Abkhazia officially the Republic of Abkhazia,
is a partially recognized separatist state in the South Caucasus, recognised by
most countries as part of Georgia, which views the region as an autonomous
republic. It lies on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater
Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres
(3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital is Sukhumi.
The status of Abkhazia is a central issue of
the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict and Georgia–Russia relations. The polity is
recognised as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, and
Vanuatu. While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian government and
most United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally part of Georgia,
with Georgia maintaining an official government-in-exile.
The region had autonomy within Soviet Georgia
at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s.
Simmering ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz—the region's titular ethnicity—and
Georgians—the largest single ethnic group at that time—culminated in the
1992–1993 War in Abkhazia, which resulted in Georgia's loss of control over
most of Abkhazia and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia.
Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of
negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a
United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on
several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought a war
against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by
Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of
the UN mission. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia
a Russian-occupied territory, a position reflected by most United Nations
member states.
Contents
1 Name
2 History
2.1 Early
history
2.2 Within
the Roman/Byzantine Empire
2.3 Within
the Georgian sphere
2.4 Ottoman
domination
2.5 Within
the Russian Empire
2.6 Within
the Soviet Union
2.7 Post-Soviet
Georgia
2.8 War
in Abkhazia
2.9 Ethnic
cleansing of Georgians
2.10 Post-war
2.10.1 Political
unrest in 2014
3 Status
3.1 Law
on occupied territories of Georgia
3.2 Status-neutral
passports
3.3 Russian
involvement
3.4 International
involvement
3.5 Recognition
4 Geography
and climate
5 Politics
and government
5.1 Autonomous
Republic of Abkhazia
5.2 Administrative
divisions
6 Military
7 Economy
8 Demographics
8.1 Ethnicity
8.2 Diaspora
8.3 Religion
8.4 Language
8.5 Nationality
issues
8.5.1 Adoption
of Russian nationality
8.5.2 Issue
of ethnic Georgians
9 Culture
10 Education
11 Sports
12 See
also
13 Notes
14 References
15 Sources
16 External
links
Name
The Abkhazians call their homeland Аԥсны
(Apsny, Aṗsny), popularly etymologised
as "a land/country of the soul", yet literally meaning "a
country of mortals (mortal beings)". It possibly first appeared in the
seventh century in an Armenian text as Psin(oun), perhaps referring to the
ancient Apsilians. The term "Apkhazeti" first appeared in the
Georgian annals, which is of Mingrelian origin "Apkha" meaning back
or shoulder better source needed], gave rise to the name Abkhazia. It was used
to denote Abasgia proper and entire Western Georgia within the Kingdom of
Georgia. In early Muslim sources, the term "Abkhazia" was generally
used in the meaning of Georgia.The Russian Абхазия
(Abkhaziya) is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი
(Apkhazeti). Abkhazia's name in most languages are derived directly from the
Russian.
The state is formally designated as the
"Republic of Abkhazia" or "Apsny".
Traditional English and Latin spelling is
Abhasia.
History
Main article: History of Abkhazia
Early history
Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the
territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis.
Around the 6th century BC, the Greeks established trade colonies along the
Black Sea coast of present-day Abkhazia, in particular at Pitiunt and
Dioscurias.
Classical authors described various peoples
living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke. rrian,
Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi and Moschoi peoples
somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. This region
was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Lazica.
Within the Roman/Byzantine Empire
The Roman Empire conquered Lazica in the 1st
century AD; however, the Romans exercise little control over the hinterland of
Abkhazia. According to Arrian, the Abasgoi and Apsilae peoples were nominal
Roman subjects, and there was a small Roman outpost in Dioscurias. After the
4th century Lazica regained a measure of independence, but remained within the
Byzantine Empire's sphere of influence. Anacopia was the principality's
capital. The country was mostly Christian, with the archbishop's seat in
Pityus. Although the exact time when the population of the region of Abkhazia
was converted to Christianity has not been determined,[citation needed] it is
known that Stratophilus, the Metropolitan of Pityus, participated in the First
Council of Nicaea in 325. According to an Eastern tradition Simon the Zealot
died in Abkhazia having come there on a missionary trip and was buried in
Nicopsis.
Around the middle of the 6th century AD, the
Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over
Abkhazia for 20 years, a conflict known as the Lazic War. In 550, during the
Lazic War, the Abasgians (Abasgoi) revolted against the Eastern Roman
(Byzantine) Empire and called upon Sasanian assistance. General Bessas,
however, suppressed the Abasgian revolt.
An Arab incursion into Abasgia, led by Marwan
II, was repelled by Prince Leon I jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in
736. Leon I then married Mirian's daughter and a successor, Leon II exploited
this dynastic union to acquire Lazica in the 770s. Presumably considered as a
successor state of Lazica (Egrisi in Georgian sources), this new polity
continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some contemporary Georgian and
Armenian chronicles (e.g. The Vitae of the Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli and
The History of Armenia by Hovannes Draskhanakertsi).
Within the Georgian sphere
The successful defence against the Arab
Caliphate, and new territorial gains in the east, gave the Abasgian princes
enough power to claim more autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. Towards circa
778, Prince Leon II, with the help of the Khazars declared independence from
the Byzantine Empire and transferred his residence to Kutaisi. During this
period the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy and
culture.
The Kingdom of Abkhazia was united through
dynastic succession with the newly formed Kingdom of Georgia in 1008 when
Bagrat II of Abkhazia became Bagrat III of Georgia.
The western Georgian kingdom of Abkhazia
flourished between 850 and 950, which ended by unification of Abkhazia and
eastern Georgian states under a single Georgian monarchy ruled by King Bagrat
III at the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th
century.[citation needed]
In the 12th century, king David the Builder
appointed Otagho as an Eristavi of Abkhazia, who later became the founder of
House of Shervashidze (also known as Chachba).[citation needed]
In the 1240s, Mongols divided Georgia into
eight military-administrative sectors (dumans), the territory of contemporary
Abkhazia formed part of the duman administered by Tsotne Dadiani.[citation
needed]
Ottoman domination
In the 16th century, after the break-up of the
Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, Principality of
Abkhazia (nominally a vassal of the Kingdom of Imereti) emerged, ruled by the
Shervashidze dynasty. Since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort
of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire and Islam.
Under Ottoman rule, the majority of the Abkhaz elite converted to Islam. The
principality retained a degree of autonomy.[citation needed]
Abkhazia sought protection from the Russian
Empire in 1801, but was declared "an autonomous principality" by the
Russians in 1810. Russia then annexed Abkhazia in 1864, and Abkhaz resistance
was quashed as the Russians deported Muslim Abkhaz to Ottoman territories.
Within the Russian Empire
The borders of the Sukhumi District of the
Kutaisi Governorate in 1899 when Abkhazia was part of the Russian Empire.
In the beginning of the 19th century, while the
Russians and Ottomans were vying for control of the region, the rulers of
Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide. The first attempt
to enter into relations with Russia was made by Keilash Bey in 1803, shortly
after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire
(1801). However, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed for a short time after
his assassination by his son Aslan-Bey on 2 May 1808. On 2 July 1810, the
Russian Marines stormed Sukhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival
brother, Sefer-Bey (1810–1821), who had converted to Christianity and assumed
the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian Empire as an autonomous
principality, in 1810. However, George's rule was limited and many mountain
regions were as independent as before. The next Russo-Turkish war strongly
enhanced the Russian positions, leading to a further split in the Abkhaz elite,
mainly along religious divisions. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), Russian
forces had to evacuate Abkhazia and Prince Michael (1822–1864) seemingly
switched to the Ottomans.
Later on, the Russian presence strengthened and
the highlanders of Western Caucasia were finally subjugated by Russia in 1864.
The autonomy of Abkhazia, which had functioned as a pro-Russian "buffer
zone" in this troublesome region, was no longer needed by the Tsarist
government and the rule of the Shervashidze came to an end; in November 1864,
Prince Michael was forced to renounce his rights and resettle in Voronezh.
