Key dates of the conflict in Georgia

Troubled Neighbors

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Key dates of the conflict in Georgia
August 11, 2008 9:48 p.m.

1991: The Soviet Union dissolves, and Georgia wins independence. Violence breaks out as South Ossetia attempts to secede from Georgia.

July 1992: Russian President Boris Yetslin mediates a cease-fire. He deploys a Russian peacekeepers force to South Ossetia.

1994: A Russian-enforced cease-fire brings an end to conflict. Russian troops are permanently stationed.

August 1995: Then-Georgian President Shevardnadze narrowly escapes two assassination attempts allegedly planned by the Russians.

Getty Images

Georgian soldiers escape their burning vehicle.

September 2006: Georgian-Russian relations deteriorate further. Both nations engage in shows of military and diplomatic force.

March 2008: South Ossetia asks the world to recognize its independence from Georgia. Russia's parliament urges Kremlin to recognize independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Thursday: Georgian troops enter South Ossetia overnight as tensions rise sharply.

Friday: Russia sends troops and tanks into Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia. Fierce fighting ensues in Tskhinvali. A three-hour ceasefire is agreed to allow civilians to flee South Ossetia's shell-ravaged capital.

Saturday: Russian jets bomb targets around Gori. U.N. Security Council meets. President Bush calls the strikes, "a dangerous escalation." Several nations call for a ceasefire. Russia holds veto power over any resolution.

Reuters

Georgian soldiers run near a blazing building after a Russian bombardment in Gori Saturday.

Sunday: Georgia says its troops are withdrawing. Georgia's President drives across the country a town just south of Abkhazia to reassure the population. Russia's aerial bombing campaign continues in Georgia. Violence erupts in Abkhazia.

Monday: Georgia's President signs a cease-fire agreement. Russian troops occupy towns outside Georgia's disputed territories. Georgian officials say Russian infantry has taken Gori. Russian troops move out of Abkhazia, seize Georgia's military base, Senaki.