It's been a decade since Russia made its dramatic return to the world stage with the invasion of Georgia . Russian troops crossed into the disputed territory of South Ossetia in August 2008 — their first major deployment since the Soviet Union's demise — destroying much of Georgia's infrastructure and military over the course of just five days. But if the war itself was short-lived, its effects have been far more enduring. Even 10 years later, the specific impetus for the war remains the subject of fierce debate. Russia blamed Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia's president at the time, for ordering forces to attack civilians in South Ossetia . Georgia, on the other hand, claimed that separatists in the breakaway region had shelled nearby villages to provoke a response from Russia — which arrived, sure enough, swiftly and decisively.