welcome
back
to
the
19th
century
by
josef
joffe
from
wall
street
journal
europe
august
wait
a
minute
isn't
this
21st
chronologically
it
is
but
last
friday
russia
like
mad
scientist
emmett
brown
in
future
thrust
us
backward
about
years
caucasus
into
age
of
imperialism
and
geopolitics
resource
wars
spheres
influence
was
strictly
19th-century
when
russian
prime
minister
vladimir
putin
casually
announced
that
war
has
started
old
days
such
pronunciamentos
were
routine
recall
clausewitz
just
continuation
politics
with
admixture
other
means
for
specifics
look
up
crimean
prussia's
conquest
germany
balkan
then
go
farther
afield
spanish-american
russo-japanese
at
least
vast
swath
extending
berkeley
berlin
beijing
an
outrigger
moscow
anything
geo
could
only
refer
economics
welfare
had
replaced
warfare
tankers
tanks
balance
payments
power
berlin-berkeley
belt
all
playing
win-win
games
wheeling
dealing
consuming
chanting
no
more
we
worried
soft
how
battle
aids
desertification
sars
subprime
crises
sure
international
still
hardball
eternal
struggle
advantage
without
ultima
ratio
basically
west
didn't
think
somebody
bleachers
would
empty
ak-47
say
hello
his
stand-in
dmitry
medvedev
attacking
georgia
they
have
raised
curtain
on
post-world
ii
premiere
launched
first
real
greater
since
1990s
clashes
balkans
secessionist
internal
invasion
prague
if
you
pardon
expression
act
bloc
recentralization
thing
armies
marching
fleets
circling
rockets
flaring
many
are
blaming
hot-headed
president
mikheil
saakashvili
having
baited
bear
he
angel
ordering
army
south
ossetia
also
blamed
poles
refusing
placate
hitler
so
flatten
warsaw
sept
castigated
czechs
faraway
country
which
know
little
being
obstinate
resisting
german
demands
sudetenland
apologists
can
point
lots
mitigating
circumstances
starting
biggest
one
christmas
day
hammer-and-sickle
flag
over
kremlin
went
down
time
tricolor
poof
whole
empire
baltic
kazakhstan
suddenly
gone
yes
chilled
soul
did
georgia's
love
affair
united
states
dare
birthplace
stalin
sidle
eu
nato
scheme
things
though
geopolitical
crimes
pale
against
simple
historical
truth
payback
soviet
expired
as
mr
told
greatest
catastrophe
ever
anointed
neo-czar
been
working
hard
ham-handedly
reverse
verdict
cold
regain
what
lost
forget
saakashvili's
bluster
bumbling
revisionism
expansionism
terms
beloved
diplomatic
historians
trying
explain
behavior
rock-the-boat
revisionist
wants
once
expansionist
itself
less
rest
r
e
syndrome
handy
way
putin's
strategy
past
eight
draw
arc
caspian
start
counting
unleashed
cyberwar
tiny
estonia
formerly
republic
threatened
czech
poland
nuclear
targeting
host
u
s
antimissile
hardware
their
soil
not
possibly
threaten
russia's
retaliatory
potential
exploited
small
price
disputes
normally
resolved
lawyers
screaming
each
stop
gas
deliveries
thus
show
ukraine
belarus
former
pact
members
who
runs
common
house
mikhail
gorbachev's
famous
phrase
always
reserved
harshest
treatment
tbilisi's
mortal
sin
attempt
get
out
under
bear's
paw
snuggle
tried
subjugate
or
split
either
undermining
government
cutting
off
trade
putting
butcher's
block
hence
support
including
arms
troops
secession
abkhazia
reports
fighting
suggest
aims
beyond
driving
georgian
according
russians
captured
city
gori
central
two
denies
object
pure
domination
plus
winning
independents
speak
critical
conduit
oil
goes
around
black
sea
planned
pipeline
via
turkey
mediterranean
accident
planes
bombing
throughout
narrowly
missed
pipelines
message
don't
really
want
invest
energy
here
gains
control
good
night
luck
its
bought
eurasia
minus
middle
east
will
pass
through
hands
observing
restless
natives
turning
frozen
conflicts
hot
ones
heard
some
kind
caviar
these
flash
points
century's
great
game
issue
gain
basin
richest
depository
strategic
resources
next
penetrating
deeply
signaling
alas
neither
nor
prepared
return
thought
dead
now
forever
lured
respectability
riches
turn
responsible
apparently
george
f
kennan
diplomat
historian
right
him
attributed
very
apropos
aphorism
borders
vassals
enemies
lot
deeper
be
satisfied
prince
gorchakov
chancellor
put
midst
difficulty
regime's
character
goons
dreams
multipolarity
governance
committee
premature
powers
never
china
too
pursues
peaceful
rise
indeed
wannabe-superpower
india
buried
doha
round
any
chance
expanded
free
leaves
usual
suspects
america
take
care
global
business
alliance
supposedly
doomed
victory
messrs
given
lady
steroids
than
might
consumed
olympics
publisher-editor
die
zeit
fellow
institute
studies
hoover
institution
both
stanford