Some Ossetian people wanted to call the country Alania again . In the last years of the Soviet Union , as nationalist movements swept throughout the Caucasus , many intellectuals in the North Ossetian ASSR called for the revival of the name of Alania , a medieval kingdom of the Alans , ancestors of the modern-day Ossetians . The term of `` Alania '' quickly became popular in Ossetian daily life through the names of various enterprises , a TV channel , political and civic organizations , publishing house , soccer team , etc. .