South Ossetia

South Ossetia is a fanmade character for Hetalia: Axis Powers. He represents the Republic of South Ossetia, an unrecognized country in northern Georgia. His human name is Eduard Turashvili.

Appearance
Eduard has short blonde hair and blue eyes. He wears a beige long-sleeved shirt and pants and brown boots. On his right arm is a white, red, and yellow cloth, representing the flag of South Ossetia. The three spiky hairs on the top of his head represent the mostly 1,000 meters above sea level of the region. The hair curl to the left represents Mount Khalatsa, the highest point in South Ossetia, and the deep part on his hair represents the Mtkvari River. He is a little shorter than Raivis Galante (Latvia).

Personality and Interests
Eduard is an intensely patriotic person, and he never lost sight of his ultimate goal of independence unlike his friend Abkhazia (Ziv Brgash), who quietly sulked in his corner even though he won his war against Georgia (Ludmilla Shevardnadze). From before the break-up of the Soviet Union to modern times, Eduard has been constantly at war with Ludmilla, but even with support from Russia (Ivan Braginski), few nations recognize his sovereignty.

Early life
South Ossetia came into the world sometime before 200 AD. He became a Christian because of Byzantine and Georgian influence. When the Mongols came, he and his brother North Ossetia were forced to move to the Caucasus Mountains, and into the kingdom of Georgia. South Ossetia fell into Georgia's hands, while North Ossetia became part of the Russian Empire in 1767.

South Ossetia within Russia
South Ossetia, along with Georgia herself, joined the Russian Empire in 1801. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia (Ludmilla Shevardnadze) declared herself as the Georgian Democratic Republic under Menshevik influence, with Eduard as part of her territory. Immediately after this, Ludmilla accused Eduard of supporting the Bolsheviks, and he made a series of claims for an independent territory because of that. Violence broke out when Ludmilla sent Menshevik troops to Tskhinvali to quell his uprising.

After Ivan invaded Ludmilla's house in 1921, Eduard became the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast in 1922. Although he had his own language (Ossetian), he was forced to speak Russian and Georgian for administrative purposes. Under Soviet Georgia, Eduard enjoyed partial autonomy, and he was finally allowed to speak Ossetian in his schools.

Georgian-Ossetian conflict
The origins of Eduard and Ludmilla's conflict dates back to the 1920s. There was a lot of conflict between these two during those years, but they calmed down a bit when Ivan reasserted his control over them. But in the 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachev began his perestroika policy, nationalism rose within Georgia. Eduard didn't like Ludmilla becoming independent. Instead, he established a movement to usher in greater autonomy for him and finally, unification with North Ossetia, which is part of Russia. The decision to unite with North Ossetia was approved, but later, Ludmilla revoked the decision and decided to confront Eduard himself. It was only because of Ivan and his Red Army that the encounter didn't become ugly. By the beginning of 1990, Eduard had 300-400 poorly-armed soldiers, which grew to 1,500 within six months. His main source of arms was Ivan's helicopter regiment in Tskhinvali.

Georgia barred regional parties in 1990. Eduard saw this as a move against Ademon Nykhas (the South Ossetian Popular Front), and he declared himself the South Ossetian Democratic Soviet Republic and appealed to Ivan to recognize him as an independent Soviet subject. He boycotted the election of the Georgian Supreme Council, and then, when he held his own elections, Ludmilla declared it illegal, cancelled the results, and abolished Eduard's autonomy. On December 11, 1990, several bloody incidents occured around and within Tskhinvali. Georgia declared a state of emergency, and she dispatched forces into the region to disarm Eduard's forces. War broke out on January 5, 1991, and as a result, 1,000 Ossetians died while 100,000 fled to North Ossetia.

Ludmilla and Eduard agreed to a ceasefire to prevent Ivan's involvement, and not to use force against each other. A peacekeeping force made up of Ossetians, Georgians, and Russians was created, and the two were at peace until 2004. That time, serious tensions rose between them as Ludmilla tried to bring Eduard back under her rule. Clashes between the peacekeepers and independence militias were frequent. A ceasefire was made, but it was repeatedly violated.

The 2008 War
The prelude to war began on August 6, with both sides being fired upon by the other. On August 7, they agreed to a ceasefire. But on August 8, Georgia launched a massive attack. But who started the war remains hazy. A heavy artillery attack was followed by Georgian troops entering South Ossetian territory. Later on, Russian troops were deployed and began to occupy Georgian cities. Finally, an EU ceasefire ended the conflict, and Ivan and Eduard withdrew to South Ossetia. The war left Tshkinvali in ruins, hundreds of villages razed and burned, and 24,000 Ossetians and 15,000 Georgians displaced.

Russian Federation (Ivan Braginski)
Main article: Russia

Ivan supports Eduard's bid for independence, going so far as to actually siding with him in his fight against Georgia. But even with his help, few nations recognize Eduard.

Republic of Abkhazia (Ziv Brgash)
Main article: Abkhazia

Ziv supported Eduard during his 2008 war with Georgia.

Republic of Georgia (Ludmilla Shevardnadze)
Main article: Georgia

Ludmilla and Eduard have fought the longest (from 1989 to today), and to this day she considers him part of her territory. Even though she is (slightly) intimidated by Ivan, she defiantly refused to recognize Eduard.

Trivia

 * Eduard's birthday is listed as November 28, which is also the day that South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia.
 * Eduard's first name is taken from Eduard Shevardnadze, 2nd president of independent Georgia, and Eduard Kokoity, president of South Ossetia.