South Ossetia

Хуссар Ирыстон (os) სამხრეთი ოსეთი (ka) Южная Осетия (ru) South Ossetia
Areas claimed to be controlled by the Georgian government are colored grey
Area
-	Total	3,900 km²  1,506 sq mi
-	Water (%)	negligible
Population
-	2000 estimate	70,000
-	Density	18/km²  46.6/sq mi
Time zone		(UTC+3)

South Ossetia (Ossetic: Хуссар Ирыстон, Khussar Iryston; Georgian: სამხრეთი ოსეთი, Samkhreti Oseti; Russian: Южная Осетия, Yuzhnaya Osetiya) is a region in the South Caucasus, formerly the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. A part of it has been de facto independent from Georgia since it declared independence as the Republic of South Ossetia early in the 1990s during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. The capital of the region is Tskhinvali.

Former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast is grey. It is officialy divided by Georgian authorities between different administrative units.

The independence has not been diplomatically recognized by any member of the United Nations – which continues to regard South Ossetia as part of Georgia. Georgia has retained control over parts of the region's eastern and southern districts where it created, in April 2007, a Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia headed by ethnic Ossetians (former members of the separatist government) which would negotiate with central Georgian authorities regarding its final status and conflict resolution.

Map of South Ossetia

Political status

The United Nations, European Union, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Council of the European Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and all other countries in the world recognize South Ossetia as part of Georgia. However, the de facto independent republic governed by the secessionist government held a second independence referendum on November 12, 2006, after its first referendum in 1992 was not recognized by the international community as valid. According to the Tskhinvali election authorities, the referendum turned out a majority for independence from Georgia where 99% of South Ossetian voters supported independence and the turnout for the vote was 95% and the referendum was monitored by a team of 34 international observers from Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden and other countries at 78 polling stations. However, it was not recognized internationally by the UN, European Union, OSCE, NATO and the Russian Federation, given the lack of ethnic Georgian participation and the legality of such referendum without recognition from the central government in Tbilisi. The European Union, OSCE and NATO condemned the referendum. Parallel to the secessionist held referendum and elections, the Ossetian opposition movement (The Salvation Union of South Ossetia) to Kokoity, organized their own elections in which both Georgian and some Ossetian inhabitants of the region voted in favour of Dmitri Sanakoev as the alternative President of South Ossetia. The alternative elections of Sanakoev claimed full support of the ethnic Georgian population. In 2007, Dmitri Sanakoev became the head of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia.

On July 13, 2007, Georgia set up a state commission, chaired by the Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, to develop South Ossetia's autonomous status within the Georgian state. According to the Georgian officials, the status will be elaborated within the framework of "an all-inclusive dialogue" with all the forces and communities within the Ossetian society.

On August 8, 2008, on the same day as the 2008 Olympic Games officially commenced, hostilities began between Georgian forces and South Ossetia's separatist forces. The Russian Foreign Minister has stated that over 1500 civilians and 15 Russian peacekeepers have been killed since hostilities began.

References

1. Online Magazine - Civil Georgia
2. Georgia’s Showcase in South Ossetia
3. Georgia Quits Mixed Control Commission - Kommersant Moscow
4. International Crisis Group - Georgia’s South Ossetia Conflict: Make Haste Slowl
5. Online Magazine - Civil Georgia
6. Niko Mchedlishvili (September 11, 2006). "Georgian rebel region to vote on independence", Reuters. 
7. Online Magazine - Civil Georgia
8. 99% of South Ossetian voters approve independence Regnum
9. S.Ossetia Says ‘International Observers’ Arrive to Monitor Polls, Civil.ge, November 11, 2006
10. [1]
11. Two Referendums and Two “Presidents” in South Ossetia - CAUCAZ.COM
12. Commission to Work on S.Ossetia Status. Civil Georgia July 13, 2007.
13. [2]
14. David Marshall Lang, The Georgians, New York, p. 239
15. Roger Rosen, History of Caucasus Nations, London, 2006
16. International Crisis Group, Georgia: Avoiding War in South Ossetia, 26.11.2006
17. D.M. Lang, History of Modern Georgia, 1963
18. Hastening The End of the Empire, Time Magazine, January 28, 1991
19. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, RUSSIA. THE INGUSH-OSSETIAN CONFLICT IN THE PRIGORODNYI REGION, May 1996.
20. "Pretty Fat Turkey", TIME Magazine, November 27, 1933
21. America Abroad, Time Magazine, June 10, 1991
22. The independence precedent: If Kosovo goes free The Economist, Nov 29th 2007
23. Georgia’s South Ossetia Conflict: Make Haste Slowly, Europe Report N°183, 7 June 2007 (free registration needed to view full report)
24. Resolution on Peacekeepers Leaves Room for More Diplomacy. Civil Georgia. 2006-02-16.
25. U.S. Senator Urges Russian Peacekeepers’ Withdrawal From Georgian Breakaway Republics. (MosNews).
26. Solana fears Kosovo 'precedent' for Abkhazia, South Ossetia. (International Relations and Security Network).
27. Russia 'not neutral' in Black Sea conflict, EU says, EUobserver, October 10, 2006.
28. [3] Chronicle of the Second South-Ossetian War, in Russian
29. [4] In Tskhinvali killed 15 peacemakers, in Russian
30. Russian aircraft attack Georgian territory: Georgian ministry, AFP, August 8, 2008.
31. Putin vows retaliation for Georgian action in South Ossetia, AFP, August 8, 2008.
32. [5] A Single Point of Resistance Remains in Tskhinvali, in Russian
33. OSCE, 13th Meeting of the Ministerial Council (5 and 6 December 2005). Statement on Georgia (MC.DOC/4/05)
34. Civil Georgia, [S.Ossetia Sets Repeat Independence Referendum http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=13522], 2006-09-11
35. Council of Europe Secretary General calls for talks instead of "referendum" in the Georgian region of South Ossetia. Council of Europe Information Office in Georgia. Retrieved on 13-09-2006.
36. Online Magazine - Civil Georgia
37. Online Magazine - Civil Georgia
38. Online Magazine - Civil Georgia
39. Online Magazine - Civil Georgia
40. The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use. Georgia: a toponymic note concerning South Ossetia
41. Money the Big Attraction in S. Ossetia. The Moscow Times. July 26, 2007.
42. Probe Traces Global Reach of Counterfeiting Ring. Washington Post. November 26, 2006.
43. Detention near Tskhinvali. Ministry of Defense of Georgia. December 5. 2006.
44. Mamuka Areshidze, "Current Economic Causes of Conflict in Georgia", unpublished report for UK Department for International Development (DFID), 2002. Cited from Georgia: Avoiding War in South Ossetia by International Crisis Group, 26.11.2006

Links

• BBC overview of South Ossetia
• OCHA report on which side controls which regions of South Ossetia
• Special South Ossetia on Caucaz.com, Weekly Online about South Caucasus.
• Photos and stories from South Ossetia
• (Russian) Ossetia—History, culture, politics, news
• International Crisis Group, Georgia’s South Ossetia Conflict: Make Haste Slowly, Europe Report N°183, 7 June 2007 (free registration needed to view the full report)
• Alan Tskhurbayev (CRS No. 406 17-Aug-07), South Ossetians Caught Between Two "Presidents". Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
• (Russian) State news agency of the Republic of South Ossetia
• South Ossetia - A Land of No Crossroads

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.