The conflict between Russia and Georgia is political in nature - there are no obvious attempts to seize the territory of a neighbor or establish a controlled government in the country. In such cases, only a small part of the causes that cause visible consequences is accessible to the general public. Therefore, objectively, we can only talk about the chronology of events, and we only have to make assumptions about the driving forces.
The visible roots of the interstate problem that led in 2008 to the five-day war between Russia and Georgia lie in the internal Georgian conflict. The structure of this country includes three republics (Abkhazia, Adjara and South Ossetia), which have their own governments. During the collapse of the Soviet Union, they also claimed much greater independence, right up to the right to create a separate state or to enter the Russian Federation.
By the end of the last century, all this led to local wars between the central government, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The uprisings were extinguished through Russian mediation, and armed Russian peacekeepers were deployed to prevent a repetition of hostilities in conflict areas. Several agreements were concluded between the Russian Federation and Georgia, establishing the status of such peacekeepers and stipulating Russia's participation in the restoration of the republics.
However, this did not lead to a political settlement of the confrontation between the central and republican authorities, but only preserved the contradictions. For example, South Ossetia and Abkhazia did not participate in the presidential elections in Georgia. With the coming to power of Mikheil Saakashvili, the conflicts again entered the military phase, but now Russian soldiers stationed there have also come under attack.
On August 7, 2008, Georgian troops attacked Tskhinval, the main city of South Ossetia, as a result of which peacekeepers died in addition to local residents. In response, Russia began military operations “forcing peace” in Georgia, which lasted five days and ended in the defeat of Georgia. After that, the Russian Federation recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and concluded interstate agreements with them, which should provide them with military support in the event of a repeated attack by the Georgian army.
All this led to the confrontation between Russia and Georgia in a variety of areas - from the ban on import of Borjomi into the Russian Federation and the tightening of the visa regime, to the blocking of Georgia’s entry into the World Trade Organization.
