Some legal aspects of Russian policy towards neighbouring countries

Russia’s policy towards neighbouring countries and nations has always been dictated by imperialist and expansionist goals. To achieve them, Russia used brutal methods, including direct military aggression, incit­ing ethnic conflicts, genocide and ethnic cleansing. There are many examples of this in history in the form of the genocide of the Caucasian nations in the 19th century, the Holodomor against Ukrainian people, Soviet repres­sions, the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, and others. Nevertheless, Russia has not been held accountable for its actions. The war against Ukraine, which started in February 2022, dispelled all illusions of the democratic world towards Russia. Today, the democratic world is united, and the primary basis of this unity is the values, which it must bear responsibility for protecting. For this purpose, all international legal levers and institutions should be used. Russia’s leadership must be brought to justice, and the country must be held financially accountable. The only way for peace between Russia and the world is the democratisation of Russia, which is only possible through international legal coercion, as happened in the case of Nazi Germany. This article is an attempt to present the specific facts of Russia’s aggressive and imperialist policy towards neighbouring countries, especially towards Georgia, the specific legal levers for combating this policy, and future perspectives.