Later that same year, Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a
special military province of Sukhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883, into
an okrug as part of the Kutais Governorate. Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians,
said to have constituted as much as 40% of the Abkhazian population, emigrated
to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878 with other Muslim population of
Caucasus, a process known as Muhajirism.[citation needed]
Abkhaz and Georgian generals in the Imperial
Russian Army, 19th century
Large areas of the region were left uninhabited
and many Armenians, Georgians, Russians and others subsequently migrated to
Abkhazia, resettling much of the vacated territory. Some Georgian historians
assert that Georgian tribes (Svans and Mingrelians) had populated Abkhazia
since the time of the Colchis kingdom.
By official decision of the Russian authorities
the residents of Abkhazia and Samurzakano had to study and pray in Russian.
After the mass deportation of 1878, Abkhazians were left in the minority,
officially branded "guilty people", and had no leader capable of
mounting serious opposition to Russification.
British mountaineer Douglas Freshfield (who led
an expedition to the Caucasus and was the first to climb Kazbek) described the
denuded territories of Abkhazia in a moving chapter 'The Solitude of Abkhazia'
in The Exploration of the Caucasus published in 1892.[citation needed]
On 17 March 1898 the synodal department of the
Russian Orthodox Church of Georgia-Imereti, by order 2771, again prohibited
teaching and the conduct of religious services in church schools and churches
of the Sukhumi district in Georgian. Mass protests by the Georgian population
of Abkhazia and Samurzakano followed, news of which reached the Russian
emperor. On 3 September 1898 the Holy Synod issued order 4880 which decreed that
those parishes where the congregation was Mingrelians i.e. Georgians, conduct
both church services and church education in Georgian, while Abkhazian parishes
use old Slavic. In the Sukhumi district, this order was carried out in only
three of 42 parishes. Tedo Sakhokia demanded the Russian authorities introduce
Abkhazian and Georgian languages in church services and education. The official
response was a criminal case brought against Tedo Sakhokia and leaders of his
"Georgian Party" active in Abkhazia.
Within the Soviet Union
Main articles: Socialist Soviet Republic of
Abkhazia and Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
Map of the Soviet Caucasus (1957–91) showing
the Abkhaz ASSR within the Georgian SSR.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the
creation of an independent Georgia which included Abkhazia, in 1918.[4]
Abkhazia remained part of Georgia after a peasant revolt supported by
Bolsheviks and a Turkish expedition were defeated in 1918 and the 1921 Georgian
constitution granted Abkhazia autonomy.[citation needed]
In 1921, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia
and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a Socialist Soviet
Republic (SSR Abkhazia) with the ambiguous status of a treaty republic
associated with the Georgian SSR. In 1931, Joseph Stalin made it an autonomous
republic (Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or in short Abkhaz ASSR)
within the Georgian SSR. Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to
strong direct rule from central Soviet authorities. Under the rule of Stalin
and Beria Abkhaz schools were closed, requiring Abkhaz children to study in the
Georgian language. The publishing of materials in Abkhazian dwindled and was
eventually stopped altogether; Abkhazian schools were closed in 1945/46. In the
terror of 1937–38, the ruling elite was purged of Abkhaz and by 1952 over 80%
of the 228 top party and government officials and enterprise managers were
ethnic Georgians; there remained 34 Abkhaz, 7 Russians and 3 Armenians in these
positions.Georgian Communist Party leader Candide Charkviani supported the Georgianization
of Abkhazia.
The policy of repression was eased after
Stalin's death and Beria's execution, and the Abkhaz were given a greater role
in the governance of the republic. As in most of the smaller autonomous
republics, the Soviet government encouraged the development of culture and particularly
of literature. The Abkhazian ASSR was the only autonomous republic in the USSR
in which the language of the titular nation (in that case Abkhazian) was
confirmed in its constitution as one of its official languages.
Post-Soviet Georgia
Main article: Georgian–Abkhaz conflict
As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at
the end of the 1980s, ethnic tensions grew between the Abkhaz and Georgians
over Georgia's moves towards independence. Many Abkhaz opposed this, fearing
that an independent Georgia would lead to the elimination of their autonomy,
and argued instead for the establishment of Abkhazia as a separate Soviet
republic in its own right. With the onset of perestroika, the agenda of Abkhaz
nationalists became more radical and exclusive. In 1988 they began to ask for
the reinstatement of Abkhazia's former status of Union republic, as the
submission of Abkhazia to another Union republic was not considered to give
enough guarantees of their development. They justified their request by
referring to the Leninist tradition of the right of nations to
self-determination, which, they asserted, was violated when Abkhazia's sovereignty
was curtailed in 1931. In June 1988, a manifesto defending Abkhaz
distinctiveness (known as the Abkhaz Letter) was sent to Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev.[citation needed]
The Georgian–Abkhaz dispute turned violent on
16 July 1989 in Sukhumi. Sixteen Georgians are said to have been killed and
another 137 injured when they tried to enroll in a Georgian university instead
of an Abkhaz one. After several days of violence, Soviet troops restored order
in the city and blamed rival nationalist paramilitaries for provoking
confrontations.[citation needed]
In March 1990, Georgia declared sovereignty,
unilaterally nullifying treaties concluded by the Soviet government since 1921
and thereby moving closer to independence. The Republic of Georgia boycotted
the 17 March 1991 all-Union referendum on the renewal of the Soviet Union
called by Gorbachev; however, 52.3% of Abkhazia's population (almost all of the
ethnic non-Georgian population) took part in the referendum and voted by an
overwhelming majority (98.6%) to preserve the Union. Most ethnic non-Georgians
in Abkhazia later boycotted a 31 March referendum on Georgia's independence,
which was supported by a huge majority of Georgia's population. Within weeks, Georgia
declared independence on 9 April 1991, under former Soviet dissident Zviad
Gamsakhurdia. Under Gamsakhurdia, the situation was relatively calm in Abkhazia
and a power-sharing agreement was soon reached between the Abkhaz and Georgian
factions, granting to the Abkhaz a certain over-representation in the local
legislature.
Gamsakhurdia's rule was soon challenged by
armed opposition groups, under the command of Tengiz Kitovani, that forced him
to flee the country in a military coup in January 1992. Former Soviet foreign
minister and architect of the disintegration of the USSR Eduard Shevardnadze
became the country's head of state, inheriting a government dominated by
hard-line Georgian nationalists.[citation needed]
On 21 February 1992, Georgia's ruling military
council announced that it was abolishing the Soviet-era constitution and
restoring the 1921 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Many
Abkhaz interpreted this as an abolition of their autonomous status, although
the 1921 constitution contained a provision for the region's autonomy. On 23
July 1992, the Abkhaz faction in the republic's Supreme Council declared
effective independence from Georgia, although the session was boycotted by
ethnic Georgian deputies and the gesture went unrecognised by any other
country. The Abkhaz leadership launched a campaign of ousting Georgian
officials from their offices, a process which was accompanied by violence. In
the meantime, the Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba intensified his ties with
hard-line Russian politicians and military elite and declared he was ready for
a war with Georgia.
War in Abkhazia
Main article: War in Abkhazia (1992–93)
Georgian Civil War and the War in Abkhazia in
August–October 1993
In August 1992, the Georgian government accused
Gamsakhurdia's supporters of kidnapping Georgia's Interior Minister and holding
him captive in Abkhazia. The Georgian government dispatched 3,000 soldiers to
the region, ostensibly to restore order. The Abkhaz were relatively unarmed at
the time and the Georgian troops were able to march into Sukhumi with relatively
little resistance and subsequently engaged in ethnically based pillage, looting,
assault, and murder. The Abkhaz units were forced to retreat to Gudauta and
Tkvarcheli.[citation needed]
The Abkhaz military defeat was met with a
hostile response by the self-styled Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the
Caucasus, an umbrella group uniting a number of movements in the North
Caucasus, including elements of Circassians, Abazins, Chechens, Cossacks,
Ossetians and hundreds of volunteer paramilitaries and mercenaries from Russia,
including the then-little-known Shamil Basayev, later a leader of the
anti-Moscow Chechen secessionists. They sided with the Abkhaz separatists to
fight against the Georgian government. In the case of Basayev, it has been
suggested that when he and the members of his battalion came to Abkhazia, they
received training by the Russian Army (though others dispute this), presenting
another possible motive.In September, the Abkhaz and Russian paramilitaries
mounted a major offensive against Gagra after breaking a cease-fire, which
drove the Georgian forces out of large swathes of the republic. Shevardnadze's
government accused Russia of giving covert military support to the rebels with
the aim of "detaching from Georgia its native territory and the
Georgia-Russian frontier land". 1992 ended with the rebels in control of
much of Abkhazia northwest of Sukhumi.[citation needed]
The conflict was in stalemate until July 1993,
when Abkhaz separatist militias launched an abortive attack on Georgian-held
Sukhumi. They surrounded and heavily shelled the capital, where Shevardnadze
was trapped. The warring sides agreed to a Russian-brokered truce in Sochi at
the end of July. But the ceasefire broke down again on 16 September 1993.
