THE WAR with Russia might have been brutal and brief for tiny Georgia yet the economic and political repercussions are enormous with the Georgian opposition blaming President Mikhail Saakashvili for the conflict with Russia. The US-educated Georgian President is under pressure to hold on to power following a determined opposition rally on the streets of the capital Tbilisi earlier today.

This could be great news for Russia which will undoubtedly exploit the situation to corner President Saakashvili. Even though the Georgian President maintains his stance blaming Moscow for the war, there is growing skepticism among various political news sources that it was infact Saakashvili’s daring move to oust Moscow-backed South Ossetian rebels which sparked off a ruthless Russian counter attack.

 Earlier today thousands of opposition activists took to the streets protesting the President’s ’suicidal’ policies and calling for early elections. Kakha Kukava, the opposition leader, was quoted as saying, "We are starting a new wave of civil confrontation, and we will not give up until new elections are called." Since the days of the war, Georgians have shown great national solidarity backing the President in one of the darkest hours in Georgian political landscape. But one assumes a feeling of solidarity is being replaced by a sense of frustration among ordinary Georgians who are now struggling to come to terms with a shattered economy compounded by global financial crisis.

 In an effort to address the humiliating defeat at Russian hands that also triggered the disintegration of the country after South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared themselves independent from Georgia, the Russian President fired his army chief Zaza Gogava earlier this week. It has to be said the pro-western President is under pressure to turn around Georgia’s fortunes and for that he needs the help of NATO and especially the United States to stabilize the country economically. It must be admitted that Mikhail Saakashvili miscalculated his tactics by launching the war in South Ossetia for which there is a chance he may have to pay dearly. For the moment though President Saakashvili must keep his country united as the Russians could exploit Tbilisi’s political vulnerability by triggering a national disintegration and disorientation. A divided Georgia could easily play into the Kremlin’s hands on the prowl to see the back of President Saakashvili.