Abkhazia conflict

Abkhazia conflict
Part ofDissolution of the Soviet Unionandpost-Soviet conflicts
Half-destroyedSukhumi.The Government House of Abkhazia is visible in the background. 2006
Date 18 March 1989 – present Location Abkhazia,Georgia Status Ongoing;frozen conflict
Belligerents
Abkhaz ASSR(before 1992) Abkhazia(after 1992) CMPC(1992–1993) /Russia	Georgian SSR(before 1990) /Georgia(after 1990)
Commanders and leaders
Vladislav Ardzinba (1990–2005) Sergei Bagapsh (2005–11) Alexander Ankvab (2011–14) Raul Khajimba (2014–20) Aslan Bzhania (2020–present) Shamil Basayev (1992–1993) Sultan Sosnaliyev (1992–1993) Musa Shanibov (1992–1993) /Boris Yeltsin (1991–1999) Dmitry Medvedev (2008–2012) Vladimir Putin (2000–2008, 2012–present)	Givi Gumbaridze (1989–1990) Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1990–92) Eduard Shevardnadze (1992–2003) Mikheil Saakashvili (2004–13) Giorgi Margvelashvili (2013–18) Salome Zourabichvili (2018–present)

TheAbkhazia conflictis aterritorial disputeoverAbkhazia,a region on the eastern coast of theBlack Seain theSouth Caucasus,at the intersection ofEastern EuropeandWestern Asia.The conflict involvesGeorgia,Russian Federationand Russian-backed self-proclaimedRepublic of Abkhazia,internationally recognisedonly by Russia,Venezuela,Nicaragua,Nauru,andSyria;Georgiaand all otherUnited Nationsmembers consider Abkhazia asovereign territoryof Georgia.However, as of 2023, Georgia lacksde factocontrol over the territory.

The beginning of the conflict dates back to thedissolution of the Soviet Unionin 1991; however, the dispute can be traced to 1918—1919Sochi conflict,which involved a territorial conflict overSukhumi okrug(which corresponds to Abkhazian region) betweenGeorgian Democratic Republic,White RussiaandRussian SFSR.Since 1989, the conflict involved several wars:1992—1993 War in Abkhazia,1998 War in Abkhaziaand2008 Russo-Georgian War.

The conflict, one of the bloodiest in the post-Soviet era, remains unresolved. The Georgian government has offered substantialautonomyto Abkhazia several times. However, both the Abkhaz government and the opposition in Abkhazia refuse any form of union with Georgia. Abkhaz regard their independence as the result of a war of liberation from Georgia, while Georgians believe that historically Abkhazia has always formed part of Georgia.Georgians formed the single largest ethnic group in pre-1993 Abkhazia, with a 45.7% plurality as of 1989. During the war the Abkhaz separatist side carried out anethnic cleansingcampaign which resulted in the expulsion of up to 250,000and in the killing of more than 5,000 ethnic Georgians.TheOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) conventions ofLisbon,BudapestandIstanbulhave officially recognized the ethnic cleansing of Georgians,whichUN General Assembly ResolutionGA/10708 also mentions.TheUN Security Councilhas passed a series of resolutions in which it appeals for a cease-fire.

Background

The written history of Abkhazia largely begins with thecolonization by Ancient Greeksof its coast in the 6th-5th centuries BC. During this time, the territory was part of the western Georgian kingdom ofColchis(Egrisi). During theAntiquity,various tribes were recorded on the territory today known as Abkhazia:Moschi,Sanigs,Misimians,ApsilaeandAbasgois.Moschi, Sanigs and Misimians were known to have Georgian (Kartvelian) origin, while origin ofApsilaeandAbasgoisis disputed, with some scholars considering them to be Kartvelian tribes, while others regard them as being ancestors of people today called asAbkhazians.Throughout Antiquity, the territory was controlled byPontus,theRoman Empire,and theByzantine Empire.Local tribes played a huge role into consolidation of local population into single unit. They managed to break free from the Byzantine Empire in the 8th century and establish their independent kingdom. During this time, the term "Apkhazeti"first appeared in theGeorgian annals,which is ofMingrelian(Western Georgian) origin, "Apkha" meaning back or shoulder.The term gave rise to the name "Abkhazia",which is used today in most foreign languages. It was used to denote wholeAbasgia(Byzantine name for the territory). The medievalKingdom of Abkhaziamanaged to unite whole Western Georgia into a single political entity and transferred its capital to the Georgian city ofKutaisi.Although the origin of this kingdom'sruling familyis still disputed, most scholars agree that the Abkhazian kings were Georgian in culture and language. The kingdom is frequently referred in modern history writing as the Egrisi-Abkhazian kingdom due to the fact that medieval authors viewed the new monarchy as asuccessor stateof Egrisi and sometimes used the terms interchangeably. In order to eliminate the Byzantine religious influence, the dynasty subordinated the localdiocesesto theGeorgian OrthodoxpatriarchateofMtskheta.

