Ossetes - Sociopolitical Organization

North and South Ossetia conformed to the sociopolitical structures of the RSFSR and the Georgian SSR. Private or any other nonofficial initiatives in social or political organizations were not tolerated until recently.

Social Control. In the extended-family household social control was based on respect for the elderly and for tradition. The exactly defined roles that the family members were assigned did not allow for many mistakes. In the Soviet era laws came to have more weight than family guidance.

Conflict. The Ossetes are one of the numerous peoples of the former USSR longing for greater freedom. Like most other Caucasian peoples and tribes, they demand more independence in the spheres of politics, economics, and culture; the similar wishes of other ethnic groups, however, have led to an ongoing conflict of interests, in which the Ossetes are deeply involved.