War in South Ossetia
Encyclopedia
The 1991–1992 South Ossetian War was fought as part of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict
between Georgian
government forces and ethnic Georgian militia on one side and the forces of South Ossetia
and ethnic Ossetian militia who wanted South Ossetia to secede from Georgia and become an independent state, supported by individual Russian troops, on the other. The war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force
and left South Ossetia divided between the rivaling authorities.
of the Tsarist regime
in Russia, South Ossetians allied with the Russian Bolshevik
s, fighting a war against the newly independent Menshevik
Georgia. Initially Georgia was successful, but in 1921, the Red Army
conquered the country. South Ossetia became an autonomous oblast
in the Soviet republic of Georgia. During the Soviet period, relations between ethnic Ossetians
and Georgians were peaceful, with a high rate of interaction and intermarriages.
In 1989, around 98,000 people lived in South Ossetia. Of these, 66.61% were Ossetian and 29.44% Georgian. Another 99,000 Ossetians lived throughout the rest of Georgia.
At the end of 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union
, Georgia became an independent country again under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia
. While his agenda was mainly directed at Soviet policies, his actions were often also at the expense of minority groups within Georgia. At the same time, South Ossetians organised as well and expressed national aspirations: the Supreme Soviet
of South Ossetia demanded a change of status to an autonomous republic, a move declared illegal by the Supreme Soviet of Georgia. On November 23, 1989, Gamsakhurdia organised a demonstration of Georgians that was to occur in Tskhinvali
, the capital of South Ossetia. South Ossetians prevented this by blocking the road. Violent clashes broke out resulting in several people being wounded. In the following months, the South Ossetians started arming themselves.
Gamsakhurdia won the 1990 election to the Georgian Supreme Council, which was boycotted by South Ossetians. In response, South Ossetians organised a vote for a South Ossetian parliament. Reacting to this, the Georgian Supreme Council voted to abolish the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast as a separate administrative unit. Towards the end of 1990, the situation for ethnic Georgians in Tskhinvali worsened sharply. There were reports of multiple cases of lootings and beatings committed both by Georgian and Ossetian forces and paramilitaries. In December 1990, Tbilisi declared a state of emergency in South Ossetia and troops of the Georgian and Russian Interior Ministry (MVD) were dispatched to South Ossetia. The commander of the Georgian Interior Ministry troops was appointed as mayor of Tskhinvali. Georgia also imposed an economic blockade on South Ossetia. A military conflict was imminent.
, accused Russia of military involvement in the conflict. At the same time, the Ossetians claimed that Russian military and police failed to protect the local civilian population during Georgian attacks on Tskhinvali and surrounding Ossetian villages. The Georgian side claimed there was overt help from military units of the Russian Federation.
In early 1990, South Ossetia had only 300-400 poorly armed fighters. Within six months the South Ossetian force grew to 1,500 full-time fighters plus 3,500 volunteers. Georgia's forces were in much poorer shape. The ragtag Georgian forces composed of ethnic Georgians were not as well trained and equipped as their opponents. The Georgian National Guard that fought in the war was formed in January 1991, just before the fighting started. It was supposed to be a 12,000 strong force raised by conscription, but because of financial difficulties it had to be formed from volunteers instead.
The Georgians made three assaults on Tskhinvali, in February and March 1991 and in June, 1992. The most intense period of war was in March and April 1991. After a period of relative calm in July and August, violence resumed in mid-September, when Gamsakhurdia ordered the Georgian National Guard once again to advance into South Ossetia. However the National Guard had little interest in protracted warfare in a province with no lootable resources. Only a few detachments followed the order to attack, and they were repelled by the South Ossetian militia. During the offensive in June, the Georgian National Guard burned and destroyed up to 80% percent of dwellings in Tskhinvali. Georgia imposed a blockade on South Ossetia by disconnecting electricity and blockading the road to Tskhinvali
, while the Ossetians blockaded Georgian villages. Several atrocities occurred on both sides. The fighting left hundreds killed and wounded, with South Ossetian villages as well as Georgian houses and schools in Tskhinvali attacked and burned down. Georgian forces took up positions in the hills around Tskhinvali and besieged the city. Other fighting took place around the city in the nearby villages and along the road to North Ossetia.
In spring 1992 the fighting escalated again, with sporadic Russia
n involvement. However, in March 1992, Gamsakhurdia was ousted and replaced by Eduard Shevardnadze
. Soon after, Gamsakhurdia loyalists staged an armed rebellion. Furthermore, the conflict with Georgia's other, bigger, separatist region Abkhazia
, escalated into a war
in 1992. As a result, Shevardnadze had an interest in ending the conflict in South Ossetia and signed the Russian-brokered Sochi agreement.
