A referendum on unification with Russia will be held in South Ossetia

The head of the Republic of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, has scheduled a referendum on unification with Russia for July 17, 2022.

The relevant decree was signed by the "president" on Friday, May 13, and entered into force immediately.

South Ossetia

In 2008, following the Russian invasion of Georgia, Russia occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia and recognized their "independence." Since then, these regions have remained occupied and completely controlled and dependent on Russia. The independence of these republics is recognized by only four UN member states, except Russia: Venezuela, Syria, Nicaragua and Nauru.

The territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have hardly been controlled by the Georgian government since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Then the first wars took place, and the regions unilaterally declared "independence" and the desire to join Russia. For centuries, Abkhazians and Ossetians had their own countries or autonomies within empires. Then, in the early 1920s, the USSR changed the borders of the Soviet republics at its own discretion, regardless of ethnic, religious and cultural factors. At the same time, Abkhazia and South Ossetia became part of Georgia.