South Ossetia (South Ossetia) is a state located in Transcaucasia. It is partially recognized as independent, but many countries still do not recognize its independence. It has no borders with water banks. There are still disputes regarding the legal and international status of this country. In many ways, this state of affairs has developed due to the heterogeneous national composition of the local population. Let's talk about which peoples live in this territory and what they strive for.
Description
Russia, Nauru, Venezuela, as well as Nicaragua recognized the claims of South Ossetia on freedom as quite justified. In addition, the authorities of Abkhazia and a number of other unrecognized countries, such as the NKR and the DPR, partially agree with this. Georgian rule is of the view that it is only part of their territories. Even the constitution of this state contains statements that these lands are an autonomous region in the past, but certainly not in the present.
There are also such documents in which the entire RSO is called the Tskhinvali region. During the 1922-1990s. there was autonomy, which was part of the Georgian SSR, but then it was abolished.
Four districts were formed. South Ossetia is strongly supported by Russia in matters of a military, political and economic nature. In 2017, a referendum will be held, as a result of which the state can join the Russian Federation.
External support
The Russians spoke favorably regarding the claims of the Ossetian population on autonomy from Georgia back in 2008, obviously with the intention of annexing this territory to the Russian Federation in the future. Next year, Nauru, Venezuela and Nicaragua agreed with this point of view.
Representatives of South Ossetia located abroad are conducting their work. In 2011, its independence was recognized by the government of Tuvalu. Russian militants located their base here, on which 4 thousand people worked. Of course, the authority of the Russian Federation on the world stage cannot be denied. There are suggestions that other countries recognized South Ossetia as independent, only echoing their guardian, who helps them financially.
So, of course, there are many dark spots in this problem. It’s hard to understand where common sense is and where is the instinct of self-preservation. Lavrov was accused of visiting Fiji to bribe local authorities and win over the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Suspended state
Another unrecognized state that supported South Ossetia is the LPR, which also, in fact, is influenced by the Russian Federation and has no particular choice for expressing its own thoughts regarding this situation. In 2015, an agreement was signed on the integration of South Ossetia and the Russian Federation. The fate of the republic is similar to the situation of many other territories that remain sandwiched between several more powerful players on the world stage. For the struggle there is no strength and resources left, and surrendering to a tyrant means giving up their freedoms, culture and history. As a rule, such countries wander from hand to hand, being in a constant process of asserting their own rights. But in the end, the new owner is kind and loyal only in words. No matter how noble his slogans are, any action is carried out for personal purposes. It remains only from time to time to remind that the protection was taken voluntarily, therefore, in the same way the republic can refuse it.
Perhaps in the near future, South Ossetia will become part of the Russian Federation. I would like to believe that the Russian government, in the event of a positive decision in its favor, will not forget these promises and will treat the Ossetians as equals.
Administrative division
It is imperative that in the future the proper living conditions are provided, which the population of South Ossetia so desperately needs after all the grave upheavals. Settlements comprise four districts: Dzausky, Tskhinvali, as well as Znaursky and Leningorsky. Only the capital Tskhinval is under republican subordination. In fact, against the backdrop of the giants of the political scene of South Ossetia, in which only 2 cities, it seems a rather fragile state. It is clear that because of such small sizes it is just difficult to maintain their own rights to independence. Most people are concentrated in the center of the state. Of course, such a division is for the Georgian authorities something akin to the fantasies of Ossetians who decided to play in a free republic. In the representations of this “elder brother”, the territories have completely different names and in total make up one of the parts of Georgia. The situation is very similar to the suspended state of the LPR, which is simultaneously claimed by the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
Demographic dynamics
In 1989, many regions of the USSR, including South Ossetia, were investigated by the number of people and ethnic composition. The census showed that at that time 98.53 thousand people lived in the country. It is interesting to note that in Tskhinval, one of its two cities, 42.33 thousand people were counted. Referring to the data of the UN report, one can find out that up to the summer of 2008, 83 thousand people lived in South Ossetia.
In November 2006, the population of South Ossetia was 82, 500 people. It is worth paying attention to the fact that not all of the current territory was controlled by the state. Only 68 thousand people could be called real legal citizens of the country. The same lands where 14 thousand people lived in 2008 were subordinate to Georgia. The ethnic composition at that time was as follows: 58 thousand, or 70%, Ossetians, 22.5 thousand Georgians, which was 27%, as well as other nationalities, whose share was 2 thousand people (3%). On the official Internet resource dedicated to the presidency of that time, data were published according to which the population of South Ossetia in 2008 amounted to 72 thousand people. In particular, 30, 000 people lived in Tskhinval.
The consequences of hostilities
At the end of the last decade, the population of South Ossetia decreased significantly. The history of 2008 is full of disturbing and exciting moments that forced people to leave their homes and seek peace in other states. In 2009, calculations were also made, according to which a result of 50 thousand people was obtained, which was due to the events of August, during which there was an armed conflict aimed at fighting Georgia. Also, Abkhazia and Russia took part in the hostilities. In the summer of 2008, the situation escalated to the limit. The resistance ended was the entry of Russian troops into the battlefield to force peace.
Due to these sad events, the population of South Ossetia has declined significantly. There were many migrants and refugees. There was a threat that the number of people would fall to 26-32 thousand (of which 17 thousand were in Tskhinvali), which is negligible compared to the figures for 1989. Only 5 thousand people could remain in the metropolitan area, although the census Soviet times showed 23 thousand people. The same number is in the Dzau district, where previously there were 10 thousand people. Other regions showed the same dynamics.
Life after conflict
South Ossetia turned out to be a rather troubled territory. The number of people may not be easy to count for the reason that there are a large number of illegal immigrants. There is an outflow of people to Russia. Also influenced by factors such as labor migration. In 2011, rather vague data were presented, according to which the population of South Ossetia ranges from 30-70 thousand people. In 2012, people were surveyed in various parts of the state. In total, 51.57 thousand people were counted. Of these, 28.66 thousand people lived in the capital. In 2013, the study was repeated to establish how many people are in South Ossetia. The result was 51.55 thousand people. This year 641 new people were born, and 531 citizens passed away. It should be noted that in 2012 the situation was slightly worse: 572/582, respectively, in 2011 - 658/575.
Current situation
The population of South Ossetia was also counted between October 15-30, 2015. The results showed 51, 000 people, of whom 30, 000 were residents of Tskhinvali, as well as 7, 000 - of the district near the capital. Subject to accounting 16 thousand residential buildings. So in 2016 there is an opportunity to find out the latest data on this issue. There are preliminary results that indicate that at this stage in the country 53.56 thousand people. Of these, 35 thousand live in cities, and 18.5 thousand in villages. By sex, the situation is as follows: traditionally there are more women - 27.85 thousand, of the stronger sex 25.7 thousand.
Nationalities
Mostly indigenous people comprise the population of South Ossetia. The ethnic composition is also characterized by the presence of several other groups, such as the Russian, Armenian, Jewish population. In 2012, Ossetians in the republic were 89.1%, visitors from Georgia - 8.9%, the number of Russians reached 1%, as well as other nationalities. Until 2008, all of them lived peacefully in common settlements. When the armed conflict began, Ossetians began to leave their homes and move to Russia (34 thousand people, which accounted for 70% of this group in the country). The main refuge for them was North Ossetia-Alania.
