“Borderization refers to the construction of physical barriers to transform a territorial ceasefire line into an international border.”
While there are various ways to implement so called borderization, this page focuses on the construction by South Ossetian and Russian forces of physical barriers along the ABL of South Ossetia. Such as fences, barbed wire, border signs and other markings in the landscape outside of the crossing points.
This is the archived 2017 page, click here for the current running year, or jump to 2020, 2019 or 2018. Note: the Chorchana – Tsnelisi territorial conflict and borderization at that location can be found in its own page.
Borderization also means upholding a border regime (and arrest and detention of so called “tresspassers”) and formalizing and limiting the passage through the “border checkpoints”. All these measures have an impact on human rights such as freedom of movement. An introduction in borderization of South Ossetia can be found by opening the green bar below.
South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
The current administrative boundary line (ABL) and de-facto "border" of South Ossetia finds its origins in the creation of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (province) within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922. The autonomy was a reward for Ossetian Bolshevik loyalty against the Georgian Mensheviks in the Soviet conquest of the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1921. When the administrative boundary was drawn in the early 1920's the area included many (ethnic) Georgian villages and lands within the region, despite protests at the time. In December 1990 the Georgian SSR abolished the regional autonomy. The following civil war of 1991-92 and Russian-Georgian war of 2008 rid the region of most Georgians. But pockets still remain, mostly in Akhalgori district and along the fringes of the ABL.
Borderization
After the devastating 2008 war Russia started to "borderize" the region. It recognized the self-declared independence of the region, and thus assisted with creating a "state border". First it set up a string of FSB "border guard" compounds close to the ABL, and from 2011 physical barriers were gradually installed. This included the construction of fences and barbed wires cutting through farmland, villages and yards of residents, separating communities from each other. Apart from the creation of a "state border", every move in this direction touches a nerve in Georgian society. Which is easily exploited as a push factor. But also not in the least by the Georgian government as well to by raising awareness to the international community.
Most recently, in the summer of 2019, this led to a major crisis around the village of Gugutiantkari. In intimidating moves, the green border signs and fences frequently inch farther into the Tbilisi controlled and administered land, sometimes just 100 meter, sometimes a kilometer. This expansion, and territorial annexation was seen most recently during the Chorchana - Tsnelisi crisis in the summer of 2019, which continues unresolved well into 2020. This spat, just like other incidents, is essentially a dispute the exact line of the ABL, while both sides use different (often Soviet) maps as reference. The South Ossetian and Russian side use the incidents to force Georgia into negotiations on formalizing the boundary (or "state border").
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Below in descending chronological order developments of the borderization of the Administrative Boundary Line of South Ossetia in 2017.
2017
19 December 2017
The South Ossetian side complained at the Ergneti IPRM meeting on 19 December 2017 about shooting on border signs from the Georgian side in the area between the villages Nikozi and Khetagurovo, without specyfying when.
17 November 2017
“The state border of South Ossetia with Georgia must be fully equipped, including in engineering terms, to ensure the safety of the population of the Republic”. The leader of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, said that at a press conference after talks in Moscow. “We will strengthen our borders in full compliance with the norms of international law”, he added. This means, borderization will continue, hampering the life on both sides of the ABL.
16 November 2017
The South Ossetian side complained at the Ergneti IPRM meeting on 16 November 2017 about shooting on border signs from Georgian side in the area of Tsitelubani village that took place in October. The EUMM was accused of negligence of such facts by Murat Dzhioev, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy of South Ossetia.
