204:
243:
485:. Throughout the entire existence of the region, the Ossetians represented a stable majority of over two-thirds of the population. Georgians constituted the only significant minority, with between 25 and 30% of the population. No other ethnic group constituted more than 3% of the total population. About half of all families in the region were of mixed Ossetian–Georgian heritage. Considerable numbers of Ossetians lived elsewhere in Georgia as well, with upwards of 100,000 spread across the country.
664:; all three were official languages of the region. Though Georgian was the language of the Georgian SSR, of which South Ossetia was part, most people in the South Ossetian AO did not speak the language; as late as 1989, only 14 per cent knew Georgian, and it was a proposal in August 1989 to make Georgian the only official language of public use that instigated the independence movement. Originally written in Cyrillic, Ossetian was switched to a Latin-based script in 1923, as part of the
99:
229:
469:
423:
had opposed incorporating the proposed state into Russia, fearing it would lead to unrest in
Georgia, so Mikoyan asked Stalin about placing all of Ossetia within Georgia. Stalin initially approved, but later decided against it, fearing it would lead to other ethnic groups in Russia demanding to leave
395:
backed ethnic
Georgian aristocrats, who were legal owners. Although the Ossetians were initially discontented with the economic policies of the central government, the tension soon transformed into ethnic conflict. The first Ossetian rebellion began February 1, 1918, when three Georgian princes were
864:
Fears are widespread that Moscow is creating a pretext for a military crackdown by inflaming unrest in the South
Ossetian Autonomous Region, an ethnic enclave created for the Ossetians as a reward for their political loyalty after the Bolsheviks took control of the republic in 1921. Last September,
865:
as the rest of
Georgia was moving toward independence, the South Ossetian regional council declared the area to be a "Soviet Democratic Republic" loyal to Moscow. The parliament in Tbilisi responded by dissolving the autonomous region altogether.
408:, but even so, were defeated. Between 3,000 and 7,000 Ossetians were killed during the crushing of the 1920 uprising; according to Ossetian sources ensuing hunger and epidemics were the causes of death of more than 13,000 people.
672:
were the only exceptions; both used a
Georgian script (only in South Ossetia; North Ossetia used Cyrillic). This policy lasted until 1953 when South Ossetia abandoned the Georgian script for a Cyrillic-based one.
687:
1267:
457:
265:
400:
retaliated by sending the
National Guard to the area. However, the Georgian unit retreated after they had engaged the Ossetians. Ossetian rebels then proceeded to occupy the town of
1471:
814:
1100:
1260:
1466:
411:
There was discussion to create a united republic for
Ossetians, incorporating both North and South Ossetia. This was indeed proposed by Ossetian authorities in July 1925 to
472:
Caucasus territory in 1922 with South
Ossetia (center, marked dark green, bordered) and disputed territories claimed by it shown (marked dark green, non-bordered, numbered)
1216:
1073:
Kolossov, Vladimir; O'Loughlin, John (2011), "Violence in the
Caucasus: Economic Insecurities and Migration in the "De Facto" States of Abkhazia and South Ossetia",
1481:
1253:
456:
opened fire from a submachine gun, killing three
Georgians and wounding two in what has been described as a terrorist attack and an act of ethnic violence. The
380:
444:
in the South Ossetia's regional soviet declared independence from Georgia by announcing "South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic" loyal to Moscow. After the
405:
947:
Birch, Julian (1996), "The Georgian/South Ossetian territorial and boundary dispute", in Wright, John F.R.; Goldenberg, Suzanne; Schofield, Richard (eds.),
1486:
449:
334:
330:
325:
on April 20, 1922. It was an ethnic enclave created for the Ossetians within Georgia by Soviets as a reward for their political loyalty during the 1921
965:
Broers, Laurence (June 2009), "'David and Goliath' and 'Georgians in the Kremlin': a post-colonial perspective on conflict in post-Soviet Georgia",
352:, who made up roughly 66% of the 100,000 people living there in 1989, and Georgians, who constituted a further 29% of the population as of 1989.
1276:
834:
314:
127:
81:
424:
the RSFSR, which would destroy the federation. Thus South Ossetia was made subordinate to Georgia, while North Ossetia remained in the RSFSR.
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1135:
1117:
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85:
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responded to these illegal actions by annulling the autonomy of South Ossetia and declaring the state of emergency to restore order.
