Chronology of the Georgian - Ossetian Conflict

Chronology of the Georgian-Ossetian Conflict

By Natia Chigvaria

Foreword

The work is aimed at presenting thematic and chronological process of the on-going Georgian-Ossetian conflict in Georgia.

The first Georgian-Ossetian conflict dates back to 1918-1920. The conflict was initiated again in 1988 followed by armed conflict in 1992 and the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. The conflict resulted in big casualties on both sides, destroyed infrastructure and thousands of homeless people.

History

AThe Ossetian people are believed to be the descendants of Alans, one of the oldest tribes of Scythians. Ethno genesis of the Ossetian ethnos took place in Northern Caucasus Central Mountainous area in the 13-15th centuries. Unlike Abkhazians, who, due to the historical context are regarded autochthonous peoples, Ossetians represent an ethnic group that settled in Georgia relatively later.

Historical homeland of Ossetians was in the North of the Caucasian ridge. First military units of the Ossetians appeared in Georgia when the country was weakened by the Mongols, namely, they came to Kartli in the second half of the 13th century.

The first settlement of the Ossetian ethnos on Georgia's historical territory took place in the 16th century, in Dvaleti area, on the Northern slopes of the Caucasus ridge. From the middle of the 17th century new Ossetian settlements emerged in Kartli highlands, they started resettlement to inner lowlands of Kartli from the end of the 18th century, which continued until the 20th century. In the 17-18th centuries and the first half of the 19th century a small number of Ossetians lived in Georgia. 19,324 Ossetians were recorded to live in Georgia's highlands in 1860. By 1880 this number increased to 51,988. Interestingly, according to the 1886 "Family Lists" not a single Ossetian was residing in Tskhinvali.

According to Georgian historical sources there were two types of migration of Ossetians to Georgian lands: forceful, which coincided with difficult periods of Georgian history and voluntary -- when Ossetians were settling on Georgian territories at the permission of the Georgian state and the feudal lords.

Ossetian scientists are of a different opinion; they think that they have been living on this territory together with the Georgians for the past 2000 years.

The term "Southerner Ossetian" appeared at the beginning of the 19th century and the term "South Ossetia" was for the first time mentioned in 1830 newspaper "Tbilisskie Vedomosti". In the documents of the same period Ossetians are referred to as the "Ossetians of North Kartli located in the South of the Caucasus highlands."

It can be said that the Ossetian group is one of the largest among the ethnic minorities living in Georgia. In 1926 their number totaled 113,000, 60,000 of them lived on the territory of the South Ossetia Autonomous Region, and 53,000 -- outside its borders. By 1989 the number of Ossetians in the country totaled 164,000, 65,000 of them living within the region, and 100,000 living outside the region. Although, this number was less than that of the Russians, Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

Formation of Ossetian Political Identity within Soviet Georgia

The formation of the Ossetian Autonomous Region within Georgia was preceded by the establishment of Ossetian National Soviet, executive and representative body, by the Congress of South Ossetian Delegates on 5-9 June 1917, following the Bolshevik Revolution. The first meeting was held in Java where the issue on the formation of self-government bodies (district administrative unit) for the region settled by Ossetians. After the internal ideological confrontation soon the Bolsheviks came to lead the Council.

On 28 March 1920 South Ossetia National Council established South Ossetia Revolutionary Committee that gained popularity among local population since it strived for the establishment of the Soviet power in the region and was demanding the uniting with Russia.

On 28 October 1920 Revolutionary Committee demanded from the Russia Communist (Bolshevik) party Caucasus bureau the granting of the autonomous status.

On 7 May 1920 friendship treatise was concluded between Georgia and Russia under which Russia was recognizing South Ossetia as the integral part of Georgia, this region was part of the Tbilisi province and included Shida Kartli district, the territory that was later declared South Ossetia Autonomous Region.

On 25 February 1921 Soviet