History of the Jews in South Ossetia an artillery shell in its facade. On Sundays, Baptist services are held there. According to the Soviet censuses of 1926 and 1939 there were about 2000 Jews in South Ossetia, all but a few in Tskhinvali. As late as 1926 almost a third of the town's inhabitants were Jews. Their number declined later as they moved to bigger cities of Soviet Union or emigrated to Israel or other countries. Most of the Jewish population fled South Ossetia for Israel and Georgia proper during the First Ossetian War in 1991. The remainder fled in advance of the 2008 war. Today, only
Independence Day (South Ossetia) Council of People's Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast adopted a declaration of sovereignty of the new republic. In 1992 proclaimed South Ossetia proclaimed independence. In August 2008, South Ossetia was recognized by Russia, Venezuela, Nauru, and Nicaragua, other unrecognized counties such as Artsakh, Abkhazia and Transnistria following the week long Russo-Georgian War of 2008. An annual military parade is held on Theatre Square as the main holiday event. The parade involves the ceremonial review of the troops of the Tskhinvali Garrison by the Minister of Defense, a speech by the President of South Ossetia, the playing of the