The ceasefire agreement left South Ossetia divided into areas controlled by Georgia and areas controlled by the unrecognised government of South Ossetia. It also created the Joint Control Commission
(including Georgia, Russia, North Ossetia and South Ossetia) and, under JCC mandate, introduced the joint peacekeeping forces (JPKF), made up of Georgian, Russian and Ossetian soldiers. A small number of OSCE monitors was also deployed in the area.
The military action of the conflict was "confused and anarchic". Neither side had disciplined armed formations, and commanders and soldiers were often acting in their own interests. Military groups were controlled by political factions and not accountable to the respective governments. This led to the violation of ceasefires, taking of hostages and bombardment of civilian targets.
According to Human Rights Watch
, during the war Georgian paramilitary groups committed acts of violence against Ossetian civilians within South Ossetia that were motivated by the desire to expel Ossetians and reclaim villages for Georgia, and by sheer revenge against the Ossetian people. Between 60 and 100 villages were burned down, destroyed by Georgian forces or otherwise abandoned. Several villages were ethnically cleansed by Georgian forces. On the other side, Georgians living in Ossetian controlled territory were "easy targets": Houses occupied by Georgians were singled out, looted and burned down.
During the war, approximately 1,000 people died. It also led to the creation of large numbers of refugees: About 100,000 ethnic Ossetians fled from South Ossetia and Georgia proper, mainly into North Ossetia (part of Russia). A further 23,000 ethnic Georgians fled from South Ossetia and settled in other Georgian areas. The flow of refugees into Northern Ossetia aggravated the tense ethnic situation there and played a significant role in the Ossetian–Ingush conflict.
Georgian-Ossetian conflict
The Georgian–Ossetian conflict refers to the ethno-political conflict in Georgia's autonomous region of South Ossetia, which evolved in 1989 and developed into a 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. Despite a declared ceasefire and numerous peace efforts, the conflict remains unresolved, and minor armed...
between Georgian
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...
government forces and ethnic Georgian militia on one side and the forces of 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....
and ethnic Ossetian militia who wanted South Ossetia to secede from Georgia and become an independent state, supported by individual Russian troops, on the other. The war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force
Joint Control Commission for Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Resolution
Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution is a peacekeeping tool, operating in South Ossetia and overseeing the joint peacekeeping forces in the region....
and left South Ossetia divided between the rivaling authorities.
Background
Following the breakdownOctober Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
of the Tsarist regime
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in Russia, South Ossetians allied with the Russian Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s, fighting a war against the newly independent Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
Georgia. Initially Georgia was successful, but in 1921, the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
conquered the country. South Ossetia became an autonomous oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
in the Soviet republic of Georgia. During the Soviet period, relations between ethnic Ossetians
Ossetians
The Ossetians are an Iranic ethnic group of the Caucasus Mountains, eponymous of the region known as Ossetia.They speak Ossetic, an Iranian language of the Eastern branch, with most also fluent in Russian as a second language....
and Georgians were peaceful, with a high rate of interaction and intermarriages.
In 1989, around 98,000 people lived in South Ossetia. Of these, 66.61% were Ossetian and 29.44% Georgian. Another 99,000 Ossetians lived throughout the rest of Georgia.
At the end of 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Georgia became an independent country again under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was a dissident, scientist and writer, who became the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era...
. While his agenda was mainly directed at Soviet policies, his actions were often also at the expense of minority groups within Georgia. At the same time, South Ossetians organised as well and expressed national aspirations: the Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
of South Ossetia demanded a change of status to an autonomous republic, a move declared illegal by the Supreme Soviet of Georgia. On November 23, 1989, Gamsakhurdia organised a demonstration of Georgians that was to occur in 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 capital of South Ossetia. South Ossetians prevented this by blocking the road. Violent clashes broke out resulting in several people being wounded. In the following months, the South Ossetians started arming themselves.
Gamsakhurdia won the 1990 election to the Georgian Supreme Council, which was boycotted by South Ossetians. In response, South Ossetians organised a vote for a South Ossetian parliament. Reacting to this, the Georgian Supreme Council voted to abolish the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast as a separate administrative unit. Towards the end of 1990, the situation for ethnic Georgians in Tskhinvali worsened sharply. There were reports of multiple cases of lootings and beatings committed both by Georgian and Ossetian forces and paramilitaries. In December 1990, Tbilisi declared a state of emergency in South Ossetia and troops of the Georgian and Russian Interior Ministry (MVD) were dispatched to South Ossetia. The commander of the Georgian Interior Ministry troops was appointed as mayor of Tskhinvali. Georgia also imposed an economic blockade on South Ossetia. A military conflict was imminent.
