Abstract: in recent years, there has been a clear trend in the modern world to research actively ethnic identity and their origin. In a certain sense, such accents are an attempt to find support and stability in the modern historical process, which is accompanied by various factors that cause a sense of unpredictability and a sense of anxiety, such as international conflicts, environmental, epidemiological and many other threats. This research is devoted to the ethnic identity of South Ossetian society.
When analyzing the ethnic identity of Ossetians, it is necessary to take into account the complex historical path of the people, in which there was a genocide in 1920 by Georgia, frequent harassment of Ossetians and forced Georgianization during the existence of South Ossetia as an autonomy within the Georgian SSR, as well as tragic events related to the war of independence in 1989-1992, terrorist attacks against Ossetians in 2004 and the famous Georgian operation “Clean field” 08.08.08. Due to the current historical situation in the development of the Republic of South Ossetia – the state Alania, ethnic identity may have a certain specific one.
The purpose of the study is to identify the features of ethnic identity. This article presents the results of a study of the features of ethnic identity of Ossetians living in the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia – the state Alania.
This study can be the basis for predicting the development of inter-ethnic conflicts in the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia – the state Alania.
Keywords: ethnic identity, social identity, ethnonihilism, ethnic indifference, positive ethnic identity, ethno-egoism, ethno-isolationism, ethnophanaticism