The Provisional Administration of South Ossetia ( ka, სამხრეთ ოსეთის დროებითი ადმინისტრაცია, ''Samxret Osetis droebiti administ’racia'') is an administrative body that
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
regards as the legal government of
South Ossetia
South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
. The administration was set up by the Georgian government as a transitional measure leading to the settlement of South Ossetia's status. As of 2007, Georgia is proposing the status of
autonomous republic
An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Man ...
within the Georgian state. The area mainly lies within the
Shida Kartli
Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , Sh ...
region. Following the
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
, the Provisional Administration has had no South Ossetian territory under its control and remains a nominal entity.
History
The Salvation Union of South Ossetia
The People of South Ossetia for Peace ( os, Цӕгат райгуырынц Хуссар Ирыстон, ka, სამხრეთ ოსეთის ხალხი მშვიდობისთვის) movement was the opposition party and p ...
was founded in October 2006 by the ethnic Ossetians who were outspoken critics and presented a serious opposition to secessionist authorities of Eduard Kokoity.
The group headed by the former defence minister and then prime minister of secessionist government
Dmitri Sanakoev organized the so-called alternative presidential election, on November 12, 2006 – parallel to those held by the secessionist authorities in Tskhinvali. High voter turnout was reported by the alternative electoral commission, which estimated over 42,000 voters from both Ossetian (Java district and Tskhinvali) and Georgian (Eredvi, Tamarasheni, etc.) communities of South Ossetia and Sanakoev reportedly received 96% of the votes. Another referendum was organised shortly after asking for the start of negotiations with Georgia on a federal arrangement for South Ossetia received 94% support. However the Salvation Union of South Ossetia turned down a request from a Georgian NGO, “Multinational Georgia”, to monitor it and the released results were very likely to be inflated.
[Georgia’s South Ossetia Conflict: Make Haste Slowly]
Europe Report N°183, 7 June 2007 (free registration needed to view full report)
“I, the President of the Republic of South Ossetia, declare before God and Nation that I will protect the interests of the South Ossetian people... I will take care of the security, well-being and revival of South Ossetia and its people,”
Dimitri Sanakoev said in his presidential oath, which he gave in the Ossetian and Georgian languages during the inauguration ceremony held on December 1, 2006.
Soon after Sanakoev formed his government, appointing
Uruzmag Karkusov as Prime Minister,
Jemal Karkusov Jemal, Djemal or Dzhemal (Georgian: ჯემალ, (Arabic: جمل) may refer to the following notable people:
;Given name
* Jemal Azmi (1868–1922), Ottoman politician
* Jemal Gokieli (1920–1991), Georgian conductor
* Jemal Gubaz (born 1968), ...
(former Interior Minister in the secessionist government) as Interior Minister and
Maia Chigoeva-Tsaboshvili
Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; la, Maia), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus.
Family
Maia is the daugh ...
(head of the Tbilisi-based non-governmental organization Iber-Ironi Georgian-Ossetian Union) as Foreign Minister.
“This is a historic day. A year ago no one could imagine that South Ossetian flags could appear here in the Georgian-populated village,” Vladimir Sanakoev, co-founder of the Salvation Union of South Ossetia, said.
There were large number of
Ossetian flags also used by the South Ossetian secessionist authorities, flown alongside the
Georgian flag in Kurta, near Tskhinvali. South Ossetian flags are usually displayed in Tskhinvali by the Separatist controlled territories of the breakaway region alongside of the Russian national flag.
Both the central Georgian government and Sanakoyev's administration considers any negotiations with Kokoity's government meaningless because of its dependence on Moscow. On the other hand, the Tskhinvali leadership and a majority of South Ossetians in the areas it controls dismiss Sanakoev as a "traitor" and perceive that Georgia wants to force a settlement on its own terms having "little respect for their aspirations and fears".
[
Initially the entity of Sanakoev was known as "the Alternative Government of South Ossetia", but during the course of 2007 the central authorities of ]Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
decided to give it official status and on April 13 the formation of "Provisional Administration of South Ossetia" was announced. On May 10, 2007 Dmitry Sanakoev was appointed head of the provisional administration in South Ossetia.[Online Magazine – Civil Georgia](_blank)
/ref>
For the first time since the fall of Soviet Union, the former Ossetian secessionist leader gave a speech in the Georgian parliament on May 11, 2007.
