A Russian soldier in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia. (AFP)

London, Aug. 9: A necklace of pro-Kremlin enclaves around Russia’s fringe stands at the forefront of Moscow’s rearguard efforts to fend off encroachment from the West.

The origins of Russia’s fight to control the “near abroad” goes back to the 19th century Tsarist expansion, but since 1991 a handful of statelets have sheltered under the Kremlin’s wing and perpetuated the legacy of the Soviet break-up.

The enclave of South Ossetia in Georgia sought Russian protection as far back as 1993. The Kremlin’s troops, officially designated as peacekeepers, have since unofficially preserved the autonomy of a 70,000-strong population, more than 90 per cent Russian passport holders.

Georgia’s attempts to join Nato made conflict over South Ossetia inevitable. Russia’s determination to check the Atlantic alliance’s eastern expansion has pitched an obscure power struggle to the centre of the global spotlight.

Observers had originally expected the flashpoint to arise in another Georgian enclave, Abkhazia on the Black Sea. A low level war of bombings and targeted assassinations recently stoked tensions with Tblisi, forcing the closure of all border crossings at the end of June.

From the Russian perspective, the US-backed government of President Mikhail Saakashvili has already made disturbing advances since it came to power in a democratic Rose Revolution in 2003. Moscow effectively lost a third enclave, Adjaria — it had been an autonomous spot on the Turkish border — soon after Saakashvili took power.