Abkhaz forces, with armed support from outside Abkhazia, launched attacks on
Sukhumi and Ochamchira. Notwithstanding UN Security Council's call for the immediate
cessation of hostilities and its condemnation of the violation of the ceasefire
by the Abkhaz side, fighting continued. After ten days of heavy fighting,
Sukhumi was taken by Abkhazian forces on 27 September 1993. Shevardnadze
narrowly escaped death, after vowing to stay in the city no matter what. He
changed his mind, however, and decided to flee when separatist snipers fired on
the hotel where he was staying. Abkhaz, North Caucasian militants, and their
allies committed numerous atrocities against the city's remaining ethnic
Georgians, in what has been dubbed the Sukhumi Massacre. The mass killings and
destruction continued for two weeks, leaving thousands dead and
missing.[citation needed]
The Abkhaz forces quickly overran the rest of
Abkhazia as the Georgian government faced a second threat; an uprising by the
supporters of the deposed Zviad Gamsakhurdia in the region of Mingrelia
(Samegrelo). Only a small region of eastern Abkhazia, the upper Kodori gorge,
remained under Georgian control (until 2008).[citation needed]
During the war, gross human rights violations
were reported on both sides (see Human Rights Watch report). Georgian troops
have been accused of having committed looting and murders "for the purpose
of terrorising, robbing and driving the Abkhaz population out of their
homes" in the first phase of the war (according to Human Rights Watch),
while Georgia blames the Abkhaz forces and their allies for the ethnic
cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, which has also been recognised by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summits in Budapest
(1994), Lisbon (1996) and Istanbul (1999).
Ethnic cleansing of Georgians
Main article: Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in
Abkhazia
Exhibition at the 2005 commemoration of the
ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia, held on its 12th anniversary in Tbilisi.
Before the 1992 War, Georgians made up nearly
half of Abkhazia's population, while less than one-fifth of the population was
Abkhaz. As the war progressed, confronted with hundreds of thousands of ethnic
Georgians who were unwilling to leave their homes, the Abkhaz separatists
implemented the process of ethnic cleansing in order to expel and eliminate the
Georgian ethnic population in Abkhazia. About 5,000 were killed, 400 went miss and
up to 250,000 ethnic Georgians were expelled from their homes. Slightly over
200,000 Georgians remain displaced in Georgia proper.
The campaign of ethnic cleansing also included
Russians, Armenians, Greeks, moderate Abkhaz and other minor ethnic groups
living in Abkhazia. More than 20,000 houses owned by ethnic Georgians were
destroyed. Hundreds of schools, kindergartens, churches, hospitals, historical
monuments were pillaged and destroyed.[better source needed] Following the
process of ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion, the population of Abkhazia has
been reduced to 216,000, from 525,000 in 1989.
Of about 250,000 Georgian refugees, some 60,000
Georgian refugees subsequently returned to Abkhazia's Gali District between
1994 and 1998, but tens of thousands were displaced again when fighting resumed
in the Gali District in 1998. Nevertheless, between 40,000 and 60,000 refugees
have returned to the Gali District since 1998, including persons commuting
daily across the ceasefire line and those migrating seasonally in accordance
with agricultural cycles.The human rights situation remained precarious for a
while in the Georgian-populated areas of the Gali District. The United Nations
and other international organisations have been fruitlessly urging the Abkhaz
de facto authorities "to refrain from adopting measures incompatible with
the right to return and with international human rights standards, such as
discriminatory legislation... [and] to cooperate in the establishment of a
permanent international human rights office in Gali and to admit United Nations
civilian police without further delay." Key officials of the Gali District
are virtually all ethnic Abkhaz, though their support staff are ethnic
Georgian.
Post-war
Main article: Georgian–Abkhaz conflict
Abkhazians carrying the republic's flags in a
parade.
Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on
3 October 2004. Russia supported Raul Khadjimba, the prime minister backed by
the ailing outgoing separatist President Vladislav Ardzinba. Posters of
Russia's President Vladimir Putin together with Khadjimba, who, like Putin, had
worked as a KGB official, were everywhere in Sukhumi. Deputies of Russia's
parliament and Russian singers, led by Joseph Cobsohn, a State Duma deputy and
a popular singer, came to Abkhazia, campaigning for Khadjimba.
However Raul Khadjimba lost the elections to
Sergei Bagapsh. The tense situation in the republic led to the cancellation of
the election results by the Supreme Court. After that, a deal was struck
between former rivals to run jointly, with Bagapsh as a presidential candidate
and Khadjimba as a vice presidential candidate. They received more than 90% of
the votes in the new election.
In July 2006, Georgian forces launched a
successful police operation against the rebelled administrator of the
Georgian-populated Kodori Gorge, Emzar Kvitsiani. Kvitsiani had been appointed
by the previous president of Georgia Edvard Shevardnadze and refused to
recognise the authority of president Mikheil Saakashvili, who succeeded
Shevardnadze after the Rose Revolution. Although Kvitsiani escaped capture by
Georgian police, the Kodori Gorge was brought back under the control of the central
government in Tbilisi.
Sporadic acts of violence continued throughout
the postwar years. Despite the peacekeeping status of the Russian peacekeepers
in Abkhazia, Georgian officials routinely claimed that Russian peacekeepers
were inciting violence by supplying Abkhaz rebels with arms and financial
support. Russian support of Abkhazia became pronounced when the Russian ruble
became the de facto currency and Russia began issuing passports to the
population of Abkhazia.Georgia has also accused Russia of violating its
airspace by sending helicopters to attack Georgian-controlled towns in the
Kodori Gorge. In April 2008, a Russian MiG – prohibited from Georgian airspace,
including Abkhazia – shot down a Georgian UAV.
Seaside in Pitsunda, Abkhazia in 2006
On 9 August 2008, Abkhazian forces fired on
Georgian forces in Kodori Gorge. This coincided with the 2008 South Ossetia war
where Russia decided to support the Ossetian separatists who had been attacked
by Georgia.The conflict escalated into a full-scale war between the Russian
Federation and the Republic of Georgia. On 10 August 2008, an estimated 9,000
Russian soldiers entered Abkhazia ostensibly to reinforce the Russian
peacekeepers in the republic. About 1,000 Abkhazian soldiers moved to expel the
residual Georgian forces within Abkhazia in the Upper Kodori Gorge. By 12
August the Georgian forces and civilians had evacuated the last part of
Abkhazia under Georgian government control. Russia recognised the independence
of Abkhazia on 26 August 2008. This was followed by the annulment of the 1994
ceasefire agreement and the termination of UN and OSCE monitoring missions. On
28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution declaring
Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory.
Since independence was recognised by Russia, a
series of controversial agreements were made between the Abkhazian government
and the Russian Federation that leased or sold a number of key state assets and
relinquished control over the borders. In May 2009 several opposition parties
and war veteran groups protested against these deals complaining that they
undermined state sovereignty and risked exchanging one colonial power (Georgia)
for another (Russia). The vice president, Raul Khadjimba, resigned on 28 May
saying he agreed with the criticism the opposition had made. Subsequently, a
conference of opposition parties nominated Raul Khadjimba as their candidate in
the December 2009 Abkhazian presidential election won by Sergei
Bagapsh.[citation needed]
Political unrest in 2014
Main article: Abkhazian Revolution
In the spring of 2014, the opposition submitted
an ultimatum to President Aleksandr Ankvab to dismiss the government and make
radical re On 27 May 2014, in the centre of Sukhumi, 10,000 supporters of the
Abkhaz opposition gathered for a mass demonstration.On the same day, Ankvab's
headquarters in Sukhumi was stormed by opposition groups led by Raul Khadjimba,
forcing him into flight to Gudauta. The opposition claimed that the protests
were sparked by poverty, but the main point of contention was President
Ankvab's liberal policy towards ethnic Georgians in the Gali region. The
opposition said these policies could endanger Abkhazia's ethnic Abkhazian
identity.
