South Ossetia Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania Республикӕ Хуссар Ирыстон / Паддзахад Аллонстон (Ossetian) Respublikæ Xussar Iryston / Paddzaxad Allonston ცხინვალის რეგიონი (Georgian) Tskhinvalis regioni Республика Южная Осетия / Государство Алания (Russian) Respublika Yuzhnaya Osetiya / Gosudarstvo Alaniya
Flag Emblem
Anthem: National Anthem of South Ossetia National Anthem of South Ossetia – Республикӕ Хуссар Ирыстоны Паддзахадон Гимн
South Ossetia (green), Georgia, and Abkhazia (light grey).
Map of South Ossetia.
Capital	Tskhinvali 42°14′N 43°58′E / 42.233°N 43.967°E / 42.233; 43.967
Official languages	Ossetian^a Russian^a
Recognised regional languages	Georgian
Government	Semi-presidential republic

• President	Anatoliy Bibilov
• Prime Minister	Erik Pukhayev

Legislature	Parliament
Independence from Georgia

• Formed as part of USSR	20 September 1990
• Full independence	21 December 1991
• Recognized	26 August 2008 (limited)

Area
• Total	3,900 km² (1,500 sq mi)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2015 census	53,532
• Density	13.7/km² (35.5/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	US$0.1 billion
• Per capita	US$2,000
Currency	Russian ruble (RUB)
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+995 34
Ossetian and Russian languages are official languages

South Ossetia (Ossetian: Хуссар Ирыстон, Xussar Iryston; Russian: Южная Осетия, Yuzhnaya Osetiya; Georgian: სამხრეთ ოსეთი, Samkhret Oseti (unofficial)) is a de facto independent, disputed place in South Caucasus. It declared independence from Georgia in 1990.

South Ossetia was a Soviet oblast (region) with some self-rule and controlled big parts of the region. When it declared its independence in 1990, Georgia tried to take back the region by force and it led to the 1991-1992 South Ossetia War. Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia again in 2004 and in 2008. In 2008, Ossetia's fighters were backed by Russian troops and they gained full control of the region, but its separation from Georgia has only been recognized by three other countries (Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela) and Abkhazia (a similar place), and it is de jure (officially) a part of the Georgian region (mkhare) of Shida Kartli.

The rebels were supported by Russian and Cossack forces but, Georgia itself refuses to recognize rebel South Ossetia as an independent state; the government calls it by the medieval name of Samachablo or, more recently, Tskhinvali region (after the republic's capital).

Images for kids

Fragment of 1856 map by J. H. Colton depicting Caucasus region. Modern South Ossetia is located below the green "Ossia", which approximately corresponds to modern North Ossetia
Historical Russian map of the Caucasus region at the beginning of the 19th century
Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921) in 1921
Map of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast in 1922
Map of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1957–1991
South Ossetia before the war
Tskhinvali in August 2008
Map of Georgia highlighting South Ossetia (purple) and Abkhazia (green)
Topographic map of South Ossetia (Polish transcription)
Palm Sunday procession in Tskhinvali
The Dzuarikau–Tskhinvali pipeline, delivering natural gas from Russia to South Ossetia, went online in 2009.

South Ossetia facts for kids

Related pages

Images for kids

See also