In 1920, a much larger Ossetian uprising took place, which was supported by the regional committee of the Bolshevik Russian Communist Party, which had gathered a military force in Vladikavkaz, the capital of modern-day North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. Despite assurance of respecting Georgia's territorial integrity in the Treaty of Moscow of May 7, 1920, Soviet Russia demanded Georgia call back its troops from Ossetia. On May 8, the Ossetians declared a Soviet republic in the Roki area on the Russian-Georgian border. A Bolshevik force from Vladikavkaz crossed into Georgia and helped the local rebels to defeat a Georgian force in the Java district. The rebellious areas were effectively incorporated into Soviet Russia. However, Vladimir Lenin's desire to keep peace with Georgia at that time and eventual military failures of the rebels forced the Bolsheviks to distance themselves from the Ossetian struggle. The Georgian People's Guard under Valiko Jugheli crushed the revolt with great violence, defeating the insurgents in a series of hard-fought battles. Several villages were burned down and some 3,000 to 7,000 were killed during the hostilities. About 20,000 Ossetians were forced to seek refuge in Soviet Russia.. Which occurred first, the Treaty of Moscow or the Ossetians declared a Soviet republic in the Roki area?