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
Abkhazia–Russia relations Abkhazia–Russia relations Abkhazia–Russia relations () is the bilateral relationship between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation. Russia recognised Abkhazia on 26 August 2008, following the August 2008 South Ossetia war. Abkhazia and Russia established diplomatic relations on 9 September 2008. On 21 August 2008, the same day as a similar event in South Ossetia, a rally was held in Sukhum at which an estimated 47,00050,000 people appealed to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the Russian Federal Assembly for official recognition of their independence as a sovereign state. On 25 August 2008 President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh made a