DECISION ADOPTED AT THE SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE’S DEPUTIES OF THE SOUTH OSSETIAN AUTONOMOUS OBLAST on the Appeal to the 5^th Congress of the People’s Deputies of the RSFSR

Ossetia, since its voluntary joining to Russia in 1774, has twice experienced genocide from Georgia – in 1920 and in 1989. The repeated genocide resulted in division of Ossetia after Bolshevistic revolution in October 1917 laying the ground to Stalin’s verdict against small nations, under which South Ossetians were to be annexed by and assimilated with Georgia.

Bolshevistic experiment of Ossetia’s division runs counter to the fact of Ossetia’s free-will affiliation to Russia: united Ossetia’s affiliation, which never experienced any political division into north and south. Ossetia’s affiliation to Russia is almost the only voluntary affiliation in the Caucasus. It assumes the common requirements to both, Ossetia and Russia: Ossetians, assuming the citizenship of Russia committed to observe its laws, and Russia committed itself to secure the rights of the population of Ossetia.

However, after Russia had taken over the Caucasus, the power of Russian Army was used in the interest of Georgian nobles, whose claims to the southern part of Ossetia used to take the lives of Ossetian rebels for hundred and fifty years.

At the current stage, against the background of dissolution of the Soviet Empire, Ossetia still declares that it has never entered voluntarily in any state-like formation except of Russia. The south of Ossetia still confirmed its solid decision on remaining within the Russian Federation, as the region determined its aspiration to Russia through the Referendum on the future of the USSR.

Regretfully Russia is dodging the responsibility emerged from the fact of Ossetia’s free-will affiliation to Russia. The southern part of Ossetia, whose representatives headed the Ossetian Embassy in Petersburg during the talks on joining Russia, still remains the victim of non-Bolshevik experiment, the repeated genocide from the side of Georgia over the recent 70 years. In the environment of Ossetia’s division, factual deviation of Russia from its responsibilities runs counter to the image of Russia that Ossetians have been accustomed to, and to the certain extent – the other small nations of the Caucasus too.

Today, Russia’s position to the restoration of Ossetia’s unity also demonstrates Russia’s humane and democratic aspirations, its ability to be responsible for the nations having a propensity towards Russia. The principled stand is to be taken with regard of Georgia second time demonstrating its chauvinistic-Nazi policy since 1920, and the values of civilization and the human rights should be observed.

At the same time it should be taken into account that the Russian-Georgian Agreement of 7 May 1920 consists of all conditions for transferring these relations to the treaty-based relations.

Given the fact of Ossetia’s free-will joining to Russia and the mutual obligations emerged thereof, and also on the basis of article IX of Russian-Georgian Agreement of 7 May 1920 declared valid by the Supreme Council of Georgia in 1989-1990 and now not-repealed by Russia, the session of the Council of the people’s deputies of South Ossetia decides:

1. To consider Ossetians entrance under Russia’s protectorate in 1774 as the ground for assuming Russian citizenship from the moment of adoption the relevant law.

2. To consider Ossetia’s free-will joining Russia as the ground for recognition of Russia’s sovereignty toward the southern part of Ossetia too, as under article I of the Agreement of 7 May 1920 Russia relinquished its sovereign rights only against “Georgian people and its land”, which doe not apply to Ossetia in a whole.

3. In accordance with para 1, 2, 4 of article III of the Agreement of 7 May 1920 concluded between Russia and Georgia the borders remain absolutely undetermined. Due to this fact the international community failed to recognize Georgia’s independence in 1920-1921. Since Georgia declared the Law on the USSR of 30 December 1922 unlawful and null and void, the Constitution of the USSR and the factual dissolution of the USSR based on it also make groundless the borders determined by these acts thus de jure removing the border dividing Ossetia.

Therefore, practical de jure restoration of Ossetia shall be deemed fulfilled as there is no treaty-legal base for division of its territory, and the results of referendum on the fate of the USSR also clearly confirmed inclination of southern Ossetians towards Russia.

4. To consider necessary holding negotiations between Russia, Georgia and Ossetia on the issue of restoring Ossetia’s unity according to the fact of free-will entrance of Ossetia under Russia’s statehood in 1774.

Chairman of the Session G. Khugaev

Secretary of the Session R. Valieva

24 October 1991

(Conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Documents 1989-2006 (Supplement to “Kavkazskie Sborniki”, edition #1). Collected and commented by M. A. Volkhonski, B. A. Zakharov, N. Y. Silaev. – Moscov, 2008, p. 202-203/in Russian)