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Georgian-Ossetian conflict (1918-1920)

 

 
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Georgian-Ossetian conflict (1918-1920)
 
 
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The Georgian-Ossetian conflict (1918-1920) comprised a series of uprisings
Rebellion

Rebellion is a refusal of obedience. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors from civil disobedience and mass nonviolent resistance, to violent and organized attempts to destroy an established authority such as the government....
, which took place in the Ossetian
Ossetians

The Ossetians are an Iranian peoples ethnic group indigenous peoples to Ossetia, a region that spans the Caucasus Mountains. The Ossetians mostly populate North Ossetia-Alania in Russia, and South Ossetia a large part of which is now de facto independent....
-inhabited areas of what is now South Ossetia
South Ossetia

South Ossetia is a disputed region in the South Caucasus. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, it is governed by the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Republic of South Ossetia, which claims the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within t...
, a breakaway republic in Georgia
Georgia (country)

Georgia is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, located at the dividing line between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by the Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia to the south, and Turkey to the southwest....
, against the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was a short-lived state composed of the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the Caucasus Mountain Range....
 and then the Menshevik
Menshevik

The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party....
-dominated Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia

The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918?1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia .The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 which claimed several thousand lives and left painful memories among the Georgian
Georgians

The Georgians are a nation and ethnic group originating in the Caucasus, the oldest group of the South Caucasian peoples people mainly centered in Georgia , but also living in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Iran, and other countries....
 and Ossetian communities of the region.

During its brief tenure, the Menshevik government of Georgia came across significant problems with ethnic Ossetians who largely sympathized with the Bolsheviks and Soviet Russia
Russian SFSR

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , also called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, the Russian SFSR and the RSFSR for short, was the largest and most populous of the fifteen Republics of the Soviet Union of the Soviet Union and became the Russian Federation after the collapse of the Soviet Union....
.






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The Georgian-Ossetian conflict (1918-1920) comprised a series of uprisings
Rebellion

Rebellion is a refusal of obedience. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors from civil disobedience and mass nonviolent resistance, to violent and organized attempts to destroy an established authority such as the government....
, which took place in the Ossetian
Ossetians

The Ossetians are an Iranian peoples ethnic group indigenous peoples to Ossetia, a region that spans the Caucasus Mountains. The Ossetians mostly populate North Ossetia-Alania in Russia, and South Ossetia a large part of which is now de facto independent....
-inhabited areas of what is now South Ossetia
South Ossetia

South Ossetia is a disputed region in the South Caucasus. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, it is governed by the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Republic of South Ossetia, which claims the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within t...
, a breakaway republic in Georgia
Georgia (country)

Georgia is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, located at the dividing line between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by the Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia to the south, and Turkey to the southwest....
, against the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was a short-lived state composed of the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the Caucasus Mountain Range....
 and then the Menshevik
Menshevik

The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party....
-dominated Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia

The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918?1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia .The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 which claimed several thousand lives and left painful memories among the Georgian
Georgians

The Georgians are a nation and ethnic group originating in the Caucasus, the oldest group of the South Caucasian peoples people mainly centered in Georgia , but also living in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Iran, and other countries....
 and Ossetian communities of the region.

During its brief tenure, the Menshevik government of Georgia came across significant problems with ethnic Ossetians who largely sympathized with the Bolsheviks and Soviet Russia
Russian SFSR

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , also called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, the Russian SFSR and the RSFSR for short, was the largest and most populous of the fifteen Republics of the Soviet Union of the Soviet Union and became the Russian Federation after the collapse of the Soviet Union....
. The reasons behind the conflict were complicated. An overdue land reform and agrarian disturbances in the poor Ossetian-populated areas intermingled with an ethnic discord and the struggle for power in the Caucasus
Caucasus

The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region located between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is home to Europe's highest mountain ....
.

