Reply #6: Russia recognized the "rebel" governments in Abkhazia and South Ossetia after the 2008 [View All]

Georgian war. There are now 5 countries that recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia - Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Vanuatu. The rest of the world does not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Abkhazia_and_South_Ossetia

The independence of Kosovo from Serbia in 2008 is recognized by 77 countries, not including Russia or Serbia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Kosovo

Heck the US didn't recognize the "rebel government" in China until 1979, 30 years after it took power.

It is common for countries to rush to recognize some "rebel groups" with whom they feel some common cause, while taking forever to recognize those who are "rebelling" against friends. The specifics of each "rebellion" are different but it seems to be rare for any government to rush to recognize a "rebel group" based on any objective standard. While they will justify their recognition of one side or another with references to justice, fairness, human rights, etc., it seems to really come down to "which side do we like/dislike more".

There may be some who think that Russia is always right, the US is always right, China is always right or some other country is always right, but they all seem to use subjective standards when deciding which "rebel groups" to recognize.