First of all, Georgia went to war not with Russia but with pro-Russian separatists, Ossetians, supported by Russia. Some of Russian peacemaker forces were killed. Then Russian army came into play, and Georgian army, which was preparing for five years (2003-2008) was effectively crushed in five days. Not very cheering ... read more
They were afraid of the fate of Georgia — to fight Russian army means to lose, but Ukraine could lose more than Crimea, several more pro-Russian regions would secede if supported by Russian army (Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhie, Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev — what is historical Novorossia, "New Russia"). read more
While Russia is in a much better shape economically than the USSR was after WW II, I do not believe it can manage Crimea effectively -- they can pour a huge amount of money there, but I doubt they will restore tourism to Crimea, where 70% of tourists were from Ukraine. read more
World Democracy in Russia Putin Vladimir Putin Crimea Ukraine Conflict Ukraine Ukraine Crisis The career of Sergei Yeliseyev helps to explain why Ukraine's armed forces gave up Crimea almost without a fight—and why NATO now says it is alert to Russian attempts to undermine military loyalty in its eastern European members. read more