Flash-poll: May 29, will be the 20 years anniversary of the Act of Independence of South Ossetia.
How successful, in your opinion, the Republic is building its statehood and what else should be done to strengthen it?
Alexander Skakov, Candidate of History, coordinator of the Working Group of the Caucasus and Central Asia department under the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Federation:
I think that South Ossetia has done much to strengthen its sovereignty as an independent country. And this is primarily due to the will of the Ossetian people. But the problems still exist. South Ossetia, in contrast to Abkhazia, has no outlet to the sea, and of course, all the contacts of South Ossetia with the outside world go through Russia. There is another nuance in this fact - a great influence of Russia on South Ossetia. And this influence has both the positive effects that were displayed in the events of 08.08.08, as well as the negative ones, displayed in the events connected with the presidential election. So the future of South Ossetia depends much on Russia's position to be consistent, accurate, objective, and not related to any personal predilections. In principle, South Ossetia has everything to move forward toward the formation of normal society: there are good people who are willing and able to work, literate intellectuals, beautiful nature. The question is, to make it all ok to use. In short, South Ossetia has all chances for further success.