South Ossetia

The Republic of South Ossetia (in Russian Respublika Yuzhnaya Osetiya, Республика Южная Осетия; in Ossetic language Respublikae Xyssar Iryston, Республикæ Хуссар Ирыстон) is a mountainous region of 3,900km² in the Caucasus. The capital is Tskhinvali. The republic has declared its independence from Georgia, but its independence has not been recognized by any other countries.

Geography and Economy

South Ossetia lies 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 Kura 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.

Following the 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 the entity's economic woes, 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.

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 Mongol rule, they were pushed out of their medieval homeland south of the Don river in present-day Russia and migrated towards and over the Caucasus mountains, 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 Georgia; and Iron in the north became what is now North Ossetia, under Russian rule from 1767. Most Ossetians are now Russian Orthodox Christians, but there is also a significant Muslim minority.

South Ossetia under the Soviet Union

With the break up of the Russian Empire, South Ossetia became a part of the Georgian Menshevik Republic, while the north became a part of the Terek Soviet Republic. In April of 1922, following fierce fighting between White Russian and Soviet forces the "South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast" (i.e. district) was formed. Although South Ossetia had its own language (Ossetian), Russian was – and still is – the only administrative language.

The Georgian war

In 1989, concerned by rising nationalism in Georgia, the ruling South Ossetian Popular Front (Ademon Nykhas) demanded unification with North Ossetia. On 10 November 1989, the South Ossetian Supreme Soviet approved a decision to unite the South Ossetia with 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 national language throughout the country. 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 a result, more than 100,000 refugees fled the region, most across the border into North Ossetia. Many 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.