In the 10th century, Kingdom of Abkhazia played an important role inUnification of the Georgian realm.Through dynastic succession,Bagrat BagrationiunitedKingdom of Abkhazia,Southern GeorgianKingdom of the Iberiansand Eastern Georgian territories ofKartliunder single political entity,Kingdom of Georgia.Duchy of Tskhumiwas established on the territory of Abkhazia, which later was transformed into Duchy of Abkhazia. The Kingdom became the largest entity in the Caucasus by the 12th century. However, in the late 15th century, the civil strife within the Kingdom of Georgia led to itsdissolution.Various new Georgian kingdoms arose in its place, such asKingdom of KakhetiandKingdom of Kartliin the Eastern Georgia,Samtskhe-Saatabagoin the Southern Georgia andKingdom of Imeretiin the Western Georgia. The latter consisted of three principalities:Principality of Mingrelia,Principality of GuriaandPrincipality of Abkhazia.Eventually Kingdom of Imereti declined due to power struggle within its ruling elites and constantOttomaninvasions, leading to these principalities gaining semi-independent status as they frequently acted independently and at times titled themselves as kings. In the 1570s, theOttomannavy occupied the fort of Tskhumi on the Abkhazian coastline, turning it into the Turkish fortress of Suhum-Kale (hence, the modern name of the city ofSukhumi). In 1555, Georgia and the wholeSouth Caucasusbecame divided between the Ottoman andSafavidPersianempires per thePeace of Amasya,with Abkhazia, along with all of western Georgia, remaining in the hands of the Ottomans. As a result, Abkhazia came under the increasing influence of Turkey andIslam,gradually losing its cultural and religious ties with the rest of Georgia. According to the Soviet historical science, Turkey, after the conquest has aimed at obliterating the material and spiritual culture of Abkhazia and forcibly convert the population to Islam.

Conflict in 1918–1920

Main article:Abkhazia conflict (1918)

Following the Russian Revolutions, Georgia initially joined theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republicand subsequently became independent as theDemocratic Republic of Georgia(DRG) governed by GeorgianMensheviks,while Abkhazia fell under control of a group of localBolsheviksand theRed Armyof Russia following a Bolshevik-led rebellion against the local Abkhazian self-government, Abkhaz People's Council (APC). This forced the APC to request aid from theDemocratic Republic of Georgia,which ousted the Bolshevik rebels inSokhumiwith theNational Guard of Georgia.Abkhazia joined Democratic Republic of Georgia as an autonomous entity. This later led to theSochi conflictbetween Georgia andSoviet Russiaover ownership of Abkhazia and the territories of the formerBlack Sea Governorate.Georgia managed to repulse the Red Army from Abkhazia but conceded to Russian claims overSochiandTuapse.In 1920,Psouriver was agreed as a new state border between Soviet Russia and Georgia. This corresponds to the modern internationally recognizedGeorgia–Russia border.In 1921, Abkhazia was granted the status of theautonomous republicwithin the Georgian Democratic Republic.

In 1921, theRed Army invaded Georgiaand toppled the Menshvik government of the DRG.Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic(GSSR) was established under Bolshevik government, which was later incorporated into theUSSR.In exchange for support for Bolsheviks in Abkhazia, the Soviet government agreed to increase the autonomy of Abkhazia. In 1921,Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhaziawas created. However, it was not separate from Georgia and its status was defined as atreaty republicof GSSR. In 1931, status of Abkhazia was again downgraded to the autonomous republic, withAbkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republicbeing established.