After Ankvab fled the capital, on 31 May, the
People's Assembly of Abkhazia appointed parliamentary speaker Valery Bganba as
acting president, declaring Ankvab unable to serve. It also decided to hold an
early presidential election on 24 August 2014.better source needed] Ankvab soon
declared his formal resignation, although he accused his opponents of acting
immorally and violating the constitution. Khajimba was later elected president,
taking office in September 2014.
In November 2014, Vladimir Putin moved to
formalise the Abkhazian military's relationship as part of the Russian armed
forces, signing a treaty with Khajimba. The Georgian government denounced the
agreement as "a step towards annexation".
Status
Main article: International recognition of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia
Map of Georgia highlighting Abkhazia (green)
and South Ossetia (purple).
Abkhazia, Artsakh (also known as the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic), Transnistria, and South Ossetia are post-Soviet "frozen
conflict" zones. These four states maintain friendly relations with each
other and form the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations. Russia and
Nicaragua officially recognised Abkhazia after the Russo-Georgian War.
Venezuela recognised Abkhazia in September 2009. In December 2009, Nauru
recognised Abkhazia, reportedly in return for $50 million in humanitarian aid
from Russia.The unrecognised republic of Transnistria and the partially
recognised republic of South Ossetia have recognised Abkhazia since 2006.
Abkhazia is also a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
(UNPO).[citation needed]
A majority of sovereign states recognise
Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia and support its territorial integrity
according to the principles of international law, although Belarus has
expressed sympathy toward the recognition Some have officially noted Abkhazia
as under occupation by the Russian military.The United Nations has been urging
both sides to settle the dispute through diplomatic dialogue and ratifying the
final status of Abkhazia in the Georgian constitution. However, the Abkhaz de
facto government considers Abkhazia a sovereign country even if it is
recognised by few other countries. In early 2000, then-UN Special
Representative of the Secretary General Dieter Boden and the Group of Friends
of Georgia, consisting of the representatives of Russia, the United States,
Britain, France, and Germany, drafted and informally presented a document to
the parties outlining a possible distribution of competencies between the
Abkhaz and Georgian authorities, based on core respect for Georgian territorial
integrity. The Abkhaz side, however, has never accepted the paper as a basis
for negotiations. Eventually, Russia also withdrew its approval of the
document.In 2005 and 2008, the Georgian government offered Abkhazia a high
degree of autonomy and possible federal structure within the borders and
jurisdiction of Georgia.[citation needed]
On 18 October 2006, the People's Assembly of
Abkhazia passed a resolution, calling upon Russia, international organisations
and the rest of the international community to recognise Abkhaz independence on
the basis that Abkhazia possesses all the properties of an independent state.The
United Nations has reaffirmed "the commitment of all Member States to the
sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Georgia within its
internationally recognised borders" and outlined the basic principles of
conflict resolution which call for immediate return of all displaced persons
and for non-resumption of hostilities.
Georgia accuses the Abkhaz secessionists of
having conducted a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing of up to 250,000
Georgians, a claim supported by the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE; Budapest, Lisbon and Istanbul declaration). The UN Security
Council has avoided the use of the term "ethnic cleansing" but has
affirmed "the unacceptability of the demographic changes resulting from
the conflict". On 15 May 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted
a non-binding resolution recognising the right of all refugees (including
victims of reported "ethnic cleansing") to return to Abkhazia and to
retain or regain their property rights there. It "regretted" the
attempts to alter pre-war demographic composition and called for the
"rapid development of a timetable to ensure the prompt voluntary return of
all refugees and internally displaced persons to their ho
On 28 March 2008, the President of Georgia
Mikheil Saakashvili unveiled his government's new proposals to Abkhazia: the
broadest possible autonomy within the framework of a Georgian state, a joint
free economic zone, representation in the central authorities including the
post of vice-president with the right to veto Abkhaz-related decisions. The
Abkhaz leader Sergei Bagapsh rejected these new initiatives as
"propaganda", leading to Georgia's complaints that this scepticism
was "triggered by Russia, rather than by real mood of the Abkhaz people."
The Russian embassy in Sukhumi
On 3 July 2008, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
passed a resolution at its annual session in Astana, expressing concern over
Russia's recent moves in breakaway Abkhazia. The resolution calls on the
Russian authorities to refrain from maintaining ties with the breakaway regions
"in any manner that would constitute a challenge to the sovereignty of
Georgia" and also urges Russia "to abide by OSCE standards and
generally accepted international norms with respect to the threat or use of
force to resolve conflicts in relations with other participating States."
On 9 July 2012, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
passed a resolution at its annual session in Monaco, underlining Georgia's
territorial integrity and referring to breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia as
"occupied territories". The resolution "urges the Government and
the Parliament of the Russian Federation, as well as the de facto authorities
of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, Georgia, to allow the European Union
Monitoring Mission unimpeded access to the occupied territories." It also
says that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is "concerned about the
humanitarian situation of the displaced persons both in Georgia and in the
occupied territories of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, Georgia, as well
as the denial of the right of return to their places of living." The
Assembly is the parliamentary dimension of the OSCE with 320 lawmakers from the
organisation's 57 participating states, including Russia.
Law on occupied territories of Georgia
Main article: Occupied territories of Georgia
Dmitry Medvedev visited the Russian military
base in Gudauta in 2010
In late October 2008 President Saakashvili
signed into law legislation on the occupied territories passed by the Georgian
Parliament. The law covers the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali
(territories of former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast). The law spells out
restrictions on free movement and economic activity in the territories. In
particular, according to the law, foreign citizens should enter the two
breakaway regions only through Georgia proper. Entry into Abkhazia should be
carried out from the Zugdidi District and into South Ossetia from the Gori
District. The major road leading to South Ossetia from the rest of Georgia passes
through the Gori District.
The legislation, however, also lists
"special" cases in which entry into the breakaway regions will not be
regarded as illegal. It stipulates that a special permit on entry into the
breakaway regions can be issued if the trip there "serves Georgia’s state
interests; peaceful resolution of the conflict; de-occupation or humanitarian
purposes." The law also bans any type of economic activity –
entrepreneurial or non-entrepreneurial, if such activities require permits,
licenses or registration in accordance with Georgian legislation. It also bans
air, sea and railway communications and international transit via the regions,
mineral exploration and money transfers. The provision covering economic
activities is retroactive, going back to 1990.
The law says that the Russian Federation – the
state which has carried out military occupation – is fully responsible for the
violation of human rights in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Russian
Federation, according to the document, is also responsible for compensation of
material and moral damage inflicted on Georgian citizens, stateless persons and
foreign citizens, who are in Georgia and enter the occupied territories with
appropriate permits. The law also says that de facto state agencies and
officials operating in the occupied territories are regarded by Georgia as
illegal. The law will remain in force until "the full restoration of
Georgian jurisdiction" over the breakaway regions is realised.
Status-neutral passports
See also: Abkhazian passport
Currently Georgia considers all residents of
Abkhazia its citizens, while they see themselves as Abkhaz citizens.
In the summer of 2011 the Parliament of Georgia
adopted a package of legislative amendments providing for the issuance of
neutral identification and travel documents to residents of Abkhazia and the
former South Ossetian autonomous province of Georgia. The document allows
travelling abroad as well as enjoying social benefits existing in Georgia. The
new neutral identification and travel documents were called "neutral
passports". The status-neutral passports do not carry state symbols of
Georgia.Abkhazia's foreign minister, Viacheslav Chirikba, criticised the
status-neutral passports and called their introduction
"unacceptable". Some Abkhazian residents with Russian passports were
being denied Schengen visa
As of May 2013, neutral documents have been
recognised by Japan, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, the
United States, Bulgaria, Poland, Israel, Estonia and Romania.
