Soviet Union: Information on the Ossetia region with reference to religious, ethnic and separatist activities. Information on Christians and Jews in this area. Definition of the term "Digorian"
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 June 1991 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SUN8743 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Soviet Union: Information on the Ossetia region with reference to religious, ethnic and separatist activities. Information on Christians and Jews in this area. Definition of the term "Digorian", 1 June 1991, SUN8743, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abfb84.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1. North Ossetia is an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the southern part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) (Medish 1987, 37). South Ossetia is an Autonomous Region in the northern part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (GSSR) (Ibid.). There have been a large number of media reports on violence between Georgians and Ossetians in South Ossetia in 1990 and 1991, and a few reports of ethnic clashes in North Ossetia between the Ossetians and the Ingush in the spring of 1991. Please see the attached reports for further details.
2. An article from The Jerusalem Post reports on the recent situation of Jews in South Ossetia (23 April 1991). This source indicates that many Ossetians in South Ossetia are Muslim (23 April 1991). Peoples and Languages of the Caucasus states that the religion of the Ossetes is Eastern Orthodox with the exception of the Digor (see paragraph below), who are Sunni Muslim (1959, 47). Radio Free Europe notes that the 1989 census statistics on the Muslim population of the USSR excluded "nationalities such as the Ossetians and Abkhaz, only part of whom are Muslim, and also the Adzhars - Georgian Muslims - and other, smaller Muslim groups for whom no data are available" (RFE 19 January 1990, 15). There is no further information specific to religion in Ossetia currently available to the IRBDC. However, please see REFINFO for information on religion in the USSR in general.
3. The term "Digorian" cannot be found among sources currently available to the IRBDC. However, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, "Digor" is one of two main dialects of the Ossetic language spoken in the Northern Caucasus by the Ossetes or Ossetians (Britannica 1989, 625, 1031). Peoples and Languages of the Caucasus notes "Digor" or "Dygur" (collective form) as the self-designation of one of several tribes of the Ossetes (1959, 46). The singular form is "Digoron" or "Dyguron" (Ibid.). There is no further information currently available to the IRBDC on this topic.
Bibliography
Geiger, Bernard et al. 1959. Peoples and Languages of the Caucasus. Columbia University: Mouton and Co.
The Jerusalem Post. 23 April 1991. "Criminals Putting Squeeze On Jews in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
Medish, Vadim. 1987. The Soviet Union. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 1989, Vol. 8. "Yugo-Osetinskaya Autonomous Oblast."
Radio Free Europe. 19 January 1990, Vol. 2, No. 3. Report on the USSR. "Ethnic Muslims Account for Half of Soviet Population Increase."
Attachments
Agence France Presse. 15 May 1991. "State of Emergency Extended in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
Associated Press. 10 April 1991. "Georgians Say Soldiers Attack Ossetian Area..." (NEXIS)
Current Digest of the Soviet Press. 6 February 1991. "Gorbachev: Recent Georgian, S. Ossetian Laws are Invalid..." (NEXIS)
Geiger, Bernard and others. 1959. Peoples and Languages of the Caucasus. Columbia University: Mouton and Co.
The Independent. 21 April 1991. "New Crisis over Ossetia." (NEXIS)
. 14 April 1991. "Two Faces of Freedom..." (NEXIS)
The Jerusalem Post. 23 April 1991. "Criminals Putting Squeeze On Jews in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
Libération. 15 April 1991. "La Géorgie en Conflit Ouvert Avec Moscow." (NEXIS)
The Los Angeles Times. 16 April 1991."Ethnic Squabbles Pose New Threat..." (NEXIS)
The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 1989, Vol. 8. "Yugo-Osetinskaya Autonomous Oblast."
. 1989, Vol. 10. "Severo-Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic."
The New York Times. 24 March 1991. "Strife in Georgia Republic Reveals Danger in the New Soviet Separatism." (NEXIS)
. 7 March 1991. "37 Reported Killed in Soviet Ethnic Clash." (NEXIS)
Radio Free Europe. 15 February 1991. Report on the USSR. "South Ossetia: Analysis of a Permanent Crisis."
. 8 December 1989. Report on the USSR. "The South Ossetian Campaign for Unification."
Reuters. 29 April 1991. "Eight Killed in New Ethnic Conflict in Soviet Caucasus." (NEXIS)
. 27 April 1991. "Soviet Georgian Parliament Votes to Carve Up South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
. 20 April 1991. "State of Emergency Imposed After Fighting in North Ossetia." (NEXIS)
. 14 April 1991. "Soviet Georgia Elects First President, Gives Him Wide Powers." (NEXIS)
. 6 April 1991. "Four Reported Killed in Ethnic Conflict in Soviet Georgia." (NEXIS)
. 30 March 1991. "Gorbachev Asks Georgian Leader to End Violence in Ossetia." (NEXIS)
Soviet Press Digest. 12 April 1991. "Events in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
TASS. 28 May 1991. "Situation in South Ossetia is Being Returned to Normal." (NEXIS)
. 6 May 1991. "Situation Remains Tense in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
. 25 April 1991. "Tension Surges in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
. 24 April 1991. "Parliament Tries to Defuse South Ossetian Conflict." (NEXIS)
. 23 April 1991. "Situation in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
. 22 April 1991. "Ethnic Conflict in North Ossetia." (NEXIS)
. 24 December 1990. "Normalisation Process Begins in South Ossetia." (NEXIS)
U.S. Department of State. 1991. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.