The Localized Geopolitics of Displacement and Return in Eastern Prigorodnyy Rayon, North Ossetia

Abstract

Three noted political geographers examine the geopolitical entanglements of the republic of North Ossetia in Russia's North Caucasus, where the country's first violent post-Soviet conflict occurred. The dynamic history of administrative border changes in the region is reviewed against the backdrop of population movements (most dramatically Stalin's 1944 deportation of the Ingush people) and shifting federal-local alliances. The primary focus is on the unresolved territorial dispute in Prigorodnyy Rayon, affected strongly by population displacement from Georgia in the early 1990s. After reviewing the causes of this dispute, which flared into open warfare in late October 1992, the paper examines two of its outcomes: the localized geopolitics of displacement and return on the ground in Prigorodnyy, and the impact of North Ossetia's geopolitical entanglements in general on ethnic attitudes. Results of a public opinion survey (N = 2000) in the North Caucasus conducted by the authors revealed high levels of ethnic pride among Ossetians and a generally positive attitude toward relations with other nationalities. Duly noted is the August 2008 confrontation involving Russia and Georgia over neighboring South Ossetia, which generated a new flow of refugees. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H10, I31, O18, P30. 5 figures, 1 table, 43 references.