books in June 2007. She has authored nearly 200 articles 252 and papers. Dr. Ronis holds a B. S. in physics and mathematics and an M. A. and Ph. D. from The Ohio State University where she studied large social system behavior.