Tskhinvali

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Monument to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin in Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali (also spelled Cchinvali) (ge.: ცხინვალი, os.: Цхинвал), is the capital of separatist region South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia. From 1934 to 1961, the city was named Staliniri, after Joseph Stalin. Ossetians call the city Tskhinval, choosing to leave off the 'i', which is Nominative case ending in Georgian; the other Ossetian name of the city is Chreba.

It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 km (62 miles) northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The city had a population of 42,934 in 1989 (probably 30 thousand in 2000s). It is essentially an industrial center, with lumber mills and manufacturing plants.

During the 1991-1992 conflict with Georgia, the city was damaged by fighting between Ossetian separatists and Georgian government and volunteer forces. It is now generally peaceful, although significantly impoverished in the absence of a permanent political settlement between the two sides.

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