Bega Koshty  

Folk hero, leader of the Ossetian uprising in Cheshelt gorge, South Ossetia 

In July 1830, about 30 brave Ossetians led by Bega, stubbornly resisted the attacks of thousands of troops of the Russian general Rennekampf’s punitive expedition during two days. They locked themselves up in the ancestral watchtower and did not intend to surrender, fighting for freedom and independence.  

When Rennekampf realized that the troops couldn’t reach Bega and his friends, he ordered to burn the tower down. Ossetians preferred to die and kept fighting.  

When the ceiling of the tower collapsed, 10 Ossetians including Bega Koshty came down on ropes and plunged on soldiers with their daggers. Nine of them were lifted up on bayonets but Bega continued to go forward fighting hard. Eventually he was caught. The rest of the courageous Ossetians got burnt in the tower. 

The military historian V.Potto later wrote, “Now only the charred walls of the watchtower can show travelers the place, where thirty people with Spartan stubbornness bravely fought against fifteen hundred Russian troops.” 

Additional information:  

The novel “Blood of Ancestors” by Nafi Dzhussoity (in Ossetian)