South Ossetia as the legally undefined "Tskhinvali Region" in Georgia and in international organisations when neutrality is deemed necessary. South Ossetia declared independence from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991. The Georgian government responded by abolishing South Ossetia's autonomy and trying to re-establish its control over the region by force. The crisis escalation led to the 1991–92 South Ossetia War. Georgian fighting against those controlling South Ossetia occurred on two other occasions, in 2004 and 2008. The latter conflict led to the Russo–Georgian War, during which Ossetian and Russian forces gained full "de facto" control of the territory of the former
Russia–South Ossetia relations would proceed as planned. In an August 2009 interview to RIA Novosti, Eduard Kokoity stated that he does not believe there is a need for an increase Russian military presence in South Ossetia, and that the Russian Border Guards have eased tensions in Georgian populated areas of the Republic. The "alliance and integration" treaty signed between Russia and South Ossetia in March 2015 formally incorporated the South Ossetian military into the Russian Armed Forces. Due to its small population and lack of natural resources, the economy of South Ossetia is entirely dependent on Russian finance and assistance, and it was