1917-1918

After the 1917 February Revolution that resulted in the abdication of Tsar
Tsar

Tsar or czar , occasionally spelled csar or tzar in English language, is a slavs term designating certain monarchs.Originally, the title Czar meant Emperor in the European medieval sense of the term, that is, a ruler who has the same rank as a Ancient Rome or Byzantine emperor due to recognition by another emperor or...
 Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russian Empire, Grand Prince of Finland, and claimant to the title of King of Poland. His official title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is currently regarded as Saint Nicholas the Passion Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church....
, the Ossetians set up a National Council of Ossetians which convened in Java
Java, Georgia

Java is a town in South Ossetia. According to Georgia current official administrative division, Java is a main town of Java district, Georgia in the north of Shida Kartli region....
 in June 1917 and advocated the creation of organs of self-rule in Ossetian-inhabited areas on the both sides of the Caucasus. The Council was internally divided along the ideological lines and soon became dominated by the Bolsheviks who called for the incorporation of South Ossetia into Soviet Russia.

Already in February 1918, there were numerous outbreaks of disobedience among the Ossetian peasants who refused to pay taxes to the Tiflis-based Transcaucasus government. On March 15, 1918, the Ossetian peasants rose in rebellion and managed to hold off an offensive by a Georgian People’s Guard punitive detachment commanded by an ethnic Ossetian officer, Kosta Kaziev. The fighting culminated in the town of Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a de facto independent republic, which is International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as being part of Georgia 's Shida Kartli region, except by Russia and Nicaragua, which regard it as an independent state....
 which was raided by the rebels on March 19, 1918. Tskhinvali’s Georgian population was massacred and the town was looted. The People’s Guard regained the control of Tskhinvali on March 22. The uprising was finally suppressed and harsh repressive measures established in the region, generating resentment against the Mensheviks, being now equated, in the eyes of the Ossetians, with Georgians. This also opened the way for strong pro-Bolshevik sentiments among the Ossetians.

1919

In October 1919, revolts against the Mensheviks broke out again in several areas. On October 23, rebels in the Roki area
Roki Tunnel

The Roki Tunnel or Roksky Tunnel is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka....
 proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power and began advancing toward Tskhinvali, but suffered defeat and retreated in the Soviet-controlled Terek
Terek

The Terek River is a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flowing through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises in Georgia near the juncture of the Caucasus Mountains and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, then flows north through North Ossetia and the city of Vladikavkaz....
 district.

The year 1919 also saw a series of fruitless discussions concerning the status and governance of the region. Ossetians demanded a degree of autonomy comparable with the one granted to the Abkhazia
Abkhazia

Abkhazia is a disputed region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian?Abkhaz conflict, it is governed by the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Republic of Abkhazia....
ns and Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 Georgians in Adjara
Adjara

Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia . Adjara is also spelt Ajara or Adzhara, and is also known as Ajaria/Adjaria/Adzharia, or as Achara....
. However, no final decision was made, and the Georgian government outlawed the National Council of South Ossetia, a Bolshevik-dominated body, and refused any grant of autonomy. Bolsheviks fully exploited the tensions and the Menshevik mistakes to further strengthen their influence among the Ossetians.

1920

In 1920, a much larger Ossetian uprising took place, which was supported by the regional committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (RCP (b)), which had gathered a military force in Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz

Vladikavkaz is the capital types of inhabited localities in Russia of the North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is situated in the south-east of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, situated on the Terek River....
, the capital of modern-day Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russian Federation
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
. Despite assurance of respecting Georgia’s territorial integrity in the Treaty of Moscow
Treaty of Moscow (1920)

The Treaty of Moscow , signed between Russian SFSR and the Democratic Republic of Georgia in Moscow on May 7, 1920, granted Georgia de jure recognition of independence in exchange of the promise not to grant asylum on Georgian soil to troops of powers hostile to the Soviet republic....
 of May 7 1920, Soviet Russia
Russian SFSR