According to Russian media, the President of
Republic of Abkhazia, Alexander Ankvab threatened international organisations
that accepted neutral passports, saying during a meeting with the leadership of
the foreign ministry that "international organizations that suggest the
so-called neutral passports, will leave Abkhazia."
Russian involvement
The leaders of Abkhazia, Russia and South
Ossetia, shortly after the 2008 war. Left to right: South Ossetian President
Eduard Kokoity; Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov; Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh.
During the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict, the
Russian authorities and military supplied logistical and military aid to the
separatist side.Today, Russia still maintains a strong political and military
influence over separatist rule in Abkhazia. Russia has also issued passports to
the citizens of Abkhazia since 2000 (as Abkhazian passports cannot be used for
international travel) and subsequently paid them retirement pensions and other
monetary benefits. More than 80% of the Abkhazian population had received
Russian passports by 2006. As Russian citizens living abroad, Abkhazians do not
pay Russian taxes or serve in the Russian Army.About 53,000 Abkhazian passports
have been issued as of May 2007.
Moscow, at certain times, hinted that it might
recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia when Western countries recognised the
independence of Kosovo, suggesting that they had created a precedent. Following
Kosovo's declaration of independence, the Russian parliament released a joint
statement reading: "Now that the situation in Kosovo has become an
international precedent, Russia should take into account the Kosovo scenario...
when considering ongoing territorial conflicts."Initially Russia continued
to delay recognition of both of these republics. However, on 16 April 2008, the
outgoing Russian president Vladimir Putin instructed his government to
establish official ties with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, leading to Georgia's
condemnation of what it described as an attempt at "de facto
annexation" and criticism from the European Union, NATO, and several
Western governments.
Later in April 2008, Russia accused Georgia of
trying to exploit NATO support in order to control Abkhazia by force and
announced it would increase its military presence in the region, pledging to
retaliate militarily against Georgia's efforts. The Georgian Prime Minister
Lado Gurgenidze said Georgia will treat any additional troops in Abkhazia as
"aggressors".
In response to the Russo-Georgian War, the
Federal Assembly of Russia called an extraordinary session for 25 August 2008
to discuss recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Following a unanimous
resolution that was passed by both houses of the parliament calling on the
Russian president to recognise independence of the breakaway republics, Russian
president, Dmitry Medvedev, officially recognised both on 26 August 2008.
Russian recognition was condemned by NATO nations, OSCE and European Council nations
due to "violation of territorial integrity and international law". UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that sovereign states have to decide
themselves whether they want to recognise the independence of disputed regions.
Russia has started work on the establishment of
a naval base in Ochamchire by dredging the coast to allow the passage of their
larger naval vessels. As a response to the Georgian sea blockade of Abkhazia,
in which the Georgian coast guard had been detaining ships heading to and from
Abkhazia, Russia warned Georgia against ship seizures and said that a unit of
Russian guard boats would provide security for ships bound to Abkhazia.
The extent of Russian influence in Abkhazia has
caused some locals to say Abkhazia is under full Russian control, but they
still prefer Russian influence over Georgian.
International involvement
Border checkpoint on the Psou River
The UN has played various roles during the
conflict and peace process: a military role through its observer mission
(UNOMIG); dual diplomatic roles through the Security Council and the
appointment of a special envoy, succeeded by a special representative to the
secretary-general; a humanitarian role (UNHCR and UNOCHA); a development role
(UNDP); a human rights role (UNHCHR); and a low-key capacity and
confidence-building role (UNV). The UN's position has been that there will be
no forcible change in international borders. Any settlement must be freely
negotiated and based on autonomy for Abkhazia legitimised by referendum under
international observation once the multi-ethnic population has returned.
The OSCE has increasingly engaged in dialogue
with officials and civil society representatives in Abkhazia, especially from
non-governmental organisations (NGO)s and the media, regarding human dimension
standards in the region and is considering a presence in Gali. The OSCE
expressed concern and condemnation over ethnic cleansing of Georgians in
Abkhazia during the 1994 Budapest Summit Decision and later at the Lisbon Summit
Declaration in 1996.
The US rejects the unilateral secession of
Abkhazia and urges its integration into Georgia as an autonomous unit. In 1998
the US announced its readiness to allocate up to $15 million for rehabilitation
of infrastructure in the Gali region if substantial progress is made in the
peace process. USAID has already funded some humanitarian initiatives for
Abkhazia.[citation needed]
On 22 August 2006, Senator Richard Lugar, then
visiting Georgia's capital Tbilisi, joined Georgian politicians in criticism of
the Russian peacekeeping mission, stating that "the U.S. administration
supports the Georgian government’s insistence on the withdrawal of Russian
peacekeepers from the conflict zones in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali
district".
On 5 October 2006, Javier Solana, the High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European
Union, ruled out the possibility of replacing the Russian peacekeepers with the
EU force. On 10 October 2006, EU South Caucasus envoy Peter Semneby noted that
"Russia's actions in the Georgia spy row have damaged its credibility as a
neutral peacekeeper in the EU's Black Sea neighbourhood."
On 13 October 2006, the UN Security Council
unanimously adopted a resolution, based on a Group of Friends of the
Secretary-General draft, extending the UNOMIG mission until 15 April 2007.
Acknowledging that the "new and tense situation" resulted, at least
in part, from the Georgian special forces' operation in the upper Kodori
Valley, the resolution urged the country to ensure that no troops unauthorised
by the Moscow ceasefire agreement were present in that area. It urged the
leadership of the Abkhaz side to address seriously the need for a dignified,
secure return of refugees and internally displaced persons and to reassure the
local population in the Gali district that their residency rights and identity
will be respected. The Georgian side is "once again urged to address
seriously legitimate Abkhaz security concerns, to avoid steps that could be
seen as threatening and to refrain from militant rhetoric and provocative
actions, especially in upper Kodori Valley."
The breakaway republics of Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh within the Caucasus region
Calling on both parties to follow up on
dialogue initiatives, it further urged them to comply fully with all previous
agreements regarding non-violence and confidence-building, in particular those
concerning the separation of forces. Regarding the disputed role of the
peacekeepers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Council
stressed the importance of close, effective cooperation between UNOMIG and that
force and looked to all sides to continue to extend the necessary cooperation
to them. At the same time, the document reaffirmed the "commitment of all
Member States to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of
Georgia within its internationally recognised borders".
The HALO Trust, an international non-profit
organisation that specialises in the removal of the debris of war, has been
active in Abkhazia since 1999 and has completed the removal of landmines in
Sukhumi and Gali districts. It declared Abkhazia "mine free" in 2011.
France-based international NGO Première-Urgence
has been implementing a food security programme to support the vulnerable
populations affected by the frozen conflict for almost 10 years.
Russia does not allow the European Union
Monitoring Mission (EUMM) to enter Abkhazia.
Recognition
Main article: Foreign relations of Abkhazia
Abkhazian President Alexander Ankvab with
Transnistrian President Yevgeny Shevchuk in September 2013
Abkhazia was an unrecognised state for most of
its history. The following is a list of political entities that formally
recognise Abkhazia.
UN member states
Russia Russia recognised Abkhazia on 26 August
2008 after the Russo-Georgian War.
Nicaragua Nicaragua recognised Abkhazia on 5
September 2008. Venezuela Venezuela recognised Abkhazia on 10 September 2009.
Nauru Nauru recognised Abkhazia on 15 December
2009.
Syria Syria recognised Abkhazia on 29 May 2018.
Partially recognised and unrecognised territories
South Ossetia South Ossetia recognised Abkhazia
on 17 November 2006.
Transnistria Transnistria recognised Abkhazia
on 17 November 2006.
Republic of Artsakh Artsakh recognised Abkhazia
on 17 November 2006.
Former recognition
Vanuatu Vanuatu recognised Abkhazia on 23 May
2011,but withdrew recognition on 20 May 2013.
Tuvalu Tuvalu recognised Abkhazia on 18
September 2011, but withdrew recognition on 31 March 2014.
