Tskhinvali District Explained

Official Name:Tskhinvali District
Native Name:ცხინვალის მუნიციპალიტეტი
Цхинвалы район
Settlement Type:District in South Ossetia
Flag Size:120px
Pushpin Map:South Ossetia#Shida Kartli#Georgia (country)
Coordinates:42.25°N 44.1667°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Georgia
Subdivision Type1:De facto state
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Tskhinvali
Leader Title:Head of administration
Leader Name:Inal Pukhayev
Leader Title2:Votes in Parliament
Leader Name2:(of 69)
Total Type:Total
Area Total Km2:695
Population Total:18000
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:MSK
Utc Offset1:+03:00

Tskhinvali District[1] [2] (Georgian: ცხინვალის მუნიციპალიტეტი; Ossetian; Ossetic: Цхинвалы район) is a district of South Ossetia.[3] 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.

History

The area around the present-day Tskhinvali was first populated back in the Bronze Age. The unearthed settlements and archaeological artifacts from that time are unique in that they reflect influences from both Iberian (east Georgia) and Colchian (west Georgia) cultures with possible Sarmatian elements.

Tskhinvali was first chronicled by Georgian sources in 1398 as a village in Kartli (central Georgia) though a later account credits the 3rd century AD Georgian king Asphagur of Iberia 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 along with the rest of eastern Georgia in 1801. Located on a trade route which linked North Caucasus to Tbilisi and Gori, Tskhinvali gradually developed into a commercial town with a mixed Jewish, Georgian, Armenian and Ossetian population. In the 1917 it had 600 houses with 38.4% Jews, 34.4% Georgians, 17.7% Armenians and 8.8% Ossetians.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tolz. Vera. The Ussr In 1991: A Record Of Events. Newton. Melanie. 2019-07-11. Routledge. 978-1-000-30686-6. en.
  2. Book: Daily Report: Soviet Union. 1991. The Service. en.
  3. Book: Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin. 2003. U.S. Army Intelligence Center. en.