2011 South Ossetian referendum

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{infobox referendum

|title=Do you agree Ossetian and Russian should be the national languages of South Ossetia?

|date=13 November 2011

|country=South Ossetia

|yes=19797

|no=3902

|invalid=38

|electorate=23737

}}{{Politics of South Ossetia}}

A referendum on making Ossetian and Russian official languages was held in South Ossetia on 13 November 2011,{{cite news|url=http://www.presidentrso.ru/edicts/detail.php?ID=3914|title=Decree to postpone a vote on the referendum in the Republic of South Ossetia|date=12 August 2011|publisher=Official website of the President of South Ossetia|language=Russian|accessdate=26 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913150350/http://presidentrso.ru/edicts/detail.php?ID=3914|archive-date=13 September 2011|url-status=dead}} alongside presidential elections. The referendum was originally scheduled for 11 September 2011,{{cite news|url=http://presidentrso.ru/edicts/detail.php?ID=3795|title=Decree on holding a referendum in the Republic of South Ossetia|date=27 June 2011|publisher=Official website of the President of South Ossetia|language=Russian|accessdate=10 July 2011|location=Tskhinvali|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007190007/http://presidentrso.ru/edicts/detail.php?ID=3795|archive-date=7 October 2011|url-status=dead}} but on 12 August the decision was made to postpone it.

Prior to the referendum the first section of the fourth article of the constitution states that Ossetian is the national language in South Ossetia, while the second section states that Russian (together with Ossetian and, in certain cases, Georgian) is the official language of government bodies, state administration and local self-government.[http://presidentrso.ru/republic/constitution.php Constitution of the Republic of South Ossetia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914222928/http://presidentrso.ru/republic/constitution.php |date=14 September 2011 }} (in Russian) on the official website of the President of South Ossetia