A former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR, ROSO declared independence from Georgia in 1990, and fighting has occured as recently as 2008 in its war. This war occured due to the Georgian government responding by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to retake the region by force.

Georgia does not recognise the existence of South Ossetia as a political entity, it considers South Ossetia to be occupied by the Russian army due to the joining of forces during the Russia-Georgia war.