404:
and began attacking ethnic Georgian civilian population. During uprisings in 1919 and 1920, the Ossetians were covertly supported by
1297:
956:
1381:
665:
682:
433:
1339:
440:
between the Georgian independence-minded population of the region and Ossetians loyal to the Soviet Union. In September 1990
376:
209:
1366:
1319:
1146:
From Conflict to Autonomy in the Caucasus: The Soviet Union and the making of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh
1361:
326:
1354:
1349:
1314:
1302:
668:. This was abandoned in 1938, with nearly every Latinized language switching to a Cyrillic script. Ossetian and
1391:
1371:
1334:
1324:
1307:
1292:
338:
288:
1386:
1476:
1376:
98:
1192:
1053:(October 1988), "The Establishment of Soviet Power in Transcaucasia: The Case of Georgia 1921–1928",
1034:
Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts
441:
855:
707:
819:
103:
Map of the Georgian SSR, 1957–1990. The South Ossetian AO is in the middle, highlighted in yellow.
1171:
982:
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372:
361:
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Understanding Ethnopolitical Conflict: Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia Wars Reconsidered
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269:
71:
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1419:
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1460:
1128:
The Affirmative Action Empire: Nations and Nationalism in the Soviet Union, 1923–1939
986:
342:
222:
1401:
1284:
468:
384:
318:
998:
Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus
17:
1197:
The Post-Soviet Wars: Rebellion, Ethnic Conflict, and Nationhood in the Caucasus
27:
Autonomous region of the Soviet Union within the Georgian SSR from 1922 to 1990
1066:
978:
725:
453:
437:
401:
392:
388:
111:
1231:
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1086:
396:
killed and their land was seized by the Ossetians. The central government of
1437:
577:
533:
511:
482:
349:
599:
397:
1178:(Second ed.), Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press,
688:
South Ossetian Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia
348:
The population of the South Ossetian AO consisted mostly of ethnic
467:
835:"THE TRADE DECISION; A Curfew Is Declared In the Soviet Caucasus"
555:
1249:
726:"Конфликты в Абхазии и Южной Осетии: документы 1989-2006 гг"
448:, on December 11 1990, the autonomous oblast illegally held
341:. Currently, its territory is controlled by the breakaway
761:
759:
757:
391:
and demanded ownership of the lands they worked, and the
1016:
The Politics of Ethnic Separatism in Russia and Georgia
481:
The main ethnic group of the South Ossetian AO was the
329:. Its autonomy was revoked on December 11, 1990 by the
879:
375:, the area of modern South Ossetia became part of the
308:
1436:
1418:
1400:
1283:
159:
149:
137:
121:
107:
32:
815:"Ethnic Fighting Kills 3 in Soviet Georgia Region"
1099:: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2024 (
446:Georgia's October elections to the Supreme Soviet
419:(Bolshevik committee in charge of the Caucasus).
383:between the landless Ossetian peasants living in
951:, London: UCL Press Limited, pp. 150–189,
1130:, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press,
902:
900:
281:
49:
35:
1472:States and territories disestablished in 1990
1261:
875:
873:
63:
8:
1199:, New York City: New York University Press,
765:
748:
652:Most people in the South Ossetian AO spoke
387:(Interior Georgia), who were influenced by
1467:States and territories established in 1922
1268:
1254:
1246:
452:. On 12 December, gunmen driving a car in
97:
29:
666:Latinization campaign of the Soviet Union
789:
487:
918:
906:
891:
777:
698:
106:
1482:Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union
1277:Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union
1092:
930:
801:
1018:, New York City: Palgrave Macmillan,
176:
172:
158:
148:
144:
120:
116:
7:
331:Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR
1487:Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
1036:, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill,
458:Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR
25:
1176:The Making of the Georgian Nation
856:"Hastening The End of the Empire"
730:Официальный сайт МГИМО МИД России
708:"Hastening The End of the Empire"
294:samkhret osetis avt'onomiuri olki
274:Юго-Осетинская автономная область
65:Юго-Осетинская автономная область
1075:Eurasian Geography and Economics
261:South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
241:
227:
202:
33:South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
854:John Kohan (January 28, 1991).
706:John Kohan (January 28, 1991).
