Why Russia fights for its 'satellites'

London: A necklace of pro-Kremlin enclaves around Russia's fringe is at the forefront of Moscow's efforts to fend off encroachment from the West. The origins of Russia's fight to control the "near-abroad" goes back to the 19th century Tsarist expansion, but since 1991 a handful of statelets have sheltered under the Kremlin's wing.

The enclave of South Ossetia in Georgia sought Russian protection in 1993. The Kremlin's troops, designated as peacekeepers, have since unofficially preserved the autonomy of a 70,000-strong population, more than 90 per cent Russian passport holders.

Georgia's attempts to join Nato made conflict over South Ossetia inevitable. Russia's determination to check the Atlantic alliance's eastern expansion has pitched an obscure power struggle to the centre of the global spotlight.

Observers had expected the flashpoint to arise in another Georgian enclave, Abkhazia on the Black Sea.

A low-level war of bombings and targeted assassinations recently stoked tensions with Tblisi, forcing the closure of all border crossings in June.

From the Russian perspective, the US-backed government of President Mikhail Saakashvili has already made disturbing advances since it came to power in a democratic "Rose Revolution'" in 2003.

Moscow effectively lost a third enclave, Adjaria - an autonomous spot on the Turkish border - soon after Saakashvili took power.

Grouped together, there are ten separate pockets of frozen conflicts straddling both sides of the Russian border in the Caucasus.

But the Russian campaign to maintain external influence stretches far beyond the troubled network of clans and tribes of the Caucasian mountains.

Along with South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia, there is Crimea in the Ukraine, Transdniester in Moldova, Narva in Estonia, and eastern areas of Latvia.

Strong links

All still retain strong links with Moscow, while the greater European nations to which they belong have forged ties with the European Union and Nato.

The causes for the fault lines are historical and varied, but most of the enclaves are home to substantial populations of ethnic Russian speakers.

Many moved there during the Soviet period of "Russification", when Moscow, seeking to ensure its political influence over its satellite republics, dispatched large numbers of Russian settlers.

- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2008