Caucasus 2009 (also called Kavkaz 2009) was an operational-strategic

military exercise A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...

of the

Russian armed forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

which took place from 29 June to 6 July 2009. It was conducted in 10 southern subjects of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Background

The main purpose of the exercise was to assess combat readiness in the Southwest district of Russia and to improve interaction of military administrations in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

. The exercises were structured around a theoretical crisis situation that spirals out of control into open fighting. The Russian General Staff officials claimed the drill should help "stabilise the situation in South Russia" and "prevent

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

's possible military actions against

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

". "The incumbent Georgian leadership has not given up new military adventures with regard to Abkhazia and South Ossetia or attempts to resolve the territorial issue by armed force," the Interfax news agency quoted the source as saying. According to Deputy Defence Minister Col. Gen.

Alexander Kolmakov Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants li ...

the exercises were adjusted as a result of the recent NATO war games that were held from 6 May to 3 June in Georgia. Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in August 2008 when Georgia launched a military operation against South Ossetia, a de facto independent region that was backed by Russia. President Medvedev sent in troops to drive Georgian forces out of the region and invaded Georgia Proper, the base of the Georgian Army.

Reactions

Georgia denounced the drills as "dangerous provocation". Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Nalbandov, said that "holding of such maneuvers against the background of explosive situation will only contribute to further tensions". According to a Western military attaché in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, interviewed by the

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

researchers, Russia's decision to use several sites in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, during the drills "could further stoke tensions."ICG Report Says Situation ‘Still Insecure and Dangerous’
''Civil Georgia''. June 22, 2009

Participating units

The participating units were mainly from the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...

and

, as well as units of the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

, the

Caspian Flotilla Kaspiyskaya flotiliya , image = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla , dates = No ...

, the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

and the Airborne Troops, a total of 8,500 troops, about 200 tanks, 450 armored vehicles, and up to 250 artillery pieces took part in the exercises. The exercises were personally overseen by the chief of Russia's General Staff, General

Nikolay Yegorovich Makarov Army General Nikolai Yegorovich Makarov ( rus, Никола́й Его́рович Мака́ров, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj jɪˈgorəvʲɪtɕ mɐˈkarəf; born 7 October 1949) served as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia and Firs ...

Location

The exercise was held in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, the Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov Regions, the Republics of North Ossetia – Alania, Ingushetia and Dagestan, as well as the Karachayevo-Cherkess and Chechen Republics.

References

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Background

Reactions

Participating units

Location

References

See also