Combatants
South Ossetian forces consisted of militia, volunteers from North Ossetia and other regions in North Caucasus. Most of their equipment and arms were former Soviet arms abandoned following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Former Georgian president, Eduard ShevardnadzeEduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
, accused Russia of military involvement in the conflict. At the same time, the Ossetians claimed that Russian military and police failed to protect the local civilian population during Georgian attacks on Tskhinvali and surrounding Ossetian villages. The Georgian side claimed there was overt help from military units of the Russian Federation.
In early 1990, South Ossetia had only 300-400 poorly armed fighters. Within six months the South Ossetian force grew to 1,500 full-time fighters plus 3,500 volunteers. Georgia's forces were in much poorer shape. The ragtag Georgian forces composed of ethnic Georgians were not as well trained and equipped as their opponents. The Georgian National Guard that fought in the war was formed in January 1991, just before the fighting started. It was supposed to be a 12,000 strong force raised by conscription, but because of financial difficulties it had to be formed from volunteers instead.
The War
The fighting in Tskhinvali first resulted in a divided town: An Ossetian-controlled western part and a Georgian-controlled eastern part. Towards the end of January, the Georgians withdrew to the hills around the city according to the Russian-mediated ceasefire. However, the economic blockade of South Ossetia was kept in place.The Georgians made three assaults on Tskhinvali, in February and March 1991 and in June, 1992. The most intense period of war was in March and April 1991. After a period of relative calm in July and August, violence resumed in mid-September, when Gamsakhurdia ordered the Georgian National Guard once again to advance into South Ossetia. However the National Guard had little interest in protracted warfare in a province with no lootable resources. Only a few detachments followed the order to attack, and they were repelled by the South Ossetian militia. During the offensive in June, the Georgian National Guard burned and destroyed up to 80% percent of dwellings in Tskhinvali. Georgia imposed a blockade on South Ossetia by disconnecting electricity and blockading the road to 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...
, while the Ossetians blockaded Georgian villages. Several atrocities occurred on both sides. The fighting left hundreds killed and wounded, with South Ossetian villages as well as Georgian houses and schools in Tskhinvali attacked and burned down. Georgian forces took up positions in the hills around Tskhinvali and besieged the city. Other fighting took place around the city in the nearby villages and along the road to North Ossetia.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n involvement. However, in March 1992, Gamsakhurdia was ousted and replaced by Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
. Soon after, Gamsakhurdia loyalists staged an armed rebellion. Furthermore, the conflict with Georgia's other, bigger, separatist region Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
, escalated into a war
War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was waged chiefly between Georgian government forces on one side and Abkhaz separatist forces supporting independence of Abkhazia from Georgia on the other side. Ethnic Georgians, who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces...
in 1992. As a result, Shevardnadze had an interest in ending the conflict in South Ossetia and signed the Russian-brokered Sochi agreement.
The ceasefire agreement left South Ossetia divided into areas controlled by Georgia and areas controlled by the unrecognised government of South Ossetia. It also created the Joint Control Commission
Joint Control Commission for Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Resolution
Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution is a peacekeeping tool, operating in South Ossetia and overseeing the joint peacekeeping forces in the region....
(including Georgia, Russia, North Ossetia and South Ossetia) and, under JCC mandate, introduced the joint peacekeeping forces (JPKF), made up of Georgian, Russian and Ossetian soldiers. A small number of OSCE monitors was also deployed in the area.
The military action of the conflict was "confused and anarchic". Neither side had disciplined armed formations, and commanders and soldiers were often acting in their own interests. Military groups were controlled by political factions and not accountable to the respective governments. This led to the violation of ceasefires, taking of hostages and bombardment of civilian targets.
According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, during the war Georgian paramilitary groups committed acts of violence against Ossetian civilians within South Ossetia that were motivated by the desire to expel Ossetians and reclaim villages for Georgia, and by sheer revenge against the Ossetian people. Between 60 and 100 villages were burned down, destroyed by Georgian forces or otherwise abandoned. Several villages were ethnically cleansed by Georgian forces. On the other side, Georgians living in Ossetian controlled territory were "easy targets": Houses occupied by Georgians were singled out, looted and burned down.
During the war, approximately 1,000 people died. It also led to the creation of large numbers of refugees: About 100,000 ethnic Ossetians fled from South Ossetia and Georgia proper, mainly into North Ossetia (part of Russia). A further 23,000 ethnic Georgians fled from South Ossetia and settled in other Georgian areas. The flow of refugees into Northern Ossetia aggravated the tense ethnic situation there and played a significant role in the Ossetian–Ingush conflict.