South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s and is now supported by Moscow [AFP]

1801 - Russian Empire swallows up a large area of modern-day Georgia

1864 - Abkhazia annexed by Russian Empire

1918 - Georgia declares independence

1921 - Red Army invades and Georgia becomes a Soviet Socialist Republic. Abkhazia is named an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

1931 - Stalin orders Abkhazia incorporated into the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic

1989 - Around 20 Georgian pro-independence activists killed by Soviet troops in Tbilisi. Georgians and Ossetians clash over demands for greater autonomy for South Ossetia

1990 - Zviad Gamsakhurdia, a nationalist politician, takes power in Georgia

1991 - Georgian people vote overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum. Georgia leaves Soviet Union

1991 - Gamsakhurdia elected president of Georgia

1992 - Fighting breaks out in Tbilisi between government and opposition troops. Gamsakhurdia deposed and Eduard Shevardnadze takes power. Separatist troops in Abkhazia engage Georgian forces

1993 - Georgian troops driven out of Abkhazia after fierce fighting

1994 - Ceasefire signed between Tbilisi and Abkhaz separatists. Russian peacekeepers begin to patrol the disputed region

2001 - Georgia and Abkhazia sign an agreement against the use of force in their dispute, but series of skirmishes later in the year

2003 - Peaceful 'Rose Revolution' leads to Shevardnadze's ouster

2004

Jan - Mikhail Saakashvili wins presidential elections. Result not recognised by the autonomous southwestern area of Ajaria, whose leader Aslan Abashidze reacts by destroying a series of bridges connecting the area to the rest of Georgia. Saakashvili orders Abashidze to disarm his forces or face removal. Abashidze resigns

May - Tbilisi refuses to recognise parliamentary elections held by South Ossetia. Tensions rise after Georgian troops take part in anti-smuggling manoeuvres in the disputed area

Aug - Series of clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian soldiers. Abkhazia also holds elections, which are again unrecognised by Tbilisi

2005 - South Ossetia rejects a Georgian offer of autonomy within Georgia. Saakashvili tells Abkhazia that no similar offer will be considered unless Georgian refugees are allowed to resettle in their former homes

2006

Jan - Main pipeline delivering Russian gas to Georgia damaged by an explosion on the Russian side of the border. Saakashvili blames Moscow and later accepts gas from Iran

Feb - Georgian parliament votes unanimously for international peacekeepers to replace Russian forces in South Ossetia

Mar - Georgia announces compensation package for displaced people who lost their property during the South Ossetia crisis

May - Georgian and Abkhaz officials hold the first meeting of the UN-chaired joint coordinating council in Tbilisi since 2001. During the meeting, the Abkhaz side hands a new peace plan to Georgian side. Georgians submit their own Abkhaz peace plan to parliament

June - International donor conference in Brussels pledges $12.6m toward rebuilding infrastructure in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone and adjacent areas

Nov - South Ossetia holds referendum intended to reaffirm independence from Georgia. The West calls the vote illegal, but Russia says it should be respected

2007

Mar - Abkhazia holds parliamentary election, again condemned by Tbilisi as illegal. The results of the poll are inconclusive, electing only 18 members of the 35-seat parliament

2008

Apr - Abkhazian and Georgian troops come close to war

Jul - Heightened tension between Georgia and Russia, with several explosions in Abkhazia. US warns Russia against stoking tensions in breakaway regions

Aug 1 – Heavy fighting breaks out in South Ossetia, killing six people and injuring seven.

Aug 3 - Hundreds of women and children are evacuated across the border to Russia

Aug 8 - Georgian tanks launch an attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, killing at least 15 people.

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