South Ossetia eastern part of South Ossetia, the choice of accepting Russian citizenship or leaving. However, Eduard Kokoity, the then president of South Ossetia, later stated that South Ossetia would not forgo its independence by joining Russia: "We are not going to say no to our independence, which has been achieved at the expense of many lives; South Ossetia has no plans to join Russia." Civil Georgia has said that this statement contradicts previous ones made by Kokoity earlier that day, when he indicated that South Ossetia would join North Ossetia in the Russian Federation. The South Ossetian and Russian presidents signed
Human rights in South Ossetia Georgian Kingdom. Following this, the political climate in Ossetia deteriorated, opening the doors for Russian annexation. During 1918 a peasant uprising had broke out in the region of South Ossetia and forcefully suppressed by Menshevik peoples guard, carried out by Georgian, Jaliko Jugheli. A Russian endorsed force crossed the border and attacked the Georgian army and guard, this action perpetrated violent reactions by the Georgians provoking bloodless battles. This ensued thousands of deaths furthermore thousands of Ossetians fled to Soviet Russia. At the conclusion of this battle many villages were burnt and fertile land was desolated. Between the years of