South Ossetia: Inside Georgia but dependent on
Russia
By The Irish Times
09/08/08 "The
Irish Times' -- South Ossetia is a territory of
around 4,000sq km (1,544sq mls), situated about 100km north of
the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, on the southern slopes of the
Caucasus mountains.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s spurred a
separatist movement in South Ossetia, which had always felt more
affinity with Russia than with Georgia.
It broke away from Georgian rule in a war in 1991-92, in which
several thousand people died, and continues to maintain close
ties with the neighbouring Russian region of North Ossetia, on
the north side of the Caucasus.
The majority of the roughly 70,000 people are ethnically
distinct from Georgians, and speak their own language, related
to Farsi.
They say they were forcibly absorbed into Georgia under Soviet
rule and now want to exercise their right to self-determination.
The separatist leader is Eduard Kokoity.
In November 2006, villages inside South Ossetia still under
Georgian control elected a rival leader, former separatist
Dmitry Sanakoyev. He is endorsed by Tbilisi, but his authority
only extends to a small part of the region.
Around two-thirds of South Ossetia's annual budget revenues of
around $30 million (€19.9 milllion) come directly from Moscow.
Almost all the population hold Russian passports. They use the
Russian rouble as their currency.
A peacekeeping force with 500 members each from Russia, Georgia
and North Ossetia monitors a supposed truce. Georgia accuses the
Russian peacekeepers of siding with the separatists, which
Moscow denies.
Sporadic clashes between separatist and Georgian forces have
killed dozens of people in the last few years.
© 2008 The Irish Times
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