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , also called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, the Russian SFSR and the RSFSR for short, was the largest and most populous of the fifteen Republics of the Soviet Union of the Soviet Union and became the Russian Federation after the collapse of the Soviet Union....
 demanded Georgia call back its troops from Ossetia. On May 8, the Ossetians declared a Soviet republic in the Roki area on the Russian-Georgian border. A Bolshevik force from Vladikavkaz crossed into Georgia and helped the local rebels to defeat a Georgian force in the Java district
Java, Georgia

Java is a town in South Ossetia. According to Georgia current official administrative division, Java is a main town of Java district, Georgia in the north of Shida Kartli region....
. The rebellious areas were effectively incorporated into Soviet Russia. However, Lenin’s desire to keep peace with Georgia at that time and eventual military failures of the rebels forced the Bolsheviks to distance themselves from the Ossetian struggle. The Georgian People’s Guard under Valiko Jugheli
Valiko Jugheli

Vladimir ?Valiko? Jugheli was a Georgia politician and military commander.He was involved in the Marxist movement in Georgia at the beginning of the 20th century....
 crashed the revolt with great violence. The insurgents were defeated in a series of hard-fought battles. Several villages were burned down and some 3,000 to 7,000 were killed during the hostilities. About 20,000 Ossetians were forced to seek refuge in Soviet Russia.

Aftermath

In February 1921, many Ossetians joined the advancing Red Army
Red Army invasion of Georgia

The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet-Georgian War was a military campaign by the Russian SFSR Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the local Georgian Social Democratic Party government and installing the Bolshevik regime in the country....
 which brought Georgia’s independence to an end. In April 1922, newly established Soviet Georgian government rewarded the Ossetian service with the establishment of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast

The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union of the Soviet Union created within the Georgian SSR on April 20 1922....
 which included not only Ossetian and mixed Georgian-Ossetian, but also purely Georgian villages and had Tskhinvali, where the Ossetians were in minority at that time, as its capital.

Assessment

Despite this bloody conflict and painful memories left by it, the relations between Georgians and Ossetians remained peaceful throughout the Soviet period
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 in contrast to Georgia’s other ethnic troublespot, Abkhazia
Abkhazia

Abkhazia is a disputed region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian?Abkhaz conflict, it is governed by the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia Republic of Abkhazia....
, where ethnic discord was much more profound and potentially inflammable.

With the rising of ethnic tensions in South Ossetia
Georgian-Ossetian conflict

The Georgian–Ossetian conflict refers to the ethno-political conflict in Georgia autonomous region of South Ossetia, which evolved in 1989 and developed into a 1991?1992 South Ossetia War....
 in the late 1980s, the 1918-20 thematic surfaced again, with conflicting narratives and interpretations of the conflict. The South Ossetians consider those events as part of their struggle for self-determination and claim that the Georgian reaction to the uprisings was genocide
Genocide

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise genocide definitions, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ....
. According to their version, 387 men, 172 women, and 110 children were killed in action or massacred; 1206 men, 1203 women, and 1732 children died during flight. The total fatalities amounted to 4812 or 5279 by another source, i.e., 6-8% of the region’s total Ossetian population. The depopulated Ossetian villages were allegedly occupied by their Georgian neighbors from the Dusheti
Dusheti

Dusheti is a town in Georgia , situated in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti mkhare, 54 km northeast of the nation?s capital of Tbilisi.Dusheti is located on both banks of the small mountainous river of Dushetis-Khevi at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus crest at an elevation of 900 m above sea level....
 and K'azbegi districts. On September 20 1990, People's Deputies' Council of South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast characterized conflict as Ossetian Genocide by the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Similar resolutions have been made by North Ossetia and some other republics of Russia’s Northern Caucasus.

Georgians deny the accusations and consider the figures exaggerated. While not denying the brutality of the fighting, they view the conflict as the first attempt by Russia to destabilize Georgia by encouraging South Ossetia to secede and explain the severity of Georgian reaction by the Ossetian pillage of Tskhinvali and the Bolsheviks’ role in the events.