Patsa | |
---|---|
Native name | |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Racha Range |
• location | Ertso Pass |
• coordinates | 42°28′10″N43°46′49″E / 42.4694°N 43.7803°E |
Mouth | Gupta |
• location | Didi Gupta |
• coordinates | 42°21′21″N43°54′19″E / 42.3558°N 43.9053°E |
Length | 17 km |
Basin size | 220 km2 |
Basin features | |
River system | Great Liakhvi |
Tributaries | |
• left | Saritata |
• right | Keshelta |
Bridges | Didi Gupta Bridge |
The Patsa is a river located entirely in the partially recognized Caucasian Republic of South Ossetia, [a] forming a river valley, and being one of the Republic's defining geographic features, as well as providing water for irrigation for the Znaur District, the Republic's bread basket.
The river originates in the Racha Range near the Ertso Pass, on the border of Shida Kartli and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, and runs southwards, concurrently with the Kudar Valley. [b] The Valley is known for its large number of caves and rock structures. Settlements along the river include Kemulta, where the Keshelta merges into the Patsa, Kotano, Sokhta and Nazigini, where the Saritata River merges into the Patsa. The river then continues to Bakhuta, Siukata, Ugardanta, Shikhanturi and Fatsa before it merges into the Liakhvi River at Didi Gupta.
In 1892 a German engineer surveyed the Patsa river valley as a route for a imperial railroad, although the route was ultimately never constructed. [1]
In 1991 an earthquake caused a landslide in the Patsa River Valley which resulted in the Patsa being dammed for 10 years. [2] The degrading barrier lake eventually naturally transitioned into an alluvial barrier basin by 2001 allowing the free flow of the river again. [2]
The bridge across the Patsa at Didi Gupta is one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in South Ossetia, as it is the only connection from Java to Tskhinvali. [3] As such, during both the 1991 and 2008 wars, the Georgian army targeted the bridge, since it was the only route for the Russian army to reach Tskhinvali and the rest of Georgia from South Ossetia. [4]
Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region on the coast of the Black Sea. Sometimes considered a transcontinental country, it is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia, and is today generally regarded as part of Europe. It is bordered to the north and northeast by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan.
South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked country in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali.
Tskhinvali or Tskhinval is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia. Tskhinvali Region, known historically as Samachablo, was always part of the Georgian state as a single military and administrative entity. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Racha is a highland area in western Georgia, located in the upper Rioni river valley and hemmed in by the Greater Caucasus mountains. Under Georgia's current subdivision, Racha is included in the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region (mkhare) as the municipalities of Oni and Ambrolauri. Native inhabitants of Racha are called Rachians, an ethnographic group of Georgians.
The Georgian–Ossetian conflict is an ethno-political conflict over Georgia's former autonomous region of South Ossetia, which evolved in 1989 and developed into a war. Despite a declared ceasefire and numerous peace efforts, the conflict remained unresolved. In August 2008, military tensions and clashes between Georgia and South Ossetian separatists erupted into the Russo-Georgian War. Since then, South Ossetia has been under a de-facto Russian control.
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti is a region (mkhare) in northwestern Georgia with a population of 28,500 (2021), making it the most sparsely populated region in the country. It has a nominal area of 4,954 km2 (1,913 sq mi), of which 4,600 km2 (1,800 sq mi) is de facto controlled by Georgia. The remainder is effectively under South Ossetian control. The region has Ambrolauri as its administrative center and Parmen Margvelidze is governor of the region since June 2021. Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti includes the historical provinces of Racha, Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti.
South Ossetia, a mostly unrecognized republic in the South Caucasus, formerly the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic with its capital in Tskhinvali, held a referendum on independence on November 12, 2006.
The Georgian–Ossetian conflict of 1918–1920 were a series of uprisings, which took place in the Ossetian-inhabited areas of what is now South Ossetia, a breakaway republic in Georgia, against the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and then the Menshevik-dominated Democratic Republic of Georgia which claimed several thousand lives and left painful memories among the Georgian and Ossetian communities of the region.
The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War was fought between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militias on one side and the forces of South Ossetian separatists and Russia on the other. The war ended with a Dagomys Agreement, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rival authorities.
The 1991 Racha earthquake occurred in the province of Racha, Georgia, at 9:12 UTC on 29 April. Centered on the districts of Oni and Ambrolauri on the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains, it killed 270, left approximately 100,000 homeless and caused severe damage, including to several medieval monuments. It had a magnitude of 7.0 and was the most powerful earthquake recorded in the Caucasus.
Though tensions had existed between Georgia and Russia for years and more intensively since the Rose Revolution, the diplomatic crisis increased significantly in the spring of 2008, namely after Western powers recognized the independence of Kosovo in February and following Georgian attempts to gain a NATO Membership Action Plan at the 2008 Bucharest Summit; and while the eventual war saw a full-scale invasion of Georgia by Russia, the clashes that led up to it were concentrated in the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two separatist Georgian regions that received considerable Russian support over the years.
The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia, was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the Russian-backed separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The fighting took place in the strategically important South Caucasus region. It is regarded as the first European war of the 21st century.
The Battle of Tskhinvali was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the Russo-Georgian War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008. After the three-day fierce fighting with South Ossetian militia and Russian troops, Georgian troops finally withdrew from the city on the evening of 10 August. By 11 August, all Georgian troops had left South Ossetia and Russian forces advanced into undisputed Georgia facing no resistance.
Russia–South Ossetia relations refers to the bilateral relationship between Russia and the Republic of South Ossetia, a disputed region in the South Caucasus, located on the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
The Armed Forces of South Ossetia is the military of the partially recognised state of South Ossetia. It includes an Army and an Air Corps.
Tskhinvali District is a district of South Ossetia. The district consists of the lower part of Greater Liakhvi valley, where Tskhinvali itself is located, and of the less-populated valleys of Smaller Liakhvi and Mejuda rivers.
Russian-occupied territories in Georgia are areas of Georgia that have been occupied by Russia since the Russo-Georgian War in 2008. They consist of the regions of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia and the former South Ossetian Autonomous Region of Soviet Georgia, whose status is a matter of international dispute.
The Georgian S10 route, also known as "Gori-Tskhinvali-Gupta-Java-Roki ", is a "road of international importance" within the Georgian road network from Gori via Tskhinvali to the Russian border at the Roki Tunnel with a length of 92.5 kilometres (57.5 mi). After crossing the Russian border the road continues as A164 highway to Alagir and the R217 "Caucasus Highway". The S10 route, which intersects with the S1 highway just outside of the city of Gori, is often referred to as Transkam or Transcaucasian Highway. It is not part of European or Asian international highway routes.
The Georgia–South Ossetia separation line is a de facto boundary set up in aftermath of the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War and Russo-Georgian War, which separates the self-declared Republic of South Ossetia from the territory controlled by the Government of Georgia. South Ossetia, and those states that recognise its independence, view the line as an international border separating two sovereign states, whereas the Georgian government views it as an occupation line in accordance with the Georgian "Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia". The Constitution of Georgia does not recognize South Ossetia as having any special status within Georgia, therefore the line does not correspond to any Georgian administrative area, with the territory claimed by the Republic of South Ossetia shared out amongst several Georgian Mkhares: Shida Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti.
Presidential elections were held in the disputed territory of South Ossetia on 10 April 2022. As none of the presidential nominees obtained at least 50% of the votes, a runoff was held on 8 May 2022, between the top two candidates, Alan Gagloev and incumbent president Anatoly Bibilov.