Background of the Russo-Georgian War Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Emboldened by the success in restoring control in Adjara in early 2004, the Georgian government launched a push to retake South Ossetia. Intense fighting took place between Georgian forces and South Ossetian militia between 8 and 19 August 2004. According to researcher Sergei Markedonov, the brief war in 2004 was a turning point for Russian policy in the region: Russia, which had previously aimed only to preserve the status-quo, now felt that the security of the whole Caucasus depended on the situation in South Ossetia, and took the side of South Ossetia. Since 2006, Georgia's total
Armed Forces of South Ossetia Armed Forces of South Ossetia The Armed Forces of South Ossetia is the military of the partially recognised state of South Ossetia. The force numbers about 500 men, or 1,500, including reservists. In includes an Army and an Air Corp. The South Ossetian Army was formed in 1992, and is the primary defense force in the breakaway sovereign region of South Ossetia, largely considered to be within recognized Georgian territory. The South Ossetian military fought against the Georgian forces in the 2008 South Ossetia war. At the time of the major Georgian offensive, the bulk of the Ossetian force was