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to Chechens. Furthermore, a committee comprised of the representatives of the 
confederate members was formed and sent to Moscow.
544
 
The Russian Parliament, however, annulled the Yeltsin’s decree and lifted 
the state of emergency. This was increased the popularity of Dudayev, and 
Confederation’s leaders accepted it as the first victory of Confederation. 
 
Nevertheless from then on, the Confederation had always been faced with 
several conflicts, some of which were between the member peoples, namely the 
Ingush-Osetian conflict. However, from its initial phase, the Assembly’s and the 
Confederation’s main rival that defined as ‘ugly force’ in the region was Georgia. 
Georgian nationalism and expansionism were the main stimuli behind the 
establishment of the organization. 
The first nationalist movements that aimed at independence in the Caucasus 
were emerged in Georgia. Giorgi Chanturia’s National Democratic Party and Zviad 
Gamsakhurdia and Irakli Tsereteli’s Society of St. Ilia the Righteous were formed 
as loose alliances as early as in 1988 and targeted the Communist regime. These 
two movements shared the common feature and rather than advocating a cultural 
program, they were outright separatists, and rejected other ethnic groups living on 
the territories of Georgian SSR: the Abkhaz and South Osetians. 
The relations between the Confederation and Georgia thus had never been 
in friendly manner. As Otyrba put it out, with the conflict that broke out in South 
Osetia in 1990 and the beginning of war in Abkhazia in August 1992, it became 
clear that ethnic conflicts were indispensable elements of Georgian policy. The 
                                                 
544
 Şenıbe, Birliğin Zaferi, 42. 

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conflict in Abkhazia would give Tiflis an opportunity to consolidate the Georgian 
nation while sparing Shevardnadze the risk of confrontation with the Abkhaz and 
Osetian armed groups.
545
. Nevertheless this policy brought disastrous results to 
Georgia and a process of consolidation among the national minorities against this 
new imperial power in the Caucasus began. 
 
Georgia’s problems with the Abkhaz and Osetians started as early as in 
1989, following the law strengthening the position of the Georgian language in the 
entire territory of Georgia was introduced. In this period, the Assembly, as 
Shanibov pointed out, from its early days faced with the ‘multifaceted evil’, i.e. 
Georgia, which was standing on the way of the rapprochement between the peoples 
of the North Caucasus. This made South Osetia and Abkhazia as the main 
playgrounds of the Confederation. 
 
1- The Georgian-South Osetian Conflict:
 546
 
Georgians regarded Osetians as relative newcomers to Georgian land and 
this made the Osetian claims worthless on the eyes of Georgians. Thus in that 
period, even the term ‘South Osetia’ has been wiped out of Georgian publications 
and replaced with Samechablo
547
, Shida Kartli (inner Kartli) or, later the Tskhinval 
                                                 
545
 Otyrba, “War in Abkhazia,” 291-292. 
546
 The best accounts of the Georgian-South Osetian conflict are Julian Birch’s articles: “Osetia: a 
Caucasian Bosnia in Microcosm,” Central Asian Survey, 14(1): 43-74; “The Georgian/South 
Osetian territorial and boundary dispute,” in John Wright et al. Eds., 1996. Transcaucasian 
Boundaries, London, and “Osetiya –land of uncertain frontiers and manipulative elites,” Central 
Asian Survey, 18(4): 501-534. In addition see, B. Çoçiev (Chochiev)-M. Dzoev, eds., 1996. Güney 
Osetya 1988-1992: Gürcü Saldırıları-Tutanaklar, İstanbul. Nart Yayıncılık. 
547
 It means, “land of the Machabelli” from the name of the Georgian feudal family, which allegedly 
ruled it. 

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region.
548
 In response, while the clashes between the Abkhaz and Georgians was on 
going in spring 1989, the nationalist leaders of South Osetia already established 
their own popular national movement Ademon Nykhas (Popular Shrine)
549
 and 
addressed an open letter to the Abkhaz in which they were supporting the 
secessionist claims. 
Then the Georgian parliament and government went on to take potentially 
discriminatory measures in September and November 1989 to make Russian and 
Georgian the official languages in South Osetia and to strengthen the position of 
the Georgian language within the would-be new republic. South Osetian authorities 
responded with a proposal giving equal status to Russian, Osetian, and Georgian in 
their oblast. Then, at the end of the month the oblast Soviet instituted Osetian as an 
official language in the region. This clearly marks the fact that September was the 
month in which the open clashes escalated. 
 
The real breaking point for the relations was the Georgian Supreme Soviet’s 
adoption of an election law banning the regional parties from running for the 
elections to the Georgian parliament in August 1990. South Osetian Supreme 
Soviet countered this move by upgrading its status unilaterally and proclaimed the 
establishment of independent South Osetian Soviet Democratic Republic on 20 
                                                 
548
 Zverev, “Ethnic Conflicts,” 43. 
549
 This movement was founded in January 1989 under the chairmanship of Alan Chochiev. The 
leadership cadre, including Zora Abayeva and Kshar Djingkaev, were intent on secession from 
Georgia, to form a republic within or as a united Osetian republic, together with the North Osetia. 

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