Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval ( os, Цхинвал, Чъреба, Tskhinval, Chreba, ; rus, Цхинва́л(и), r=Tskhinvál(i), ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent
Republic 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 ...
, internationally considered part of
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 ...
,
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 ...
(except by the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
four other UN member states), and previously the capital of the erstwhile
Soviet Georgia
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц ...
n
South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (russian: Юго-Осетинская автономная область, ka, სამხრეთ ოსეთის ავტონომიური ოლქი, os, Хуссар Ирыстоны ав ...
. It is located on the
Great Liakhvi River
The Great Liakhvi ( ''Didi Liakhvi'', , ''Styr Lewakhi'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in the de facto independent region of South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (Mtk ...
approximately northwest of the Georgian capital
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
.
Name
The name of Tskhinvali is derived from the
Old Georgian
Old Georgian (ႤႬႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႭჃႪႨ, ''enay kartuli'') was a literary language of the Georgian monarchies attested from the 5th century. The language remains in use as the liturgical language of the Georgian Orthodox Church and for ...
''Krtskhinvali'' ( ka, ქრცხინვალი), from earlier ''Krtskhilvani'' ( ka, ქრცხილვანი), literally meaning "the land of
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name ''hornbeam' ...
s", which is the historical name of the city. See
ცხინვალი
Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval ( os, Цхинвал, Чъреба, Tskhinval, Chreba, ; rus, Цхинва́л(и), r=Tskhinvál(i), ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, int ...
for more.
From 1934 to 1961, the city was named Staliniri ( ka, სტალინირი, os, Сталинир), which was compilation of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's surname with Ossetian word "Ir" which means
Ossetia
Ossetia ( , ; os, Ирыстон or , or ; russian: Осетия, Osetiya; ka, ოსეთი, translit. ''Oseti'') is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. ...
. Modern
Ossetians
The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label=Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the no ...
call the city Tskhinval (leaving off the final "i", which is a
nominative case
In grammar, the nominative case (abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of Engl ...
ending in Georgian); the other Ossetian name of the city is Chreba ( os, Чъреба) which is only spread as a
colloquial
Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conver ...
word.
History
The area around the present-day Tskhinvali was first populated back in the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
. The unearthed settlements and archaeological artifacts from that time are unique in that they reflect influences from both
Iberian (east Georgia) and
Colchian
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians are generally thou ...
(west Georgia) cultures with possible
Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
elements.
![Tskhinvali](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Tskhinvali._Rudnev%2C_D_1886.jpg)
Tskhinvali was first chronicled by Georgian sources in 1398 as a village in
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role ...
(central Georgia) though a later account credits the 3rd century AD Georgian king
Aspacures II of Iberia
Aspacures II (or Varaz-Bakur I, ka, ვარაზ-ბაკურ I), of the Chosroid Dynasty, was the king of Iberia (Kartli, eastern Georgia) from c. 363 to 365. He was the second son of Mirian III of Iberia and Nana of Iberia.
His name, rec ...
with its foundation as a fortress. By the early 18th century, Tskhinvali was a small "royal town" populated chiefly by monastic serfs. Tskhinvali was annexed to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
along with the rest of eastern Georgia in 1801. Located on a
trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...
which linked
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
to Tbilisi and
Gori, Tskhinvali gradually developed into a commercial town with a mixed
Georgian Jewish,
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
,
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and
Ossetian population. In 1917, it had 600 houses with 38.4%
Georgian Jews
Georgian Jews ( ka, ქართველი ებრაელები, tr) are a community of Jews who migrated to Georgia during the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE.The Wellspring of Georgian Historiography: The Early Medieva ...
, 34.4% Georgians, 17.7% Armenians and 8.8% Ossetians.
The town saw
clashes between Georgian People's Guard and pro-
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
Ossetian peasants during the 1918–20 period, when Georgia gained
brief independence from Russia.
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
rule was established by the
invading Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in March 1921, and a year later, in 1922, Tskhinvali was made a capital of the
South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (russian: Юго-Осетинская автономная область, ka, სამხრეთ ოსეთის ავტონომიური ოლქი, os, Хуссар Ирыстоны ав ...
within the
Georgian SSR
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц ...
. Subsequently, the town became largely Ossetian due to intense urbanisation and Soviet
Korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya ( rus, коренизация, p=kərʲɪnʲɪˈzatsɨjə, , "indigenization") was an early policy of the Soviet Union for the integration of non-Russian nationalities into the governments of their specific Soviet republics. In the ...
("nativization") policy which induced an inflow of the Ossetians from the nearby rural areas into Tskhinvali. It was essentially an industrial centre, with lumber mills and manufacturing plants, and had also several cultural and educational institutions such as a venerated Pedagogical Institute (currently Tskhinvali State University) and a drama theatre. According to the last
Soviet census The following is a summary of censuses carried out in the Soviet Union:
See also
* Russian Census
*Censuses in Ukraine
Notes
References
{{USSRCensus
Demographics of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially th ...
(in 1989), Tskhinvali had a population of 42,934, and according to the census of Republic of South Ossetia in 2015, the population was 30,432 people.
