South Ossetia

In happier times Ossetians and Georgians intermarried and lived side by side in villages and valleys and the small provincial capital Tskhinvali. But after the break-up of the Soviet Union ethnic nationalism, long repressed by Moscow, erupted in a violent rash all over the Caucasus. South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in 1991-2. For many years the enclave was a stagnant backwater; virtually the only economic activity was the smuggling of petrol and raw alcohol and cigarettes across the unofficial border. Despite all this, many Georgians continued to live in villages around Tskhinvali.