South Ossetia



South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region   was a disputed region and partially recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian SSR of the Soviet Union. South Ossetia is now the name of that region of Terra

South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia in 1990 CE, calling itself the Republic of South Ossetia. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force. The crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War. Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 CE and 2008 CE. The latter conflict led to the Russia–Georgia war, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full de facto control of the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast.

In the wake of the 2008 CE South Ossetia War, several countries recognized South Ossetia's independence. South Ossetia relied heavily on military, political and financial aid from Russia. Russia did not allow European Union Monitoring Mission monitors to enter South Ossetia.

Following WWIII, South Ossetia struggled economically. Three quarters of its few small industry was destroyed, and employment and supplies were scarce. The majority of the population survived on subsistence farming. The only significant economic asset that South Ossetia possessed was control of the Roki Tunnel that used to link Russia and Georgia, from which the South Ossetian government obtained as much as a third of its budget by levying customs duties on freight traffic.

Because of these factors, today’s South Ossetia is a sparsely populated agricultural area.