Kurta was (before 2008) a village in the former South Ossetia

South Ossetia

South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....

n autonomous oblast

Autonomous oblast

An autonomous oblast is an autonomous entity within the state which is on the oblast level of the overall administrative subdivision. It may refer to:*Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union*Autonomous oblasts of Russia...

 of Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

. Populated largely by ethnic Georgians

Georgians

The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....

, it is one of those areas that remained under the control of Georgia since the rest of the region separated de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

 from Georgia after the South Ossetian War of 1990-92 and till the 2008 South Ossetia War

2008 South Ossetia war

The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....

.

Kurta is situated nine kilometers north-east of Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region which has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru, and is regarded by Georgia and the rest of the world as part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.It is located...

, the secessionist-controlled capital of South Ossetia, on the right bank of the Greater Liakhvi River, and is strategically placed along the Trans-Caucasus Highway

Trans-Caucasus Highway

The Transcaucasian Highway, usually shortened as Transkam , is a mountain road that crosses the Greater Caucasus through the Roki Tunnel, connecting North Ossetia-Alania with South Ossetia and Russia with Georgia. It was constructed between 1971 and 1981 as an alternative to the older Georgian...

 (TransCam) between Tskhinvali and Java

Java, Georgia

Java or Dzau is a town of approximately 1,500 people in South Ossetia. According to Georgia's current official administrative division, Java is a main town of Java district in the north of Shida Kartli region. According to the South Ossetian side Dzau is an administrative center of Dzau district...

. After the Parliament of Georgia

Parliament of Georgia

Parliament of Georgia is the supreme legislature of Georgia. It is unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, from which 75 members are proportional representatives and 75 are elected through single-member district plurality system, representing their constituencies...

 passed a resolution on the establishment of the Temporary Territorial Unit on April 11, 2007, Kurta became the headquarters of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia headed by the ethnic Ossetian Dmitry Sanakoyev

Dmitry Sanakoyev

Dmitry Ivanovich Sanakoyev is a South Ossetian and Georgian politician, a former official in the secessionist government of South Ossetia and currently Head of the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia, a rival entity established in 2007 in the Georgian-controlled territories of this...

. The Georgian government has also allocated 1,850,000 lari

Georgian lari

The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used from the 13th century....

 to rehabilitation of the village's infrastructure.

Kurta and its environs are part of the Greater Liakhvi Valley Museum-Reserve. The village itself houses a late medieval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Georgian Orthodox church of St. George.