Georgians winning hidden victories? A StrategyPage breakdown of how things stand (via Instapundit):

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20080817.aspx

The Russian Army bested the Georgian Army, but “The Georgians did better in the air and at sea, even though they were greatly outnumbered there as well. Georgian warplanes shot up the Russians pretty badly (killing the commander of Russian ground forces, for example) before the Russians were able to shut down the Georgian air force. But in the process Russia lost at least four aircraft destroyed, and a number of others badly damaged.

At sea, Georgian missile boats hit several Russian warships, which had not been equipped with equipment, or crews, that were capable of dealing with this kind of threat. Two Russian warships were damaged sufficiently that they had to withdraw from the area. Within a few days, however, Georgia’s miniscule navy and air force were destroyed, largely by the much larger Russian air force.”

Curious speculation alert: “Some Georgians believe that the Russians are still angry about Josef Stalin, a Georgian who killed more Russians than Adolf Hitler. Stalin is still a hero to Georgians.”

I thought Stalin was held in near universal regard throughout Russia. Is there underway a change in the political thinking? If so, current events might explain it. (Rather than the other way around.)