South Ossetia

**Хуссар Ирыстон**
**სამხრეთ ოსეთის რესპუბლიკა**
**Republic of South Ossetia**


(In Detail)	(In Detail)

De facto Official languages Ossetian, Russian Capital Tskhinvali President Eduard Djabeevich Kokoity Prime Minister Yury Morozov Area
– Total
– % water
3,900 km²
n/a Population
– Total
– Density (2004)
70,000 (approx)
18/km² Independence
– Declared
– Recognition From Georgia
– November 28, 1991
– none Currency Russian ruble, Georgian lari (the latter is used exclusively in Georgian-populated areas) Time zone UTC +3

South Ossetia (Ossetian: Хуссар Ирыстон, Respublikæ Xussar Iryston; Russian: Республика Южная Осетия, Respublika Yuzhnaya Osetiya; Georgian: სამხრეთ ოსეთის რესპუბლიკა, Samkhret Oseti Respublika (unofficial) is a self-proclaimed republic within Georgia. Although this former Soviet autonomous oblast (region) has declared its independence and is in de facto control of significant part of the region, its separation from Georgia has not been recognized by any other country and is regarded a de jure part of the Georgian region (mkhare) of Shida Kartli. As Georgia itself refuses to recognise the region as a distinct entity, the government doesn't use the name South Ossetia, but calls it by the medieval name of Samachablo or, more recently, Tskhinvali region (after the republic's capital).

History

Medieval and early modern period

The Ossetians were originally descendants of Iranian-speaking tribes from Central Asia. They became Christians during the early Middle Ages, under Georgian influence. Under Mongol rule, they were pushed out of their medieval homeland south of the Don river in present-day Russia and part migrated towards and over the Caucasus mountains, to Georgia where they formed three distinct territorial entities. Digor in the west came under the influence of the neighboring Kabard people, who introduced Islam. Tualläg in the south became what is now South Ossetia, part of the historical Georgian principality of Samachablo, where Ossetians found refuge from Mongol invaders. Iron in the north became what is now North Ossetia, under Russian rule from 1767. Most Ossetians are now Christian (apparently 61%), there is also a significant Muslim minority.

South Ossetia under Russia and the Soviet Union

The modern-day South Ossetia was annexed by Russia in 1801, along with Georgia proper, and absorbed into the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, South Ossetia became a part of the Menshevik Georgian Democratic Republic, while the north became a part of the Terek Soviet Republic. The area saw brief clashes between the Georgian governmental forces and Ossetians led by Ossetian and Georgian bolsheviks in 1920.

The Soviet Georgian government established by the Russian 11th Red Army in 1921, created the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (i.e. district) in April 1922. Although the Ossetians had its own language (Ossetian), Russian and Georgian were administrative/state languages. At present, Russian is the only administrative language used by the separatist government in Tskhinvali. In the Soviet time, under the rule of Georgia's government, it enjoyed some degree of autonomy, including to practice (Ossetian) language and teach it in schools.

Georgian-Ossetian conflict

The tensions in the region began to rise amid the rising nationalism among both Georgians and Ossetians in 1989. Prior to this, the two communities had been living in peace with each other except for the episode in 1920. Both ethnicities have had a high level of interaction and the high rate of intermarriages.

In the same year, the influential South Ossetian Popular Front (Ademon Nykhas) demanded unification with North Ossetia as a measure to defend the Ossetian autonomy from the alleged Georgian encroachment. On 10 November 1989, the South Ossetian Supreme Soviet approved a decision to unite South Ossetia with the North Ossetian ASSR, part of Russia. A day later, the Georgian parliament revoked the decision and abolished South Ossetian autonomy. Additionally, the parliament authorized the suppression of newspapers and demonstrations. Following Georgia's independence in 1991 under the nationalist leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the Georgian government declared Georgian to be the only administrative language throughout the country (Georgian was a state/administrative language throughout the soviet time along with Russian and it was written so both in the 1936 and 1979 constitutions of Georgian Soviet Socialists Republic). This caused great concern in South Ossetia, whose leaders demanded that Ossetian become the language of their state. The Ossetian minority continued to seek greater levels of autonomy, but were faced with increasing nationalist sentiment among the Georgian majority. Violent conflict broke out towards the end of 1991 during which many South Ossetian villages were attacked and burned down as well as Georgian houses and schools in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. As a result, approximately 1,000 died and 60,000-100,000 refugees fled the region, most across the border into North Ossetia or into Georgia proper. Many South Ossetians were resettled in uninhabited areas of North Ossetia from which the Ingush had been expelled by Stalin in 1944, leading to conflicts between Ossetians and Ingush over the right of residence in former Ingush territory. Only 15% of the Ossetian population now lives in South Ossetia.

