Tskhinvali ( ) or Tskhinval (, , ; , ) is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by the Russian Federation and four other UN member states), and previously the capital of the erstwhile Soviet Georgian South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
