2008 Georgia Russia Conflict Fast Facts
Facts:
The conflict centered on South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two "breakaway provinces" in Georgia. They are officially part of Georgia, but have separate, unrecognized governments.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia are supported by Russia.
Russia has peacekeeping operations in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
During the five-day conflict, 170 servicemen, 14 policemen, and 228 civilians from Georgia were killed and 1,747 wounded. Sixty-seven Russian servicemen were killed, and 283 were wounded, and 365 South Ossetian servicemen and civilians (combined) were killed, according to an official EU fact-finding report about the conflict.
Timeline:
1918-1921- Georgia is briefly an independent state after separating from the Russian Empire.
1921 - After the Red Army invasion, Georgia is declared a Soviet Socialist republic.
April 9, 1991 - Georgia declares independence.
1991 - South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia. Heavy fighting breaks out, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.
1991-1992 - Civil war breaks out in Georgia. Zviad Gamsakhurdia is deposed as president.
1992 - Abkhazia declares its independence from Georgia, leading to armed conflict.
October 1992 - Eduard Shevardnadze is elected to lead Georgia. He is re-elected in 1995 and 2000.
September 1993 - Abkhazian separatist forces defeat the Georgian military.
October 1993 - Georgia joins the Commonwealth of Independent States.
May 1994 - A ceasefire is agreed upon and signed between the Georgian government and Abkhaz separatists. Russian peacekeeping forces are deployed to the area.
October 2001 - Fighting resumes between Abkhaz troops and Georgian paramilitaries. Russia states that it believes Georgia is harboring Chechen rebels, a claim denied by Georgia.
September 2002 - Russian President Vladimir Putin sends a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.N. Security Council members, and members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe stating that Georgia must respond to accusations they are harboring Chechen militants or face military action from Russia.
October 2002 - Tensions with Russia are defused after Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgia's president, promises to work with Russia to fight Chechen rebels.
November 2003 - Shevardnadze is forced to leave office in the "Rose Revolution."
July 2005 - Under terms of a deal reached in May, Russia starts to withdraw its troops from two Soviet-era military bases.
May-June 2006 - Tensions between Georgia and Russia rise again when Georgia demands that Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia have visas.
November 12, 2006 - A referendum is voted upon in which South Ossetians overwhelmingly demand independence. In a simultaneous referendum, South Ossetia's ethnic Georgians, a minority, vote to stay a part of Georgia. The referendum is not recognized by the Georgian government.