The late Soviet era conflict

See also:1989 Sukhumi riots

Tensions between Abkhazians and Georgians began to escalate in 1980s as Georgians increasingly pushed for independence from the Soviet Union, while Abkhazians wanted to remain in theSoviet Union.On 18 March 1989, a group of Abkhazian intellectuals wrote letter to theKremlin,expressing their desire to upgrade the status of Abkhazia to independent SSR within the Soviet Union or joinRussiaas an autonomous republic. This is known asLykhny appeal.According to the1979 Soviet Census,Georgians made up 45.7% of the population of Abkhazia, while Abkhazians were 17.8%. In response to the appeal, the Georgian anti-Soviet groups organized a series of unsanctioned meetings across Georgia, claiming that the Soviet government was using Abkhaz separatism in order to oppose the Georgia's pro-independence movement. Thepeaceful demonstrationin Tbilisi was suppressed by theSoviet Armyon 9 April 1989, which is known today asApril 9 tragedy.In July 1989,the riotsstarted in Abkhazia with the Abkhaz protest against an opening of a branch ofTbilisi State Universityin Sukhumi, and concluded with the looting of the Georgian school which was expected to house the new university on 16 July 1989. The ensuing violence quickly degenerated into a large-scale inter-ethnic confrontation. The first case of inter-ethnic violence in Georgia, it effectively marked the start of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.

The July events in Abkhazia left at least 18 dead and 448 injured, of whom, according to official accounts, 302 were Georgians.Although the government managed to end the violence and maintain peace at that time, the conflict developed further and resulted in the next years in what is often referred as "war of laws". In 1991, Georgia refused to take part in referendum to preserve the Soviet Union as a renewed federation, opting to hold anindependence referendum,which led to adeclaration of independence.However, Abkhazia defied Tbilisi and took part in theSoviet referendum,which was boycotted by the Georgian population of Abkhazia.

In order to defuse tensions, newly elected Georgian PresidentZviad Gamsakhurdiaagreed on an arrangement to grant a wide over-representation to the Abkhazians in the localSupreme Council,with Abkhazians, while being only 18% of the population, getting the largest portion of seats.According to this settlement, the 65 seats in the Supreme Soviet were allocated to different ethnic groups; 28 were reserved forAbkhazians,26 forGeorgians(46% of the total population) and 11 for the other ethnic groups.Theelectionswere held in September 1991 and resulted inVladislav Ardzinbabeing appointed as Chairman of the Abkhazian Supreme Council. Ardzinba, who was a charismatic but excitable figure popular among the Abkhaz, was believed by Georgians to have helped to instigate theanti-Georgian violence of July 1989.Ardzinba exploited theGeorgian Civil Warwhich began in December 1991 to consolidate his power and launched a practice of replacing ethnic Georgians in leading positions with the Abkhaz. Ardzinba created the Abkhazian National Guard that was mono-ethnically Abkhaz, and on 24 June 1992, attacked the building of the Abkhazian Interior Ministry, a last stronghold of Georgian authority in Abkhazia, severely beating the ethnic Georgian minister Givi Lominadze and installing AbkhazAlexander Ankvab.These events led to a split in the Supreme Council between Georgian and Abkhazian factions and forced the Georgian faction to boycott the sessions. In turn, On 23 July 1992, the Abkhazian faction of the Supreme Council, without aquorum,passed a resolution on restoring the 1925 Abkhazian constitution, declaring a "sovereign state" from Georgia. On 25 July 1992,State Council of the Republic of Georgia,a governing body of Georgia at that time, responded with a special resolution, which nullified this declaration, with Georgian leaderEduard Shevardnadzepointing out that the separatist decision contradicted the opinion of the majority of Abkhazian population.Meanwhile, 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.Russia used Abkhaz and also South Ossetian separatists as its ethnically-based proxies to inflame ethnic conflicts in Georgia, undermine Georgian independence and assert Russia's control over the strategically important South Caucasus.

War in Abkhazia

Main article:War in Abkhazia (1992–93)

The conflict eventually devolved into a war, which lasted for 13 months, beginning in August, 1992, with Georgian government forces and a militia composed of ethnic Georgians who lived in Abkhazia and separatist forces consisting of ethnicAbkhaziansandArmenianswho also lived in Abkhazia. The separatists were supported by theNorth CaucasianandCossackmilitants and (unofficially) by Russian forces stationed inGudauta.The conflict resulted in theethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia.Theagreement in Moscowended hostilities in 1994, however, this would not last.

Resumption of hostilities

Main articles:War in Abkhazia (1998)and2001 Kodori crisis

In April–May 1998, the conflict escalated once again in the Gali District when several hundred Abkhaz forces entered the villages still populated by Georgians to support the separatist-held parliamentary elections. Despite criticism from the opposition, Eduard Shevardnadze,President of Georgia,refused to deploy troops against Abkhazia. Aceasefirewas negotiated on May 20. The hostilities resulted in hundreds of casualties from both sides and an additional 20,000 Georgian refugees.

In September 2001, around 400 Chechen fighters and 80 Georgian guerrillas appeared in theKodori Valley.The Chechen-Georgian paramilitaries advanced as far as Sukhumi, but finally were repelled by the Abkhazian forces.

Saakashvili era

The new Georgian government of PresidentMikheil Saakashvilipromised not to use force and to resolve the problem only by diplomacy and political talks.

While at aCommonwealth of Independent States(CIS) summit it was decided not to carry out contacts with separatists, the trans-border economic cooperation and transport between Abkhazia and Russia grew in scale, with Russia claiming that all this is a matter of private business, rather than state.Georgia also decried the unlimited issuing of Russian passports in Abkhazia with subsequent payment of retirement pensions and other monetary benefits by Russia, which Georgia considers to be economic support of separatists by the Russian government.

In May 2006 the Coordinating Council of Georgia's Government and Abkhaz separatists was convened for the first time since 2001.In late July the2006 Kodori crisiserupted, resulting in the establishment of thede jure Government of AbkhaziainKodori.For the first time after the war, this government was located in Abkhazia, and it was headed byMalkhaz Akishbaia,Temur MzhaviaandAda Marshania.

On May 15, 2008United Nations General Assemblyadopted a resolution recognising the right of all refugees to return to Abkhazia and reclaim their property rights. 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 homes."

August 2008

Main articles:Battle of the Kodori GorgeandRusso-Georgian War

On August 10, 2008, theRusso-Georgian Warspread to Abkhazia, where separatist rebels and the Russian air force launched an all-out attack on Georgian forces. Abkhazia's pro-Moscow separatist PresidentSergei Bagapshsaid that his troops had launched a major "military operation" to force Georgian troops out of the Kodori Gorge, which they still controlled.As a result of this attack, Georgian troops were driven out of Abkhazia entirely.

On August 26, 2008, the Russian Federation officially recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

In response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government announced that the country cut all diplomatic relations with Russia and that it left the Commonwealth of Independent States.

After the 2008 war

Relations between Georgia and Abkhazia have remained tense after the war. Georgia has moved to increase Abkhazia's isolation by imposing asea blockadeof Abkhazia. During the opening ceremony of a new building of the Georgian Embassy inKyiv(Ukraine) in November 2009,Georgian PresidentMikheil Saakashvilistated that residents ofSouth Ossetiaand Abkhazia could also use its facilities. "I would like to assure you, my dear friends, that this is your home, as well, and here you will always be able to find support and understanding", he said.

On July 9, 2012, theOSCE Parliamentary Assemblypassed a resolution at its annual session inMonaco,underlining Georgia's territorial integrity and referring to breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia asoccupied 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 said that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was "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."

In 2016, murder of ethnic Georgian Giga Otkhozoria by Abkhaz border guards caused international resonance and raised question about human rights situation of ethnic Georgians remaining in Abkhazia, particularlyGali district,where 98% is ethnic Georgian and is often subject to ethnic discrimination, denial of political and civil rights and police misconduct.