Geography and climate
Main article: Geography of Abkhazia
"View of Mount Agepsta and Turyi gory (Tur
Mountains) from the top of Kamennyi Stolb, Aibga Ridge.", 2014.
Lake Ritsa
Abkhazia covers an area of about 8,665 km2
(3,346 sq mi) at the western end of Georgia. The Caucasus Mountains to the
north and northeast divide Abkhazia and the Russian Federation. To the east and
southeast, Abkhazia is bounded by the Georgian region of Samegrelo-Zemo
Svaneti; and on the south and southwest by the Black Sea.[citation needed]
Abkhazia is diverse geographically with
lowlands stretching to the extremely mountainous north. The Greater Caucasus
Mountain Range runs along the region's northern border, with its spurs – the
Gagra, Bzyb and Kodori ranges – dividing the area into a number of deep,
well-watered valleys. The highest peaks of Abkhazia are in the northeast and
east and several exceed 4,000 meters (13,123 ft) above sea level. Abkhazia's
landscape ranges from coastal forests and citrus plantations to permanent snows
and glaciers in the north of the region. Although Abkhazia's complex
topographic setting has spared most of the territory from significant human
development, its cultivated fertile lands produce tea, tobacco, wine and
fruits, a mainstay of the local agricultural sector.[citation needed]
Abkhazia is richly irrigated by small rivers
originating in the Caucasus Mountains. Chief of these are: Kodori, Bzyb,
Ghalidzga, and Gumista. The Psou River separates the region from Russia, and
the Inguri serves as a boundary between Abkhazia and Georgia proper. There are
several periglacial and crater lakes in mountainous Abkhazia. Lake Ritsa is the
most important of them.[citation needed]
View from Pitsunda cape
Because of Abkhazia's proximity to the Black
Sea and the shield of the Caucasus Mountains, the region's climate is very
mild. The coastal areas of the republic have a subtropical climate, where the
average annual temperature in most regions is around 15 °C (59 °F), and the
average January temperature remains above freezing. The climate at higher
elevations varies from maritime mountainous to cold and summerless. Also, due
to its position on the windward slopes of the Caucasus, Abkhazia receives high
amounts of precipitation, though humidity decreases further inland. The annual
precipitation varies from 1,200–1,400 mm (47.2–55.1 in)along the coast to
1,700–3,500 mm (66.9–137.8 in) in the higher mountainous areas. The mountains
of Abkhazia receive significant amounts of snow.[citation needed]
The world's deepest known cave, Veryovkina
Cave, is located in Abkhazia's western Caucasus mountains. The latest survey
(as of March 2018) has measured the vertical extent of this cave system as
2,212 meters (7,257 ft) between its highest and lowest explored points.[citation
needed]
The lowland regions used to be covered by
swaths of oak, beech, and hornbeam, which have since been cleared.
There are two main entrances into Abkhazia. The
southern entrance is at the Inguri bridge, a short distance from the city of
Zugdidi. The northern entrance ("Psou") is in the town of Leselidze.
Owing to the situation with a recognition controversy, many foreign governments
advise their citizens against travelling to Abkhazia. According to President
Raul Khajimba, over the summer of 2015, thousands of tourists visited Abkhazia.
Politics and government
Main articles: Government of the Republic of Abkhazia,
Politics of Abkhazia, and Elections in Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a semi-presidential republic, and
the second elected president of Abkhazia was Sergei Bagapsh. Bagapsh came to
power following the deeply divisive October 2004 presidential election. The next
election was held on 12 December 2009. Bagapsh was re-elected as president with
59.4% of the total vote. Alexander Ankvab, his vice president, was appointed
acting president after the former president's death on 29 May 2011 until
winning election in his own right later on 26 August 2011.[citation needed]
Legislative powers are vested in the People's
Assembly, which consists of 35 elected members. The last parliamentary
elections were held in March 2017. Ethnicities other than Abkhaz (Armenians,
Russians and Georgians) are claimed to be under-represented in the Assembly.
Most refugees from the 1992–1993 war (mainly
ethnic Georgians) have not been able to return and have thus been excluded from
the political process.
Abkhazian officials have stated that they have
given the Russian Federation the responsibility of representing their interests
abroad.
According to a 2010 study published by the
University of Colorado Boulder, the vast majority of Abkhazia's population
supports independence, while a smaller number is in favour of joining the
Russian Federation. Support for reunification with Georgia is very low. Even
among ethnic Georgians, nearly 50% prefer Abkhazia to remain an independent
state and less than 20% of them believe returning to Georgia is necessary, as
most of them have adjusted to the current situation. Among ethnic Abkhaz,
explicit support for reunification with Georgia is around 1%; a similar figure
can be found among ethnic Russians and Armenians as well.
Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia
Main article: Government of the Autonomous
Republic of Abkhazia
Logo of the Government of the Autonomous
Republic of Abkhazia.
The Government of the Autonomous Republic of
Abkhazia is the government in exile that Georgia recognises as the legal
government of Abkhazia. This pro-Georgian government maintained a foothold on
Abkhazian territory, in the upper Kodori Valley from July 2006 until it was
forced out by fighting in August 2008. This government is also partly responsible
for the affairs of some 250,000 IDPs, forced to leave Abkhazia following the
War in Abkhazia and ethnic cleansing that followed.The current Head of the
Government is Vakhtang Kolbaia.[citation needed]
During the War in Abkhazia, the Government of
the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (at the time the Georgian faction of the
"Council of Ministers of Abkhazia") left Abkhazia after the Abkhaz
separatist forces took control of the region's capital Sukhumi and relocated to
Georgia's capital Tbilisi where it operated as the Government of Abkhazia in
exile for almost 13 years. During this period, the Government of Abkhazia in
exile, led by Tamaz Nadareishvili, was known for a hard-line stance towards the
Abkhaz problem and frequently voiced their opinion that the solution to the
conflict can be attained only through Georgia's military response to secessioni
Later, Nadareishvili's administration was implicated in some internal
controversies and had not taken an active part in the politics of Abkhazia[citation
needed] until a new chairman, Irakli Alasania, was appointed by President of
Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, his envoy in the peace talks over
Abkhazia.[citation needed]
Administrative divisions
Main article: Subdivisions of Abkhazia
1) Gagra 2) Gudauta 3) Sukhumi 4) Gulripshi 5)
Ochamchira 6) Tkvarcheli 7) Gali
The Republic of Abkhazia is divided into seven
raions named after their primary cities: Gagra, Gudauta, Sukhumi, Ochamchira,
Gulripshi, Tkvarcheli and Gali. These districts remain mostly unchanged since
the breakup of the Soviet Union, with the exception of the Tkvarcheli district,
created in 1995 from parts of the Ochamchira and Gali districts.
The President of the Republic appoints
districts' heads from those elected to the districts' assemblies. There are
elected village assemblies whose heads are appointed by the districts' heads.
The administrative subdivisions under Georgian
law are identical to the ones outlined above, except for the new Tkvarcheli
district.[citation needed]
Military
Main articles: Abkhazian Armed Forces and
Abkhazian Air Force
The Abkhazian Armed Forces are the military of
the Republic of Abkhazia. The basis of the Abkhazian armed forces was formed by
the ethnically Abkhaz National Guard, which was established in early 1992. Most
of their weapons come from the former Russian airborne division base in
Gudauta.The Abkhazian military is primarily a ground force, but includes small
sea and air units. Russia deploys its own military units as part of the 7th
Military Base in Abkhazia. These units are reportedly subordinate to the
Russian 49th Army and include both ground elements and air defence assets.
The Abkhazian Armed Forces are composed of:
The Abkhazian Land Forces with a permanent
force of around 5,000, but with reservists and paramilitary personnel this may
increase to up to 50,000 in times of military conflict. The exact numbers and
the type of equipment used remain unverifiable.
The Abkhazian Navy that consists of three
divisions based in Sukhumi, Ochamchire and Pitsunda, but the Russian coast guard
patrols their waters.
