Republic of South Ossetia in the context of "Occupied territories of Georgia"

Tskhinvali or Tskhinval, occasionally called Stalinir during specific contexts, is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by Russia and four other UN member states). Tskhinvali Region was also known historically as Samachablo by Georgians. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (Russian: Юго-Осетинская автономная область, romanized: Yugo-Osetinskaya avtonomnaya oblast'; Georgian: სამხრეთ ოსეთის ავტონომიური ოლქი, romanized: samkhret osetis avt'onomiuri olki; Ossetian: Хуссар Ирыстоны автономон бӕстӕ, romanized: Xussar Irystony avtonomon bæstæ) was an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union created within the Georgian SSR on April 20, 1922. It was an ethnic enclave created for the Ossetians within Georgia by Soviets as a reward for their political loyalty during the 1921 Soviet invasion of Georgia. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the South Ossetia war, its territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia, which is recognized only by five states, while Georgia and other countries consider it to be territory of Georgia.

The population of the South Ossetian AO consisted mostly of ethnic Ossetians, who made up roughly 66% of the 100,000 people living there in 1989, and Georgians, who constituted a further 29% of the population as of 1989.

Ossetia (/ɒˈsɛtiə/ o-SET-ee-ə, less common: /ɒˈsiːʃə/ o-SEE-shə; Ossetian: Ирыстон or Ир, romanized: Iryston or Ir, pronounced [iˈrəston]) is an ethnolinguistic region on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the family of Indo-European languages. Most countries recognize the Ossetian-speaking area south of the main Caucasus ridge as lying within the borders of Georgia, but it has come under the control of the de facto government of the Russian-backed Republic of South Ossetia. The northern portion of the region consists of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania within the Russian Federation.

The Georgia–South Ossetia separation line is a de facto boundary set up in aftermath of the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War and Russo-Georgian War, which separates the self-declared Republic of South Ossetia from the territory controlled by the Government of Georgia. South Ossetia, and those states that recognise its independence, view the line as an international border separating two sovereign states, whereas the Georgian government views it as an occupation line in accordance with the Georgian "Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia". The Constitution of Georgia does not recognize South Ossetia as having any special status within Georgia, therefore the line does not correspond to any Georgian administrative area, with the territory claimed by the Republic of South Ossetia shared out amongst several Georgian Mkhares: Shida Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti.