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225 
 
September 1990. The Georgian Supreme Soviet immediately revoked the decision 
on 21 September.
550
 
Nevertheless, the South Osetians continued to reject the policies of the 
Georgian government and on 16 October 1990, created an executive committee and 
called for the elections. The upcoming Georgian elections, however, distracted the 
Georgian leadership from dealing with the South Osetia instantly. 
The elections to the newly established South Osetian Republic’ Supreme 
Soviet held on 9 December 1990
551
 and as a counter move the Supreme Soviet of 
Georgia adopted a law abolishing the South Osetian autonomy two days later, on 
11 December. This counter-move provoked a justified negative reaction on the part 
of South Osetians. These Georgian attitudes perceived by South Osetians as a 
threat. They openly turned their face to Moscow and asked for a help to stop the 
Georgian aggression. In response, Gorbachev ordered the removal of the Georgian 
troops from South Osetia on 7 January 1991 and sent tanks to the area. In addition, 
the participation of the South Osetia to the all-Union referendum in March 1991 
and overwhelming vote for it made the relations more tense in the middle of the 
1991. 
In May 1991, surprisingly, South Osetians took a step back in and vote for 
abolishing their new Republic, restating it to an autonomous oblast, but now under 
the jurisdiction of Russian Federation. Meanwhile, during the mid-1991, the 
Georgian forces laid siege to Tskhinval for months and bombarded the city with 
artillery to force the population to flee. 
                                                 
550
 Felix Corley, “South Osetia between Gamsakhurdia and Gorbachev: 3 documents,” Central 
Asian Survey, 16(2): 271. 

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226 
 
On 28 November 1991, the South Osetian Soviet declared the area a 
republic and part of the Russian Federation. Then, on 22 December to gain 
recognition from former Union republics in the new circumstances of the 
collapsing USSR, it declared the independence of the South Osetian Republic. This 
declaration approved by the population in a referendum on 19 January 1992. An 
overwhelming 97% voted in favour of an independent South Osetia as a part of 
Russian Federation. 
In response, the new Georgian regime led by Eduard Shevardnadze initially 
seemed to adopt a more conciliatory stance vis-a-vis South Osetia. Nevertheless, 
the Osetian leadership refused to enter into negotiations until Shevardnadze pulled 
Georgian troops out of the region and lifted the blockade. 
 
At that stage, two important factors intervened the situation and changed 
the balance of power to the Osetians. The first factor was the North Osetia. North 
Osetians, by using the Russian card tried to pressure Georgians to stop the 
aggression towards the South Osetians. Especially, following the brake of 
temporary cease-fire on 13 May, all the political contact was broken off and North 
Osetia cut the pipeline supplying Georgia with Russian gas.
552
 A new cease-fire in 
early June again broke-down within a few days 
 
The other factor was the Confederation of the Mountain Peoples of the 
Caucasus. When the Georgian aggression was in its height, the representatives of 
                                                                                                                                        
551
 According to the figures of the elections’ organizers, 71% of voters took part and 64 deputies 
were elected to the planned 75 seats. See Corley, ibid. p. 271. 

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227 
 
the popular front movements in both North and South Osetia applied to join the 
Assembly of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus in March 1990 and then 
became the founding members of the Confederation. 
The Confederation officially took the South Osetian issue in its agenda at 
the 5
th
 session of its Parliament on 27 February 1992 in Grozny. The parliament 
adopted a document in which it accused Georgia by attempting to play the South 
Osetian option against the Abkhaz people. In order to protect the honour and virtue 
of the Caucasian people against this attempt, Confederation’s Presidential Council 
and the Parliament warned Georgia to stop its aggressive actions towards the South 
Osetians and intimidated to announce general mobilization to send the North 
Caucasian volunteers to Abkhazia.
553
 
Then the South Osetian issue became one of the most important problems 
of the Confederation and in each session Presidential Council and the Parliament 
took the issue in detail. During the sixth session of the Parliament that was held on 
21-22 March 1992 in Vladikavkaz, the issue of the situation in South Osetia and 
the ways of stabilizing the situation in the armed conflict zone have been specially 
submitted for examination at the session. A parliamentary committee was set up 
and instructed to hold talks with authorized representatives of the provisional 
government of the Republic of Georgia and the full representatives of the South 
Osetia on the settlement of Osetian-Georgian relations.
554
 
 
                                                                                                                                        
552
 “North Osetia imposes blockade of Georgia. Armenia badly affected,” SWB SU/1392, B/7-9, 28 
May 1992. 
553
 “Caucasian Parliament threatens Military intervention in Abkhazia,” SWB SU/1319, B/5-6, 3 
March 1992. 

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