The Abkhazian Air Force, a small unit
consisting of a few fighter aircraft and helicopters.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Abkhazia
The economy of Abkhazia is integrated with
Russia as outlined in a bilateral agreement published in November 2014. The
country uses the Russian ruble as its currency, and the two countries share a
common economic and customs union. Abkhazia has experienced a modest economic
upswing since the 2008 South Ossetia war and Russia's subsequent recognition of
Abkhazia's independence. About half of Abkhazia's state budget is financed with
aid money from Russia.
Tourism is a key industry and, according to
Abkhazia's authorities, almost a million tourists (mainly from Russia) came to
Abkhazia in 2007. Abkhazia exports wine and fruits, especially tangerines and hazelnuts.Electricity
is largely supplied by the Inguri hydroelectric power station located on the
Inguri River between Abkhazia and Georgia (proper) and operated jointly by both
parties.
Beach in Gagra in May 2014
In the first half of 2012, the principal
trading partners of Abkhazia were Russia (64%) and Turkey (18%).The CIS
economic sanctions imposed on Abkhazia in 1996 are still formally in force, but
Russia announced on 6 March 2008 that it would no longer participate in them,
declaring them "outdated, impeding the socio-economic development of the
region, and causing unjustified hardship for the people of Abkhazia".
Russia also called on other CIS members to undertake similar steps,but met with
protests from Tbilisi and lack of support from the other CIS countries.
Despite the controversial status of the
territory and its damaged infrastructure, tourism in Abkhazia grew following
the Russian recognition of Abkhazian independence in 2008 due to the arrival of
Russian tourists. In 2009 the number of Russian tourists in Abkhazia increased
by 20% and the total number of Russian tourists reached 1 million.Low prices
and an absence of any visa requirements attracts Russian tourists especially
those who cannot afford vacations in Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, Montenegro and
other popular Russian tourist destinations.[citation needed] After the tourist
boom many Russian businesses began to invest money in Abkhazian tourist
infrastructure. With the main highway of the country being rebuilt in 2014 many
damaged hotels in Gagra are either being restored or demolished. In 2014, 1.16
million Russian tourists visited Abkhazia.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Abkhazia
According to the last census in 2011 Abkhazia
has 240,705 inhabitants.The Department of Statistics of Georgia estimated
Abkhazia's population to be approximately 179,000 in 2003, and 178,000 in 2005
(the last year when such estimates were published in Georgia).Encyclopædia
Britannica estimates the population in 2007 at 180,000 and the International
Crisis Group estimates Abkhazia's total population in 2006 to be between
157,000 and 190,000 (or between 180,000 and 220,000 as estimated by UNDP in
1998).
Ethnicity
The ethnic composition of Abkhazia has played a
central role in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict and is equally contested. The
demographics of Abkhazia were very strongly affected by the 1992–1993 war with
Georgia, which saw the expulsion and flight of over half of the republic's
population, measuring 525,061 in the 1989 census. The population of Abkhazia
remains ethnically very diverse, even after the 1992–1993 war. At present the
population of Abkhazia is mainly made up of ethnic Abkhaz (50.7% according to
the 2011 census), Russians, Armenians, Georgians, Mingrelians, and Greeks.
Other ethnicities include Ukrainians, Belarusians, Ossetians, Tatars, Turks, and
Roma.
Greeks constituted a significant minority in
the area in the early 1920s (50,000), and remained a major ethnic component
until 1945 when they were deported to Central Asia. Under the Soviet Union, the
Russian, Armenian, and Georgian populations grew faster than the Abkhaz
population, due to large-scale enforced migration, especially under the rule of
Joseph Stalin and Lavrenty Beria.Russians moved into Abkhazia in great numbers.
At the time of the 1989 census, Abkhazia's
Georgian population numbered 239,872 forming around 45.7% of the population,
and the Armenian population numbered 77,000. Due to ethnic cleansing and
displacement due to people fleeing the 1992–1993 war, much of the Georgian
population and to a lesser extent the Russian and Armenian populations had
greatly diminished. In 2003 Armenians formed the second-largest minority group
in Abkhazia (closely matching the Georgians), numbering 44,869. By the time of
the 2011 census, Georgians formed the second-largest minority group with a number
of 46,455. Despite the official numbers, unofficial estimates believe that the
Abkhaz and Armenian communities are roughly equal in number.
In the wake of the Syrian civil war Abkhazia
granted refugee status to a few hundred Syrians with Abkhaz, Abazin and
Circassian ancestry.Facing a growing Armenian community, this move has been
linked with the wish of the ruling Abkhaz —who have often been in the minority
on their territory— to tilt the demographic balance in favour of the titular
nation.
Diaspora
Thousands of Abkhaz, known as muhajirun, fled
Abkhazia for the Ottoman Empire in the mid-19th century after resisting the
Russian conquest of the Caucasus. Today, Turkey is home to the world's largest
Abkhaz diaspora community. Size estimates vary – diaspora leaders say 1 million
people; Abkhaz estimates range from 150,000 to 500,000.
Religion
Main article: Religion in Abkhazia
Religion in Abkhazia (2003)
Religion Percent
Christianity
60%
Islam
16%
Abkhaz Native Religion
8%
Other religions
2%
Irreligious or atheist
8%
Undetermined
6%
New Athos monastery in Abkhazia
A majority of inhabitants of Abkhazia are
Christian (Eastern Orthodox (see also: Abkhazian Orthodox Church) and Armenian
Apostolic) while a significant minority are Sunni Muslim. The Abkhaz Native
Religion has undergone a strong revival in recent decades. There is a very
small number of adherents of Judaism, Jehovah's Witnesses and new religious
movements.The Jehovah's Witnesses organisation has officially been banned since
1995, though the decree is not currently enforced.
According to the constitutions of both Abkhazia
and Georgia, the adherents of all religions have equal rights before the law.
According to a survey held in 2003, 60% of
respondents identified themselves as Christian, 16% as Muslim, 8% as atheist or
irreligious, 8% as adhering to the traditional Abkhazian religion or as Pagan,
2% as follower of other religions and 6% as undecided.
Language
Article 6 of the Constitution of Abkhazia
states:
The official language of the Republic of
Abkhazia shall be the Abkhazian language. The Russian language, equally with
the Abkhazian language, shall be recognized as a language of State and other
institutions. The State shall guarantee the right to freely use the mother
language for all the ethnic groups residing in Abkhazia.
The languages spoken in Abkhazia are Abkhaz,
Russian, Mingrelian, Svan, Armenian, and Greek.The Autonomous Republic passed a
law in 2007 defining the Abkhaz language as the only state language of
Abkhazia. As such, Abkhaz is the required language for legislative and
executive council debates (with translation from and to Russian) and at least
half of the text of all magazines and newspapers must be in Abkhaz.
Despite the official status of Abkhaz, the
dominance of other languages within Abkhazia, especially Russian, is so great
that experts as recently as 2004 called it an "endangered language".During
the Soviet era, language instruction would begin in schools in Abkhaz, only to
switch to Russian for the majority of required schooling. The government of the
Republic is attempting to institute Abkhaz-only primary education but there has
been limited success due to a lack of facilities and educational materials. Even
in Georgian-speaking areas of the Republic, ending schooling in that language
has resulted in teachers switching to Russian-language materials instead of
Abkhaz-language teaching.
Nationality issues
Adoption of Russian nationality
Russian Drama Theatre. Sukhumi, Abkhazia.
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, many
Abkhazians kept their Soviet passports, even after a decade, and used them to
eventually apply for Russian citizenship.
Before 2002, Russian law allowed residents of
former Soviet Union to apply for citizenship if they had not become citizens of
their newly independent states. The procedure was extremely complex. The new
citizenship law of Russia adopted on 31 May 2002 introduced a simplified
procedure of citizenship acquisition for former citizens of the Soviet Union
regardless of their place of residence. In Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the
application process was simplified even further, and people could apply even
without leaving their homes. Russian non-governmental organisations with close
ties to Russian officialdom simply took their papers to a nearby Russian city
for processing.
