TSKHINVALI, South Ossetia—The first time I enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, ... The South Ossetian flag is almost never seen here without a Russian flag alongside.

That trade has fallen off since the tension on Georgia’s border with South Ossetia and now unemployment is soaring under the separatist region’s red, white and yellow flag.

The Russian flag flies next to South Ossetia's white, red, and yellow flag around Tskhinvali. Alternative Vote However, not everybody in South Ossetia thinks along the same lines.

The Russian-patrolled border that separates South Ossetia from Georgia snakes its way across sunny fields cut with trenches and through quiet woods spotted with landmines.

The Russian flag flies next to South Ossetia's white, red, and yellow flag around Tskhinvali. Alternative Vote. However, not everybody in South Ossetia thinks along the same lines. The republic is ...