matthew collin visits South Ossetia, the renegade Georgian region that wants to be Russian
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After negotiating the scruffy Russian army checkpoint which stands on the de
facto border between Georgia and the tiny breakaway region of South Ossetia,
the first thing we had to do was set our watches back one hour.
When the
Soviet Union began to fall apart 15 years ago, many Soviet republics rushed to
escape the Kremlin's rule. But South Ossetia wants to go the other way and
become part of Russia - so its clocks run on Moscow time, not Georgian time;
its currency is the Russian rouble, not the Georgian lari, and Russian
peacekeeping troops cruise the streets in armoured cars.
South Ossetia fought Georgia in a |
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South Ossetia fought Georgia in a war for independence in the early 1990s
war for independence in the early 1990s, and
has run its own affairs ever since, amid sporadic fighting. Georgia wants to
take back control, and it accuses Russia of prolonging the conflict to
undermine its pro-Western government and maintain influence in the region. The
South Ossetians worry that Georgia is planning to invade, and believe that
only the Kremlin can guarantee their safety.
Vladimir Putin might be feared in
Georgia and viewed with suspicion elsewhere in the world, but in South
Ossetia he is seen as a saviour: huge billboards of the Russian leader (left) stand
by the roadside. "Our 
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