Without intellectual efforts it is impossible to find a viable solution to the dire post-August 2008 reality, which put both Georgia and Russia in an extremely difficult situation.

Although Russia has officially recognized South Ossetia’s independence, neither Tskhinvali nor Moscow has clearly outlined the goals of a new state project or set out the mechanisms for its further development.

The political, social, and cultural influence exerted by the ethnic solidarity of the Cherkessian people, located both in the Russian Federation and in the diaspora, has the potential to further destabilize the North Caucasus.