Understand
Within Shida Kartli there is a very strong division between the northern and southern regions. The northern part of the region Java, the City of Tskhinvali, and northern parts of Kareli and Gori is claimed by the secessionist government of South Ossetia and is not under the de facto control of the Georgian central government. Within this northern part of Shida Kartli, ethnic Ossetes constitute the majority of the population and lend the region a different culture. The rest of Shida Kartli, in the south, is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Georgians and shares its culture closely with neighboring regions.