See also

• Abkhazia–Georgia border
• Georgian–Ossetian conflict
• Russo-Georgian War
• Politics of Abkhazia
• Transnistria conflict
• Women's Peace Train

Bibliography

• Chervonnaya, Svetlana(1994),Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia and the Russian Shadow,translated by Ariane Chanturia, Glastonbury, United Kingdom: Gothic Image Publications,ISBN978-0-90-636230-3
• Cornell, Svante E.(2001),Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus,London: Curzon Press,ISBN978-0-70-071162-8
• Cornell, Svante E.;Starr, S. Frederick(2009),The Guns of August 2008: Russia's War in Georgia,Armok, New York:M.E. Sharpe,ISBN978-0-76-562508-3
• Derluguian, Georgi M.(1998),"The Tale of Two Resorts: Abkhazia and Ajaria Before and Since the Soviet Collapse",in Crawford, Beverley; Lipshutz, Ronnie D. (eds.),The Myth of "Ethnic Conflict": Politics, Economics, and "Cultural" Violence,Berkeley, California: University of California Press, pp.261–292,ISBN978-0-87-725198-9
• Hewitt, B.G. (1993), "Abkhazia: a problem of identity and ownership",Central Asian Survey,12(3): 267–323,doi:10.1080/02634939308400819
• Hewitt, George (2013),Discordant Neighbours: A Reassessment of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian Conflicts,Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill,ISBN978-9-00-424892-2
• Kaufman, Stuart J. (2001),Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War,Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press,ISBN0-8014-8736-6
• Lakoba, Stanislav(1995), "Abkhazia is Abkhazia",Central Asian Survey,14(1): 97–105,doi:10.1080/02634939508400893
• Rayfield, Donald(2012),Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia,London:Reaktion Books,ISBN978-1-78-023030-6
• Saparov, Arsène (2015),From Conflict to Autonomy in the Caucasus: The Soviet Union and the making of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh,New York City: Routledge,ISBN978-0-41-565802-7
• Suny, Ronald Grigor(1994),The Making of the Georgian Nation(Second ed.), Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press,ISBN978-0-25-320915-3
• Welt, Cory (2012), "A Fateful Moment: Ethnic Autonomy and Revolutionary violence in the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921)", inJones, Stephen F.(ed.),The Making of Modern Georgia, 1918 – 2012: The first Georgian Republic and its successors,New York City: Routledge, pp. 205–231,ISBN978-0-41-559238-3
• Zürcher, Christoph(2007),The Post-Soviet Wars: Rebellion, Ethnic Conflict, and Nationhood in the Caucasus,New York City: New York University Press,ISBN978-0-81-479709-9

Further reading

• Blair, Heather"Ethnic Conflict as a Tool of Outside Influence: An Examination of Abkhazia and Kosovo.",2007
• Goltz, Thomas."Georgia Diary: A Chronicle of War and Political Chaos in the Post-Soviet Caucasus".M.E. Sharpe (2006).ISBN0-7656-1710-2
• Lynch, Dov.The Conflict in Abkhazia: Dilemmas in Russian 'Peacekeeping' Policy.Royal Institute of International Affairs, February 1998.
• MacFarlane, S., N., “On the front lines in the near abroad: the CIS and the OSCE in Georgia’ s civil wars", Third World Quarterly, Vol 18, No 3, pp 509– 525, 1997.
• Marshania, L.,Tragedy of Abkhazia,Moscow, 1996
• McCallion, AmyAbkhazian Separatism
• Steele, Jon. "War Junkie: One Man`s Addiction to the Worst Places on Earth" Corgi (2002).ISBN0-552-14984-5
• White Book of Abkhazia.1992–1993 Documents, Materials, Evidences. Moscow, 1993.

External links

• Accord issue on the Georgia Abkhazia peace processalso includes chronology and key texts & agreements.(in English and Russian)
• "Documented accounts of ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia"(in Russian). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-06-07.Retrieved2007-06-07.
• Documented accounts of ethnic cleansing of Abkhazians by GeorgiansArchived2008-11-05 at theWayback Machine(in Russian)
• Government of Abkhazia (-in-exile)