South Ossetia

South Ossetia is a part of South Caucasus, South Ossetia was previously known as the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (SOAO) within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (GSSR). South Ossetia has both Georgians and Ossetians inhabitants living in towns and villages. A part of South Ossetia, which is inhabited by Ossetians, has been de facto independent from Georgia since 1990s while the towns and villagesinhabiting the Georgians are being governed by the Georgian government.

However, no member of the United Nations recognizes its independence and considers South Ossetia as part of Georgia only.

South Ossetia History

In 1801, Russia annexed South Ossetia and Georgia and amalgamated it into the Russian empire. After the Russian Revolution, South Ossetia was included in the Menshevik Georgian Democratic Republic while North was included in Terek Soviet Republic. Ossetians rebelled and sought independence from Georgia, which accused them of helping Bolsheviks. Around 5,000 Ossetians were claimed to have been killed in the rebellion.

In 1921, Russia set up Soviet Georgian Government, which established province South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (SOAO) in 1922. The province was granted some autonomy which included speaking and teaching Ossetian language. 

1989 - 2007

In 1988, South Ossetian Popular Front (Ademon Nykhas) was formed. The South Ossetian Regional Council asked the GSSR to declare South Ossetia as ‘Autonomous Republic’. This led to friction between Georgians and Ossetians in the region, who till now had been living peacefully. 

In 1990, GSSR banned regional parties in the region, which angered Ossetians who it as against Ademon Nykhas. In a retaliatory move, Ossetians proclaimed South Ossetia as a Soviet Democratic Republic, fully sovereign within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). Boycotting Georgian Parliamentary elections, Ossetians conducted their own elections, which was declared illegal by the Georgian Government. On December 11, 1990, it altogether abolished the autonomy given to South Ossetia.

At the end of 1991, violence broke out in the region in which many Ossetians and Georgians houses andvillages were attacked and burnt, leading to deaths of around 1000 people and fleeing of 100,000 Ossetians into North Ossetia and 23,000 Georgians to other parts of Georgia.

After USSR’s dissolution, Georgia had to agree to ceasefire in 1992 in order to prevent confrontation with Russia. An agreement was reached between Georgia Government and separatists in South Ossetia to avoid use of force against each other and Georgia agreed not to impose sanctions against South Ossetia. 

However, the Georgian government controlled substantial portions of South Ossetia. A peacekeeping force was formed, comprising Georgians, Ossetians and Russians. In 1992, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) deployed a mission to supervise the peacekeeping force. However in June 2004, tensions once again arose with Georgian government taking measure to prevent smuggling in the region, which led to shootouts and bombings. A ceasefire was signed in August but it was violated many times.

Alleging that the peacekeeping force was not neutral, Georgian government demanded it to be replaced. The government also opposed the Russian presence – both politically and economically – in the region and South Ossetia’s ‘’uncontrolled military’’.

Present Scenario in South Ossetia

The recent conflict began on August 6, 2008, when both the sides claimed that their area was fired upon. A spokesman for Georgian Interior Ministry claimed that they were provoked into firing by the South Ossetians, who fired at Georgia-controlled villages and towns, an accusation which was denied by Ossetians.

Georgian troops intruded into South Ossetia and began shelling on August 8, 2008. Condemning the Georgian government, for intruding into South Ossetia, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia would retaliate. August 8 saw heavy fighting as Georgian forces tried to push Ossetians away from the city.

On August 9, Russia moved its forces into South Ossetia to fight Georgian forces and attacked Georgia’s military infrastructure. On August 12, Russian President Dmitri A Medvedev and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili agreed to withdraw their respective troops to end the war that has started five days ago. It was on August 22 that Russia withdrew a majority of its forces, leaving behind contingents to provide security to Ossetians.