South Ossetia

South Ossetia (pronounced /ɒˈsɛtɪə/[1] or /ɒˈsiːʃə/[2]; Ossetic: Хуссар Ирыстон, Xussar Iryston; Russian: Южная Осетия, Yuzhnaya Osetiya; Georgian: სამხრეთი ოსეთი, Samxreti Oseti) is a disputed region in the South Caucasus, located on the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
In the Soviet era South Ossetia was the "South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast", a dominantly ethnic enclave, within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR).[3]
The Republic of South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.[4] However, the entity remained unrecognized, save by fellow break-away republics Abkhazia and Transnistria. Since the 2008 South Ossetian war, during which the republic gained full control of the territory of the former Autonomous Oblast, Russia and Nicaragua have recognized South Ossetia's independence. Georgia does not recognize the secession of the province nor its existence as an autonomous entity, and considers it to be a part of the Shida Kartli region within its sovereign territory. The United States, European Union, along with many other countries consider the territory of South Ossetia a part of Georgia and do not recognize South Ossetia as an independent state. Since 28 August 2008, Georgia has been considering the region to be a "Russian-occupied territory."

Capital: Tskhinvali