What the F**k is going on in: Abkhazia

Gotta love those Russians. Without them flexing their geopolitical muscles this column would have very little to write about. The background to this one is pretty simple: Russia doesn't like Georgia. It is an ex-Soviet state, newly cosied up to the US, and currently attempting to gain NATO membership. What's more it is a vital energy transit route. So basically it pisses our Vlad off. Loads. Abkhazia is a tiny semi-tropical province in Northern Georgia, on the Black Sea, bordering Russia. It was once the playground of the Soviet elite. Shortly after Georgian independence separitist groups fought a war for self-determination which was unsuccessful. It claims independence and pretty much runs its own affairs independently of Tblisi to this day. The resolution of the 1994 conflict led to the Russians being allowed to have 2,000 peacekeeping troops in the region permanently. The Americans have stated in the past that they support Georgia's claim on the region and would like the Russians to piss off out of there. Not sure what game they have been watching lately, but this kind of tone does not sit well with Vlad. In the last few weeks Russia has sent an extra 1,000 troops into Abkhazia, in what has been described by Georgia as an act of "full scale military aggression". As of April 16 of this year Russia, in classic "up yours" style, has established formal diplomatic ties with both Abkhazia and South Ossetia (see map).
There are three possible things going on here:
1) We all know that Vlad likes Serbia, and was less than pleased about the whole Kosovo thing. Thankfully for Vlad's "Don't fuck with me" foreign policy, support for Abkhazian independence represents a perfect opportunity to show that we certainly shouldn't do anything of the sort, and reconciles well with his now-legendary schoolyard bully style.
2) Abkhazia is a place of strategic and historical importance to Russia, and Russia has decided it wants it, and is simply going to bully Georgia out of it. Which is pretty legend in this day and age. Come on, who does that any more? The last Annex I came across was in a first year accounting exam.
3) Vlad has set this up as an initiation for "Mini-Vlad", Dmitri Medvedev. As in: "Go on D, I dare ya to go over to yer man and just nick his province. If you don't I'll call you a pussy for the rest of the school year and nick your lunch money". This might be slighlty less likely but even the possibility that it may be going on makes me laugh like hell.

In summary, watch this one for confirmation that Russia doesn't follow anybody's rules, not even their own.