During the acute phase of the
Georgian-Ossetian conflict, Tskhinvali was a scene of ethnic tensions and ensuing armed confrontation between Georgian and Ossetian forces. The 1992
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
ceasefire accord left Tskhinvali in the hands of Ossetians.
Russo-Georgian War
![Pmt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Pmt.jpg)
A considerable part of the population of South Ossetia (at least, 30,000 out of 70,000) fled into
North Ossetia–Alania
The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...
prior or immediately after the start of the 2008 war. However, many civilians were killed during the shelling and the following
Battle of Tskhinvali
The Battle of Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალის ბრძოლა; russian: link=no, Бои за Цхинвали) was a battle for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway state of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle ...
(162 civilian deaths were documented by the Russian team of investigators and 365 – by the South Ossetian authorities). The town was heavily damaged during the battle.
Andrey Illarionov
Andrey Nikolayevich Illarionov (russian: Андре́й Никола́евич Илларио́нов, born 16 September 1961) is a Russian economist and former senior policy advisor to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, from April 2000 ...
visited the town in October 2008, and reported that Jewish Quarter indeed was in ruins, though he observed that the ruins were overgrown with shrubs and trees, which indicates that the destruction took place during the
1991–1992 South Ossetia War. However,
Mark Ames
Mark Ames (born October 3, 1965) is a Brooklyn-based American journalist. He was the editor of the biweekly ''the eXile'' in Moscow, from its founding in 1997 until its closure in 2008. Ames has also written for the ''New York Press'', ''PandoDail ...
, who was covering the last war for
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
, stated that Tskhinvali's main residential district, nicknamed Shanghai because of its population density (it's where most of the city's high-rise apartment blocks are located), and the old Jewish Quarter, were completely destroyed.
Geography
Climate
Located in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
, at above sea level, Tskhinvali has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Dfb''), with an average annual precipitation of . Summers are mild and winters are cold, with
snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
falls.
Present
![Valery Gergiev in Tskhinval 21 August 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Valery_Gergiev_in_Tskhinval_21_August_2008.jpg)
Currently, Tskhinvali functions as the capital 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 ...
. Before the 2008 war it had a population of approximately 30,000. The town remained significantly impoverished in the absence of a permanent political settlement between the two sides in the past two decades.
The city contains several monuments of medieval Georgian architecture, with the Kavti Church of
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
being the oldest one dating back to the 8th–10th centuries.
On August 21, 2008, a world-known Russian conductor and director of the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
, of Ossetian origin,
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...
conducted a concert near the ruined building of
South Ossetian parliament in memory of the victims of the
war in South Ossetia.
Transport
There was a railway service before 1991 at the
Tskhinvali Railway station connecting the city with
Gori.
International relations
Twin towns and Sister cities
Tskhinvali is twinned with the following cities:
*
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
*
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
, Russia
''Сообщение пресс-службы Министерства иностранных дел Республики Южная Осетия'' (''Press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia''), South Ossetian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 12 May 2021.
/ref>
Notable people
* Mamed Aghaev, former professional wrestler representing Armenia
* David Baazov
David Baazov ( ka, დავით ბააზოვი; 1883–1947) was a Georgian-Jewish public and religious figure who spearheaded the Zionist movement in Georgia. His program was an amalgam of moderate orthodox religiosity, enlightenment ...
, founder of the Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
movement in Georgia
* Kakhi Kakhiashvili
Kakhi Kakhiashvili ( ka, კახი კახიაშვილი, el, Ακάκιος "Κάχι" Κακιασβίλης; born 13 July 1969 in Tskhinvali, Georgian SSR, USSR) is a Georgian-Greek weightlifter, one of only five weightlifters to ...
, Olympic Champion weightlifter
* Arsen Kasabiev
Arsen Kasabiev ( ka, არსენ კასაბიევი; russian: Арсен Касабиев) born 15 November 1987 in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia) is a Polish- Georgian weightlifter of Ossetian origin. At the 2004 Summer Olympics he p ...
, weightlifter
* Vadim Laliev
Vadim Laliev (born 12 December 1980) is a retired Ossetian Freestyle wrestler. He joined the Russian national wrestling team in 1999 and switched to the Armenian national wrestling team in 2006. Laliev won a bronze medal at the European Wrestlin ...
, former professional wrestler representing Armenia and Russia
See also
* 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 ...
* Samachablo
Samachablo ( ka, სამაჩაბლო) is a Georgian historical district in Shida Kartli, Georgia, which lies entirely within the disputed South Ossetia Region. The name ''Samachablo'' (literally, "of Machabeli") derives from the Georgian ...
Notes
External links
Sites
Site of Tskhinvali
information, news, video, photos, etc. – www.chinval.ru
Pictures
Casualties in South Ossetia
from Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
Tskhinvali after the war
from RIA Novosti
RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...
13 Aug 2008: Pictures of destroyed Tskhinvali after shelling of the city by Georgian troops on 8 Aug 2008
from Osinform
"Kvartals old Tskhinval (photo)"(«Кварталы старого Цхинвала (фото)»)
– OSinform.ru
References
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in South Ossetia
Cities and towns in Shida Kartli
Tiflis Governorate
De-Stalinization
1398 establishments
Populated places established in the 1390s
1398 establishments in Europe