In his speech in Ossetian language
full text
, Sanakoev mentioned about the armed conflict which ignited the region in early 90s:
He also mentioned that:
Sanakoev also mentioned that despite of his high-level position in the South Ossetian secessionist authorities as Prime Minister he failed to build confidence between the two sides and make a breakthrough in the conflict resolution process “because it was beyond my powers.”
As for current situation, Sanakoev mentioned that Tskhinvali secessionist authorities take instruction from “foreign supervisors” who try to thwart confidence-building and provoke hostilities between the two people.
"Our Ossetian children grow up in an environment of endless conflict, under constant stress and tension… They don’t know what is going on beyond checkpoints… We are losing entire generations,” “I will not allow it! We should not allow it,” he added. “This is our current challenge; this is our current goal: to create a new Ossetia, strong and delightful, free of violence: an Ossetia of free people.”
Many European and US observers and ambassadors who were present during Sanakoev's speech, welcomed his proposition and initiatives. On June 15, 2007 European Union, European Parliament and OSCE supported Georgian initiative for conflict settlement in South Ossetia. EU issued the following statement:
"The EU welcomes the Georgian government’s invitation to the South Ossetian society as a whole – i.e. representatives of all political forces and local groups – to participate actively in discussions on progress towards peaceful conflict resolution.”
The EU mission had met with both Sanakoev and Kokoity in January, 2007. Per Eklund
Per Torsten Eklund (born 21 June 1946) is a Swedish Rally and Rallycross driver. His nickname is "Pekka". In rallying he never made it to the very top but he has been very successful in his later rallycross career.
Biography
Saab works dr ...
, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Georgia said that “None of the two alternatives do we consider legitimate n South Ossetia”
On July 13, 2007, Georgia set up a state commission, chaired by the Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli
Zurab Nogaideli ( ka, ზურაბ ნოღაიდელი) (born 22 October 1964) is a Georgian businessman and a politician who served as the Prime Minister of Georgia from February 2005 until he resigned, citing health problems, on 16 N ...
, to develop South Ossetia's autonomous status within the Georgian state. According to the Georgian officials, the status will be elaborated within the framework of "an all-inclusive dialogue" with all the forces and communities within the Ossetian society.
2008 war
On August 8, 2008, the same day as the 2008 Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
officially commenced, Georgian armed forces moved forward to take control of Tskhinvali. In the next few days, Russian troops pushed back the Georgian army out of South Ossetia and moved farther, occupying Gori in Georgia proper. Following the end of hostilities, the Federation Council of Russia
The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...
called an extraordinary session for August 25, 2008 to discuss recognition of Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
and South Ossetia. On August 25, the Federation Council unanimously voted to ask the Russian President
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
to recognise independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russian parliament voted in favour of this motion the following day. This unilateral recognition by Russia was met by condemnation from some members of the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(including France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States) and from NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
and the European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...
, due to the violation of Georgia's territorial integrity, of numerous United Nations resolutions on Abkhazia
The Security Council of the United Nations passed 32 resolutions where it recognizes Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia and supports its territorial integrity according to the principles of the international law. The UN is urging both sides t ...
and of international law.
After the war
The Provisional Administration continues its work in villages with partially Ossetian population outside the borders of South Ossetia proper. The official channel shows festivities on the Ossetian poet Kosta Khetagurov's anniversary and lessons of Ossetian language at a village school.
Dmitry Sanakoyev
Dmitry Ivanovich Sanakoyev (born 10 May 1969 in Tskhinvali, South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union) is a South Ossetian and Georgian politician, a former official in the secessionist government of South Ossetia and later, f ...
headed the administration until he was replaced by Tamaz Bestaev in November 2022.
Office holders
Head
See also
* South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (russian: Юго-Осетинская автономная область, ka, სამხრეთ ოსეთის ავტონომიური ოლქი, os, Хуссар Ирыстоны ав ...
* Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia
The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is an administration recognized by Georgia as the legal and only government of Abkhazia. Abkhazia has been ''de facto'' independent of Georgiathough with very little international recognitio ...
* Autonomous Republic of Adjara
Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...
References
External links
Provisional Administration Website
{{Administrative divisions of Georgia
South Ossetia
Government of Georgia (country)
Autonomous governments in exile