Java or Dzau (Georgian: ჯავა [dʒava] ⓘ; Ossetian: Дзау, Dzaw; Russian: Джава Dzhava) is a town of approximately 1,500 people in 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).

It is located outside the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe-defined boundaries of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone – an area within a 15-km radius of Tskhinvali.

[2][3][4] The town played a major role in the Russo-Georgian War, with most of the South Ossetian military forces being located there[5] at the time of the Georgian offensive.

These concerns were brought by the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to the attention of the UN General Assembly on September 26, 2007.

[6] After the war, Russia announced it was constructing military bases in Java and Tskhinvali, which would be ready in 2010.