683:Administration of South Ossetia
434:dissolution of the Soviet Union
310:Xuššâr Ireštone Âvtonomon bašta
302:Хуссар Ирыстоны автономон бӕстӕ
283:სამხრეთ ოსეთის ავტონომიური ოლქი
51:სამხრეთ ოსეთის ავტონომიური ოლქი
37:Хуссар Ирыстоны автономон бӕстӕ
1110:The Caucasus Under Soviet Rule
880:Kolossov & O'Loughlin 2011
436:, violent unrest broke out in
377:Democratic Republic of Georgia
293:
210:Democratic Republic of Georgia
1:
656:, with smaller numbers using
1166:, London: Palgrave Macmillan
1148:, New York City: Routledge,
1112:, New York City: Routledge,
428:End of the South Ossetian AO
309:
1503:
1162:Souleimanov, Emil (2013),
640:
359:
327:Soviet invasion of Georgia
1067:10.1080/09668138808411783
1014:George, Julie A. (2009),
979:10.1080/02634930903034096
949:Transcaucasian Boundaries
343:Republic of South Ossetia
301:
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181:
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145:
133:
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91:
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64:
50:
36:
1144:Saparov, Arsène (2015),
1087:10.2747/1539-7216.52.5.1
1000:, London: Curzon Press,
339:First South Ossetian War
333:after illegally holding
1108:Marshall, Alex (2010),
1032:Hewitt, George (2013),
1126:Martin, Terry (2001),
473:
161:• Disestablished
1089:(inactive 2024-09-12)
471:
442:Ossetian nationalists
967:Central Asian Survey
432:In 1989, during the
393:Menshevik government
1330:Kabardino-Balkarian
1228: /
1172:Suny, Ronald Grigor
843:. 14 December 1990.
823:. 13 December 1990.
820:The Washington Post
464:Culture and society
321:created within the
151:• Established
1193:Zürcher, Christoph
994:Cornell, Svante E.
933:, pp. 109–110
840:The New York Times
804:, pp. 397–398
768:, pp. 112–113
474:
415:, the head of the
373:Russian revolution
362:History of Ossetia
1454:
1453:
1345:Karachay-Cherkess
1232:42.333°N 44.000°E
1206:978-0-81-479709-9
1185:978-0-25-320915-3
1155:978-0-41-565802-7
1137:978-0-80-143813-4
1119:978-0-41-541012-0
1051:Jones, Stephen F.
1043:978-9-00-424892-2
1025:978-1-349-37825-8
1007:978-0-70-071162-8
645:
644:
421:Sergo Orjonikidze
337:, leading to the
315:autonomous oblast
307:
257:
256:
253:
252:
249:
248:
215:
214:
128:Autonomous Oblast
123: • Type
82:Autonomous oblast
18:South Ossetian AO
16:(Redirected from
1494:
1446:Gorno-Badakhshan
1428:Nagorno-Karabakh
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1242:
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1010:
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780:, pp. 66–89
775:
769:
766:Souleimanov 2013
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749:Souleimanov 2013
746:
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739:
737:
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165:10 December 1990
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1298:Checheno-Ingush
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764:
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747:
743:
734:
732:
724:
723:
719:
705:
704:
700:
696:
679:
650:
550:28,544 (29.0%)
547:28,125 (28.3%)
544:26,584 (27.5%)
541:27,525 (25.9%)
538:23,538 (26.9%)
528:65,232 (66.2%)
525:66,073 (66.5%)
522:63,698 (65.8%)
519:72,266 (68.1%)
516:60,351 (69.1%)
479:
466:
450:rival elections
430:
413:Anastas Mikoyan
369:
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335:rival elections
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1420:Azerbaijan SSR
1416:
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1410:South Ossetian
1406:
1404:
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1397:
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1389:
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1382:North Ossetian
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1250:
1237:42.333; 44.000
1211:
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1205:
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1061:(4): 616–639,
