Occupied territories of Georgia
Occupied territories of Georgia () are the territories occupied by Russia after the Russo-Georgian War in 2008. They consist of the regions of Abkhazia and the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast of Soviet Georgia (currently divided between several administrative divisions of independent Georgia), whose status is a matter of international dispute.
Background of the Russo-Georgian War
In 2005, Georgia accused Russia of the annexation of its internationally recognized territory. Russian officials had "de facto" control of South Ossetia's institutions, including security institutions and forces; South Ossetia's "de facto" government was largely staffed with Russians and South Ossetians with Russian passports, who had occupied equivalent government positions in Russia. Reuters reported that before the war, Russia supplied two-thirds of South Ossetia's annual budget, and that Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom was building new gas pipelines and infrastructure worth of 15 billion Russian rubles there.