The majority of people in South Ossetia, where the leadership has stated its ambitions to join the neighboring Russian republic of North Ossetia, already hold Russian passports and the ruble is widely used.
"A passport with symbols of an independent state is one of the most important attributes of the South Ossetian Republic," the state committee said. "Proposals to introduce national ID were made back in the 1990s, but they were unfortunately ignored by the republic's leadership at that time."
Alan Pliyev, the unrecognized republic's deputy foreign minister, said besides the practical purpose, the sense of patriotism and respect for the homeland, the internal passport sent a message to the global community, which he said was calling on the republic to form a single state with another territory.
South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, sparking a bloody conflict in the region. Russia mediated ceasefire agreements between the sides, and Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in the conflict zones ever since. But the current Georgian leadership is determined to bring the separatist region back into Tbilisi's fold.
