It's a possibility, Teribus. I figure that the Russians see it that way. I think you'd see it that way if the shoe were on the other foot, and he were a Russian-educated Latin American lawyer being put in charge of some part of Latin America. I think you would consider him to be an agent of Russia in that case.

I think he is an agent of the USA...or a willing servant, which amounts to the same thing.

Sure the Russians are after their own selfish gains here. They're playing at empire, same as the Americans. They both play that game all the time, and the Russians just scored a small victory in the game.

***

"Does anyone have any idea how the mighty Russian Army requires the assistance of South Ossetian militiamen inside Georgian territory??"

They don't require it. ;-) But why would they refuse it? They play dirty in war, same as the Americans do. The Americans were happy to use one set of Afghans to slaughter another set of Afghans and they were happy to use Montagnards against the Viet Cong and catholics against buddhists. This is standard opportunism, and both sides do it whenever and wherever they can. Their objective? Victory.