Russia was always going to aid South Ossetia, not just because of geopolitics, but because a Russian president can not ignore his North Ossetian constituency. Esspecialy since Ossetians are seen as traditional Russian friend and allies.

Scott, why do you always ask about wether South Ossetia has been historicaly under the control of a Georgian state or not? What does it matter to an anarchist? South Ossetians are not immigrants, they have lived on this land for a fair bit of time, surely they have the right to break free of Georgia if that is their will.

And anyways before the Bolsheviks it was all part of the Russian Empire so it is a moot question. Interestingly enough though Russian Empire annexed Georgia after an expressed request by Georgians to do so. They sent a letter to the Tsar asking if they can be annexed. Infact there is more to the irony, because just as today Russia protects South Ossetians from Georgia, back then Russia protected Georgians from Persia and the Ottoman Empire. So historicaly Russian-Georgian relations have actualy been pretty good. Not at all any worse than Russian-Ossetian relations. This rivalry is a relativley new thing. A 1990s thing.