In 1992, Georgia was forced to accept a ceasefire to avoid a large scale confrontation with Russia. The government of Georgia and South Ossetian separatists reached an agreement to avoid the use of force against one another, and Georgia pledged not to impose sanctions against South Ossetia. A peacekeeping force of Ossetians, Russians and Georgians was established. On November 6 1992, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) set up a Mission in Georgia to monitor the peacekeeping operation. From then, until mid-2004 South Ossetia was generally peaceful. In June 2004, tensions began to rise as the Georgian authorities strengthened their efforts against smuggling in the region. Hostage takings, shootouts and occasional bombings left dozens dead and wounded. A ceasefire deal was reached on August 13 though it was repeatedly violated. Presently the situation is tense though largely peaceful, although Moscow and Tskhinvali view the recent Georgian arms build-up with concern. In the last year or so Georgia has purchased SU-25 fighter bombers from Macedonia and Bulgaria, as well as Mi-8 "Hip" helicopters from Ukraine, and its army is being trained by US Marine instructors. The Georgian government protests against the continually increasing Russian economic and political presence in the region, as well as the uncontrolled military of the South Ossetian side.

Politics

The Republic of South Ossetia is not a territorially contiguous entity. It is, instead, something of a checkerboard of Georgian-inhabited and Ossetian-inhabited towns and villages in an arc around the largely Ossetian city of Tskhinvali. The capital and most of the other Ossetian-inhabited communities are governed by the separatist government in Tskhinvali, while the Georgian-inhabited villages are governed by the Georgian government. This close proximity and the intermixing of the two communities has made the conflict in South Ossetia particularly dangerous, as any attempt to create an ethnically pure territory would necessarily have to involve population transfer on a large scale.

The political dispute has, however, yet to be resolved and the South Ossetian authorities still govern the region with effective independence from Tbilisi. Although talks have been held periodically between the two sides, little progress was made under the government of Eduard Shevardnadze (1993–2003). His successor Mikheil Saakashvili (elected 2004) made the reassertion of Georgian governmental authority a political priority. Having successfully put an end to the de facto independence of the southwestern province of Ajaria in May 2004, he pledged to seek a similar solution in South Ossetia. After the 2004 clashes, the Georgian government has intensified its efforts to bring the problem to international attention. On January 25 2005, President Saakashvili presented a Georgian vision for resolving the South Ossetian conflict at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) session in Strasbourg. Late in October, the U.S. Government and the OSCE expressed their support to the Georgian action plan presented by Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli at the OSCE Permanent Council at Vienna on October 27, 2005. On December 6, the OSCE Ministerial Council in Ljubljana unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the Georgian peace plan which was subsequently rejected by the South Ossetian de facto authorities.

Geography

South Ossetia covers an area of about 3,900km² on the southern side of the Caucasus, separated by the mountains from the more populous North Ossetia (part of Russia) and extending southwards almost to the Mtkvari river in Georgia. It is extremely mountainous, with most of the region lying over 1,000m (3,300ft) above sea level. Its economy is primarily agricultural, although less than 10% of South Ossetia's land area is cultivated, with cereals, fruit and vines the major produce. Forestry and cattle industries are also maintained. A number of industrial facilities also exist, particularly around the capital Tskhinvali.

Economy

Following a war with Georgia in the 1990s, South Ossetia has struggled economically. Employment and supplies are scarce. Additionally, Georgia cut off supplies of electricity to the region, which forced the South Ossetian government to run an electric cable through North Ossetia. The majority of the population survives on subsistence farming. In addition to its economic problems, unclear political perspectives, thousands of refugees, and an illegal drug and arms trade have made the region unstable again in the last few years. Virtually the only significant economic asset that South Ossetia possesses is control of the Roki Tunnel that links Russia and Georgia, from which the South Ossetian government reportedly obtains as much as a third of its budget by the expedient of levying customs duties on freight traffic.

External links

Ossetian Wikipedia
Former Soviet war zones | The hazards of a long, hard freeze (The Economist, 19 August, 2004)
Fighting intensifies in S Ossetia (BBC news, 19 August, 2004)
Special South Ossetia on Caucaz.com, Weekly Online about South Caucasus
Photos and stories from South Ossetia
Ossetia—History, culture, politics, news (in Russian)
BBC overview of South Ossetia

Unrecognized or largely-unrecognized states | Caucasus | South Ossetia

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