Outbreak of the South Ossetia War

Date: January 5, 1991 • Location: Surami, Georgia

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1991–1992.

Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region on the east coast of the Black Sea. It is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia and is generally regarded as part of Europe. It is bordered to the north and northeast by Russia; to the west by the Black Sea, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. It has a population of 3.9 million, of which over a third live in Tbilisi, the capital and largest city. Georgians, who are native to the region and constitute the majority of the population, are ethno-linguistically distinct from their neighboring nations and primarily speak Georgian, a Kartvelian language that has no relation to any other language family in the world.