Abkhazians began mass acquisition of Russian
passports in 2002. It is reported that the public organisation the Congress of
Russian Communities of Abkhazia started collecting Abkhazians' Soviet-era
travel documents. It then sent them to a consular department specially set up
by Russian Foreign Ministry officials in the city of Sochi. After they were
checked, Abkhazian applicants were granted Russian citizenship. By 25 June
2002, an estimated 150,000 people in Abkhazia had acquired the new passports,
joining 50,000 who already possessed Russian citizenship. The Sukhum
authorities, although officially not involved in the registration for Russian
nationality process, openly encouraged it. Government officials said privately
that President Putin's administration agreed with the passport acquisition
during Abkhazia's prime minister Djergenia's visit to Moscow in May 2002.
The "passportisation" caused outrage
in Tbilisi, worsening its already shaky relations with Russia. The Georgian
Foreign Ministry issued a statement insisting that Abkhazians were citizens of
Georgia and calling the passport allocation an "unprecedented illegal
campaign". President Eduard Shevardnadze said that he would be asking his
Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for an explanation. The speaker of
parliament Nino Burjanadze said that she would raise the matter at the
forthcoming OSCE parliamentary assembly.
1 February 2011 was the last day in the
post-Soviet era when a passport of USSR was valid for crossing the
Russian-Abkhaz border. According to the staff of Abkhazia's passport and visa
service, there were about two to three thousand mostly elderly people left with
Soviet passports who had no chance of acquiring new documents. These people
were not able to get Russian citizenship. But they can first get an internal
Abkhaz passport and then a travelling passport to visit Russia.
Issue of ethnic Georgians
In 2005, citing the need to integrate ethnic
Georgian residents of eastern districts of Abkhazia, the then leadership of Abkhazia
showed signs of a softening stance towards granting of citizenship to the
residents of Gali, Ochamchire and Tkvarcheli districts.
According to the Abkhazian law on citizenship,
ethnic Abkhazians, regardless of place of residence, can become Abkhaz
citizens. Those who are not ethnic Abkhazians are eligible for citizenship if
they lived in Abkhazia for at least five years prior to adoption of act of
independence in October 1999. This provision aimed at creating a legal hurdle
in obtaining Abkhaz passports for those ethnic Georgians who fled Abkhazia as a
result of 1992–1993 armed conflict and who then returned to the Gali district.
Abkhazian legislation forbids citizens of Abkhazia from holding dual
citizenship with any other state apart from Russia.
Ethnic Georgians who have returned to the Gali
district and want to obtain Abkhaz passports, according to Abkhazian law,
should undergo lengthy procedures which also include a requirement to submit
documented proof that they renounced their Georgian citizenship. President
Bagapsh was inclined to regard Georgians in Gali as "Georgianised
Abkhazians." According to Bagapsh, these were actually ethnic Abkhaz
people who were "Georgianised" during the long process of the
Georgianisation of Abkhazia that culminated during the rule of Joseph Stalin
and Lavrenti Beria. So in his official speeches, Bagapsh often added the Gali
Georgians to population estimates of the Abkhaz, disregarding the fact that
they still thought of themselves as ethnic Georgians rather than Abkhaz.
In early 2013 the process of passportisation of
ethnic Georgians came under the scrutiny of Abkhaz opposition groups who turned
this issue into one of the central topics of the breakaway region's internal
politics, and issuing of passports was suspended in May. Opposition claimed
that "massive" passportisation involving granting citizenship to
ethnic Georgians in eastern districts was fraught with risk of "losing
sovereignty and territorial integrity." According to Apsnypress, Stanislav
Lakoba, secretary of Abkhaz security council, said that "We are facing the
process of the total Georgianization of Abkhazia."
Pressures have been placed upon teachers in
areas of Abkhazia which retain large Georgian populations to abandon the use of
the Georgian language in education and adopt Russian textbooks.
On 18 September 2013, the Parliament of
Republic of Abkhazia adopted a resolution instructing the prosecutor's office
to carry out a "sweeping" probe into passport offices of the interior
ministry and where wrongdoings were found in the distribution of passports to
refer those violations to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for "annulment
of illegally issued passports." Abkhaz officials announced that a significant
number of residents of Gali, Ochamchire and Tkvarcheli districts received
Abkhaz passports while at the same time retaining their Georgian citizenship,
which constituted a "violation of the law on Abkhaz citizenship".
According to the Abkhaz officials, more than 26,000 passports were distributed
in Gali, Tkvarcheli and Ochamchire districts, including about 23,000 of which
were given out since Russian recognition of Abkhazia's independence in August
2008. These political debates have caused concerns in the ethnic Georgian
population of Abkhazia, who reside mainly in Gali district, that they would be
stripped of Abkhazian citizenship and thus forced to leave Abkhazia again.
In October 2013 Alexander Ankvab signed a
document ordering the firing of Stanislav Lakoba. The document did not state
any reason for the decision but Lakoba saw it as related to his political
position on granting citizenship to Georgians living in Gali. Lakoba claimed
that, according to data from the Abkhaz Security Council, 129 local people in
Gali fought against Abkhazia. Local political parties and the coordination
council of civil organisations expressed concern about Lakoba's dismissal. They
claimed that, by dismissing him, the president "made an illegal process
legal" – giving Abkhazian passports to Georgian citizens.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Abkhazia
The written Abkhaz literature appeared
relatively recently, in the beginning of the 20th century. However, Abkhaz
share the Nart sagas, a series of tales about mythical heroes, with other
Caucasian peoples. The Abkhaz alphabet was created in the 19th century. The
first newspaper in Abkhaz, called Abkhazia and edited by Dmitry Gulia, appeared
in 1917.
Arguably the most famous Abkhaz writers are
Fazil Iskander, who wrote mostly in Russian, and Bagrat Shinkuba, a poet and
writer.
Education
Until the 19th century, young people from
Abkhazia usually received their education mainly at religious schools (Muslims
at madrasas and Christians at seminaries), although a small number of children
from wealthy families had opportunity to travel to foreign countries for
education. The first modern educational institutions (both schools and
colleges) in Abkhazia were established in the late 19th-early 20th centuries
and rapidly grew until the second half of the 20th century. by the middle of
the 20th century, Sukhumi had become a home for large educational institutions
(both higher education institutions and technical vocational education and
training (TVET) colleges) and largest students' community in Abkhazia. For
example, the number of college students grew from few dozens in the 1920s to
several thousands in the 1980s.[citation needed]
According to the official statistical data,
Abkhazia has 12 TVET colleges (as of 2019, est.) providing education and
vocational training to youth mostly in the capital city, though there are
several colleges in all major district centers.Independent international
assessments suggest that these colleges train in about 20 different specialties
attracting between 1000 and 1300 young people annually (aged between 16 and 29)
(as of 2019, est.).[citation needed] The largest colleges are as
follows:[citation needed]
Abkhaz State University (1979), has its own
campus which is a home for 42 departments organized into 8 faculties providing
education to about 3300 students (as of 2019, est.).
Abkhaz Multiindustrial College (1959) (from
1959 to 1999 – Sukhumi Trade and Culinary School),
Sukhumi State College (1904) (from 1904 to 1921
– Sukhumi Real School; from 1921 to 1999 – Sukhumi Industrial Technical
School),
Sukhumi Art College (1935)
Sukhum Medical College (1931)
Sports
Daur Ahvlediani stadium, Gagra
Football remains the most popular sport in Abkhazia. Other popular sports include basketball, boxing and wrestling.[citation needed] The National Basketball Team of Abkhazia played its first game with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Basketball team on 27 May 2015, which Abkhaz team won by 76–59. Abkhaz basketball team "Apsny" also plays in the Russian Basketball League's Third-Tier in Krasnodar Krai. Abkhazia has had its own amateur Abkhazian football league since 1994 though it has no international football union membership.[citation needed] In total, there are nineteen Abkhazian Football Clubs across the two leagues. In 2016 it hosted and won the ConIFA World Football Cup.
Since the early 2000s, tennis has become
increasingly popular among school age children in Abkhazia. Several tennis
players from Sukhumi participated as the national competitions in Russia and
played at major international competitions under the Russian flag. For example,
tennis player Alen Avidzba participated at the Davis Cup in 2016 and Amina
Anshba won a silver medal at an international tournament in Turkey in
2017.[citation needed] In fact, according to the official information from the
Tennis portal.ru the highest career achievement of Amina Anshba was 355th place
in the ranking among women in 2020
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