South Ossetia

The Republic of South Ossetia (Ossetian: Республикæ Хуссар Ирыстон, Respublikae Xussar Iryston; Russian: Республика Южная Осетия, Respublika Yuzhnaya Osetiya; Georgian: სამხრეთი ოსეთია, Samkhreti Osetia) is a de facto independent republic within Georgia. Although it has declared its independence, its separation from Georgia has not been recognized by any other country. Georgia itself refuses to recognise South Ossetia as a distinct entity; the government calls it by the ancient name of Samachablo or, more recently, Tskhinvali region (after the republic's capital). South Ossetia is formally part of the Georgian region of Shida Kartli.

External links

• Former Soviet war zones | The hazards of a long, hard freeze (The Economist, 19 August, 2004)
• Fighting intensifies in S Ossetia (BBC news, 19 August, 2004)
• Special South Ossetia on Caucaz.com, Weekly Online about South Caucasus
• Photos and stories from South Ossetia
• Ossetia—History, culture, politics, news (in Russian)