Medvedev and the future deployment of Russian troops abroad.

Krasnaya Polyana, a resort near to the Black Sea city of Sochi, will be the venue for the 2014 winter Olympics. It has also been the venue, over the last few days, for a series of meetings of Russian parliamentarians, as President Medvedev has insisted that even during the summer holidays, the politicians should remain in regular contact.
 
It was revealed yesterday that Medvedev has submitted a "draft Presidential law" for examination, concerning the future deployment of Russian troops outside the country's borders. The motivation for this, he stated, was the events of last year when Russia troops invaded Georgian soverign territory.
 
This move should be viewed in the context of the recent announcement that additional forces were to be deployed to Kyrgystan, with the extension of diplomatic status to said troops.
 
Medvedev, unrestrained by any meaningful democratic process, has displayed a propensity for fast and decisive action. From a Russian perspective this is a natural reaction to NATO expansion, and I think we might expect to see further deployments in Khazakstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan very soon. Whether such actions will be extended to Belarus remains to be seen, but if this were to happen it would indeed be a major cause for concern for the west, as it is hoped that the country may lean westwards if and when the present regime is deposed. The deployment of troops to the southern republics should not be viewed with any alarm whatsoever.