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I don't pay much attention to Russia. They are a backwards ignorant people. They have always been expansionist. After the fall of the USSR they were BK. It was a free for all, with the Apratchek types and Black Market types having a field day stealing all the industries they could. There really isn't much rule of law in the place. It is the wild west. Russians always had one form or another of totalarian rule. Putin may have steped aside but he isn't far from the throne. They have gotten rich on the price of oil. They have a vested interest in keeping the price high. They mainly sell it to Europe. They have big reserves of Natural Gas. Unless they have upgraded their production facilities with the new oil money their production system is antiquated and is an environmental sewer. They don't really care if they sh!+ where they eat or not.

There is no love lost between Russia and any of her neighbors. My guess is that they are retalitating for something Georgia did to them, rather than wanting to take over the place. God forbid if they should damage an oil pipeline that is their bread and butter.