South Ossetia is an autonomous region in Georgia, approximately above sea level on the slopes of the Greater Caucasus. Although it declared independence in 2008, only a few countries (such as Russia) acknowledge it. The region is inhabited by Ossetians, an Iranian ethnic group. According to Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria and Nauru, it is one of the world's newest independent states. All other states and international organisations consider South Ossetia an autonomous region of Georgia, functioning as a de facto state for twenty years after declaring independence and conducting a successful armed rebellion. Its Georgian inhabitants have been displaced. South Ossetia has been a source of tension for a number of years, with Georgia and Russia's political differences impeding peaceful independence and breeding a turbulent series of events which undermine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
History
During the 13th century, the Ossetians are believed to have moved into the regions of North and South Ossetia. They were related to the nomadic Alans; osiderives from Georgian. Alanic tribes in the North Caucasus formed a kingdom knows as Alania during the ninth century, which was bordered by Arabs and the Byzantine Empire. Although the mountains were a natural defence, Alania was destroyed by the Mongols in 1230. The remaining Alans fled further into the Caucasus Mountains and settled in Ossetia, which were part of the Kingdom of Georgia. The political climate deteriorated, opening the door to Russian annexation.
Russian occupation
A peasant uprising began in South Ossetia in 1918, which was forcefully suppressed by a Georgian Menshevik force led by Jaliko Jugheli. A Russian force crossed the border and attacked the Georgian army and guard, provoking further violence. Amid heavy casualties, thousands of Ossetians fled to Soviet Russia. Many villages were burnt, and previously fertile land was destroyed. The relationship between the Georgians and the Ossetians deteriorated between 1918 and 1920, with the Georgian government accusing the Ossetians of allying with the Bolsheviks. Riots, rebellions and battles killed thousands of people, in addition to deaths from starvation and disease. Menshevik Georgia introduced its constitution in early 1921, with no mention of autonomous districts and related legislation. On 25 February 1921, the Red Army entered Georgia and established Bolshevik rule.
Georgian oblast
The Red Army invasion ended the Democratic Republic of Georgia. North and South Ossetia were incorporated by the Soviet Union as separate regions. North Ossetia was an oblast of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1924 to 1936, and became an autonomous republic within the RSFSR in 1936. South Ossetia was an oblast of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Although Russian and Georgian were official languages, the Ossetians were permitted to use their language (including in schools). Several unsuccessful attempts were made during the 1920s to unify North and South Ossetia, and Georgia's intention to control both regions was rejected.
1990s unrest
The communist South Ossetian authorities declared sovereignty on 20 September 1990 as part of the USSR. Tensions increased, with ethnic Georgians believing that they were being dispossessed. Georgian president Zviad Gamsakhurdia removed South Ossetian autonomy, declaring a state of emergency which intensified South Ossetian demands for unification with North Ossetia. The strained relations bred a rapid increase in nationalist militias. Georgian police entered Tskhinvali (the South Ossetian capital) on 5 January 1991, beginning the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. War crimes were committed by both sides; over 250 people were killed, and at least 485 were wounded.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the 1992 election of Eduard Shevardnadze as president of Georgia encouraged a more harmonious relationship between the ethnic groups. The Dagomys agreements endorsed a joint peacekeeping force in the conflict zone to stabilise and monitor conditions and the Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution oversaw the region's peacekeeping forces. Russia's role in peacekeeping was solidified by a 1994 agreement. South Ossetia withdrew its resolution to leave Georgia, and a quadruple peacekeeping force (Georgia, Russia, and North and South Ossetia) was in operation. Lyudvig Chibirov was elected as the first president of South Ossetia in November 1996, and further agreements were signed between Georgia and Russia to restore South Ossetia's economy and accommodate returning refugees.