Russia repeats the mistake!
Photo: AFP
At its peak, the Soviet Union was a formidable military power, but it was a Third World nation with missiles. The Soviet economy was simply not working. Without competition, most state-owned factories were producing shoddy products which no one wanted. Soviet agriculture was in a terrible state. Soviet Republic of Ukraine was once the bread-basket of Europe before collectivisation. But under the Soviet rule, it became a net importer. The largest portion of Soviet spending was going to maintain its huge military machine. As most Soviet-controlled sates were seething with discontent, military might was keeping them under the Soviet control. This is why the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prop up a pro-Moscow regime in Kabul. When 80,000 troops invaded Afghanistan to stop American-backed Mujahedins from toppling the pro-Moscow regime in Kabul, the Soviet commanders were supremely confident. The Soviet Union was a formidable superpower and the Soviet forces were backed up by fighter bombers, helicopter gunships, tanks and mechanised infantry divisions in full combat gear and the Mujahedins had no chance against such a mighty military machine. But the insurgents resorted to hit-and-run guerrilla attacks. In retaliation, the Soviet forces unleashed their enormous firepower. The result was utter destruction of Afghanistan, but the Soviets could not defeat the Mujahedins who could regroup using Pakistan's tribal areas as their staging posts. As a result, the Soviet forces were forced to withdraw after suffering massive casualties. But the Afghan war proved to be enormously costly and the Soviet Union faced total bankruptcy. It is not surprising that the collapse of the Soviet Union came immediately after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan. A weakened Soviet Union could not hold on to its diverse republics and satellites in Eastern Europe and the mighty Soviet Union crumbled. By invading Georgia to prop up its surrogates in South Ossetia, Russia seems not to have learned any lesson from its debacle in Afghanistan. Threats to Russia come from inside and not from NATO. Although defeated, Chechnya remains restless and the Chechnyan rebels are looking for an opportunity to strike back. Conflict with Georgia may offer them an opportunity to do so. Also the warlike Cossacks inside Russia are known for their distaste for Russian domination. By invading tiny Georgia, Russia seems to have opened a Pandora's Box which might embroil the country in a never-ending conflict. American philosopher George Santayana once remarked: "Those who don't learn from history, end up repeating it." By invading Georgia, Russia seems to have proved the point.
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