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381:conflict began
371:Following the
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10:
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3:
2:
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1477:South Ossetia
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958:1-85728-234-5
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921:, p. 144
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893:
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860:Time Magazine
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791:
790:Marshall 2010
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663:
659:
655:
647:
639:
635:
632:
629:
626:
623:
620:
619:
616:2,128 (2.2%)
615:
613:1,574 (1.6%)
612:
610:2,380 (2.5%)
609:
607:2,111 (2.0%)
606:
603:
601:
598:
597:
593:
591:1,254 (1.3%)
590:
588:1,555 (1.6%)
587:
585:1,537 (1.4%)
584:
582:1,374 (1.6%)
581:
579:
576:
575:
571:
569:1,485 (1.5%)
568:
566:1,723 (1.8%)
565:
563:1,979 (1.9%)
562:
560:1,739 (2.0%)
559:
557:
554:
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406:Soviet Russia
403:
399:
394:
390:
386:
382:
378:
374:
367:Establishment
366:
363:
355:
353:
351:
346:
344:
340:
336:
332:
328:
324:
320:
316:
311:
299:
290:
279:
271:
267:
262:
240:
238:
235:
234:
226:
224:
223:South Ossetia
221:
220:
217:
211:
208:
201:
200:
197:
196:
193:
190:
188:
185:
184:
180:
168:
164:
155:30 April 1922
154:
140:
136:
132:
129:
126:
113:
110:
100:
95:
90:
87:
83:
79:
73:
59:
45:
31:
19:
1409:
1402:Georgian SSR
1340:Kara-Kirghiz
1285:Russian SFSR
1213:
1196:
1175:
1163:
1145:
1127:
1109:
1078:
1074:
1058:
1054:
1033:
1015:
997:
973:(2): 99–18,
970:
966:
948:
940:Bibliography
926:
919:Saparov 2015
914:
907:Cornell 2001
892:Zürcher 2007
887:
863:
859:
849:
838:
829:
818:
809:
797:
785:
778:Saparov 2015
773:
751:, p. 99
744:
733:. Retrieved
729:
720:
711:
701:
651:
480:
477:Demographics
431:
416:
410:
385:Shida Kartli
370:
347:
323:Georgian SSR
319:Soviet Union
260:
258:
192:Succeeded by
191:
186:
86:Georgian SSR
1367:Komi-Zyryan
1362:Kara-Kalpak
1320:Gorno-Altai
1235: /
1081:(5): 1–24,
931:Broers 2009
882:, p. 5
802:Martin 2001
604:157 (0.2%)
594:984 (1.0%)
572:396 (0.4%)
379:. In 1918,
187:Preceded by
1461:Categories
735:2021-05-09
491:Ethnicity
454:Tskhinvali
438:Tskhinvali
402:Tskhinvali
389:Bolshevism
360:See also:
112:Tskhinvali
1438:Tajik SSR
987:144297310
578:Armenians
534:Georgians
512:Ossetians
483:Ossetians
350:Ossetians
313:) was an
289:romanized
266:‹See Tfd›
92:1922–1990
1355:Karachay
1350:Cherkess
1195:(2007),
1174:(1994),
1095:citation
996:(2001),
677:See also
662:Georgian
654:Ossetian
648:Language
641:Source:
627:106,118
600:Russians
298:Ossetian
278:Georgian
58:Georgian
44:Ossetian
1315:Chuvash
1303:Chechen
1223:44°00′E
1220:42°20′N
658:Russian
636:98,527
633:99,421
630:96,807
624:87,375
417:kraikom
356:History
317:of the
270:Russian
237:Georgia
138:History
108:Capital
84:of the
72:Russian
1392:Udmurt
1372:Khakas
1335:Kalmyk
1325:Jewish
1308:Ingush
1293:Adyghe
1203:
1182:
1152:
1134:
1116:
1040:
1022:
1004:
985:
955:
670:Abkhaz
621:Total
398:Tiflis
280::
141:
68:
54:
40:
1387:Tuvan
983:S2CID
694:Notes
506:1989
503:1979
500:1959
497:1939
494:1926
1377:Mari
1201:ISBN
1180:ISBN
1150:ISBN
1132:ISBN
1114:ISBN
1101:link
1038:ISBN
1020:ISBN
1002:ISBN
953:ISBN
660:and
556:Jews
259:The
1083:doi
1063:doi
975:doi
1463::
1097:}}
1093:{{
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1077:,
1059:40
1057:,
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969:,
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872:^
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817:.
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728:.
710:.
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304:,
300::
296:;
286:,
276:;
272::
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738:.
714:.
291::
263:(
74:)
70:(
60:)
56:(
46:)
42:(
20:)
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