TIMELINE

Quick History

In 1801 the modern-day territories of South Ossetia and Georgia were annexed by Russia. Georgia remained under Russian and then Soviet rule until 1990 (except for a few years following the 1917 Russian Revolution).

Georgia became a republic within the Soviet Union, and South Ossetia became a distinct administrative region within Georgia with a relative degree of autonomy. The Ossetians are an ethnic minority in Georgia, but they are the majority in Georgia's South Ossetia region, and in neighbouring Russia's North Ossetia region.

As the Soviet Union approached collapse in the late 1980s, Georgian and South Ossetian independence movements emerged. Ethnic Georgians wanted independence from Russia. Ethnic Ossetians wanted independence from Georgia in order to join with North Ossetia as part of Russia.

In late 1990, Georgia declared independence. Its nationalist president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, made Georgian the official language of the country, which bolstered South Ossetia demands for greater autonomy. Gamsakhurdia rejected this demand, reduced South Ossetia's existing level of autonomy, and renamed it Tskhinvali Region—the official name of South Ossetia today.

For almost two decades, violence has erupted periodically between Georgian armed forces and Ossetian separatists who are supported by the Russian military. The most severe conflicts occurred in 1991-1992, 2004 and 2008. In August 2008, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili launched a large-scale attack against South Ossetia and Russia sent combat troops into deep into Georgia beyond South Ossetia's borders.

Because of the conflict, more than 200,000 Georgians and South Ossetians have become internally displaced persons in Georgia or across the border in Russia's North Ossetia region.

Today, the region remains volatile because the underlying issue of Ossetian separatist aspirations has not been resolved. Tensions remain high between Georgia and its Ossetian population, between Georgia and Russia, and between NATO and Russia. The stability of Georgia is also threatened by the Abkhazian separatist movement and by strong anti-Saakashvili sentiments by ethnic Georgians.