First South Ossetian War
| 1991–1992 South Ossetia War | |||||||||
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| Part of the Georgian–Ossetian conflict, the Georgian Civil War, Cold War, Dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Revolutions of 1989 | |||||||||
 Location of South Ossetia within Georgia |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 The National Guard of GeorgiaInternal Troops of Georgia Georgian local militias |
 South Ossetian Republican Guard South Ossetian irregulars North Ossetian Volunteers
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| Strength | |||||||||
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National Guard: unknown Militias: Between 50–200 men per militia |
Republican Guards: About 2,400 Irregulars: unknown |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Approximately 1,000 fatalities overall | |||||||||
The 1991–1992 South Ossetian War (also known as the First South Ossetian war) was fought as part of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militia on one side and the forces of South Ossetia and ethnic Ossetian militia who wanted South Ossetia to secede from Georgia and become an independent state on the other. The war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rival authorities.
Following the breakdown of the Tsarist regime in Russia, South Ossetians allied with the Russian Bolsheviks, fighting a war against the newly independent Menshevik Georgia. Initially Georgia was successful, but in 1921, the Red Army conquered the country. South Ossetia became an autonomous oblast in the Soviet republic of Georgia. During the Soviet period, relations between ethnic Ossetians and Georgians were peaceful, with a high rate of interaction and intermarriages.
In 1989, around 98,000 people lived in South Ossetia. Of these, 66.61% were Ossetian and 29.44% Georgian. Another 99,000 Ossetians lived throughout the rest of Georgia.
At the end of 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia became an independent country again under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia. While his agenda was mainly directed at Soviet policies, his actions were often also at the expense of minority groups within Georgia. At the same time, South Ossetians organised as well and expressed national aspirations: the Supreme Soviet of South Ossetia demanded a change of status to an autonomous republic, a move declared illegal by the Supreme Soviet of Georgia. On 23 November 1989, Gamsakhurdia organised a demonstration of Georgians that was to occur in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. South Ossetians prevented this by blocking the road. Violent clashes broke out resulting in several people being wounded. In the following months, the South Ossetians started arming themselves.
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