In a brilliant article by Stratfor’s George Friedman, we have the most lucid argument I have seen so far for the direct link between Kosovo and Georgia:

GEORGIA AND KOSOVO: A SINGLE INTERTWINED CRISIS By George Friedman

Here are the first two paragraphs:

The Russo-Georgian war was rooted in broad geopolitical processes. In large part it was simply the result of the cyclical reassertion of Russian power. The Russian empire — czarist and Soviet — expanded to its borders in the 17th and 19th centuries. It collapsed in 1992. The Western powers wanted to make the disintegration permanent. It was inevitable that Russia would, in due course, want to reassert its claims. That it happened in Georgia was simply the result of circumstance.

There is, however, another context within which to view this, the context of Russian perceptions of U.S. and European intentions and of U.S. and European perceptions of Russian capabilities. This context shaped the policies that led to the Russo-Georgian war. And those attitudes can only be understood if we trace the question of Kosovo, because the Russo-Georgian war was forged over the last decade over the Kosovo question.

Please do yourselves a favour and go and read the article in full.

This apparently is not a joke. A local tour company is offering a half-day “Pop-Art Radovan” tour:

Departure from Belgrade city center – Nikola Pasic Square.

• Arrival at New Belgrade, where last Radovan Karadzic residence was – Block 45 and Jurija Gagarina St.

• First, we will follow Karadzic morning and go to the bakery shop for a breakfast – home made potato pie, which was his favorite morning meal, since he was well known by eating mostly ascetic food.

• Of course, morning is a right time to check daily news and after crossing a street from bakery shop, we will say good morning to the local kiosk and buy some newspaper.

• By walking through the park, we will visit grocery shop where Karadzic was favorite customer. After a short break in a park, checking newspaper and chat with his neighbors, maybe with one cold beer on foot, we will end up in front of the building where he used to live as well as bus station of 73 city bus line and take some photos for a memory.

• Luda kuca local pub is waiting for us as a best part of a tour. So, in this rustic ambient, we will try to enjoy like he used to, maybe catching some memories and moments of his stormful life , with glass of wine – Medvedja krv (Bear’s blood), snack and sounds of Serbian national stringed instrument called – gusle.

• Before ending this fabulous tour, we need to check famous pancakes in Pinocchio pancake shop, located in old town of Zemun. Of course, specialty that waits for us is Karadzic pancake.

• On our return to the city center, we will have panorama sightseeing of Special Court, where, after he was captured, Karadzic stays before going to Hag. It will also be our last stop in following his footsteps.

[From Serbia Tourism - Pop-Art Radovan]