Abkhazia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Republic of Abkhazia

Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Aiaaira"
("Victory")



Capital
(and largest city) Sukhumi
40°59′E / 43, 40.983
Official languages Abkhaz, Russian¹
Non-official languages Armenian, Georgian, Mingrelian²
Demonym Abkhaz, Abkhazian
Government Unitary republic
 -  President Sergei Bagapsh (United Abkhazia)
 -  Vice President Raul Khadjimba (Forum of Abkhaz People’s Unity)
 -  Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab (Aytayra)
Partially recognised independence from Georgia and the Soviet Union[1][2][3]
 -  Georgian annulment of all Soviet-era laws and treaties 20 June 1990 
 -  Declaration of sovereignty³ 25 August 1990 
 -  Georgian declaration of independence 9 April 1991 
 -  Dissolution of Soviet Union 26 December 1991 
 -  Reinstatement of 1925 Constitution 23 July 1992 
 -  New Constitution 26 November 1994 
 -  Referendum 3 October 1999 
 -  Act of state independence⁴ 12 October 1999 
 -  First international recognition⁵ 26 August 2008 
Area
 -  Total 8,432 km² 
3,256 sq mi 
Population
 -   estimate Between 157,000 and 190,000⁶
180,000⁷ 
 -  2003 census 216,000 
 -  Density 29/km² 
75.1/sq mi
Currency Russian ruble⁸ (RUB)
Time zone MSK (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
¹ Russian has co-official status and widespread use by government and other institutions.
² Mingrelian is spoken largely in the Gali district.
³ Anulled by the Georgian Soviet immediately after.
⁴ Establishing retro-actively de jure independence since the 1992-1993 war.
⁵ By Russia. Only since followed by Nicaragua.
⁶ International Crisis Group 2006 estimate.
⁷ Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 estimate.

Abkhazia (Abkhaz: Аҧсны Apsny, Georgian: აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti or Abkhazeti, Russian: Абха́зия Abkhazia) is a disputed region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict, it is governed by the partially-recognized Republic of Abkhazia.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Georgia considers Abkhazia part of its territory and has designated the province, in its official subdivisions, as an autonomous republic (Georgian: აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა, Abkhaz: Аҧснытәи Автономтәи Республика, Apsnitei Avtonomtei Respublika), bordering the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti to the east. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution declaring Abkhazia a "Russian-occupied territory."[10][11]

The Republic of Abkhazia, with Sukhumi as its capital, is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, and the de facto independent republics of South Ossetia and Transnistria,[12] while the European Union, OSCE, and NATO recognise Abkhazia as an integral part of the territory of Georgia.[13][14][15][16][17]

The secessionist movement of the Abkhaz minority led to the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict. The War in Abkhazia resulted in a Georgian military defeat and the mass exodus and ethnic cleansing of the Georgian population from Abkhazia. In spite of the 1994 ceasefire accord and the ongoing UN-monitored and Russian-dominated CIS peacekeeping operation, the sovereignty dispute has not yet been resolved. This dispute remains a source of a conflict between Georgia and Russia.

History

Early history

In the 9th–6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia became a part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis (Kolkha), which was absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Egrisi. Greek traders established ports along the Black Sea shoreline. One of those ports, Dioscurias, eventually developed into modern Sukhumi, Abkhazia's traditional capital.

The Roman Empire conquered Egrisi in the 1st century AD and ruled it until the 4th century, following which it regained a measure of independence, but remained within the Byzantine Empire's sphere of influence. Although the exact time when the population of Abkhazia was converted to Christianity is not determined, it is known that the Metropolitan of Pitius participated in the First Oecumenical Council in 325 in Nicea. Abkhazia was made an autonomous principality of the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century — a status it retained until the 9th century, when it was united with the province of Imereti and became known as the Abkhazian Kingdom. In 9th–10th centuries the Georgian kings tried to unify all the Georgian provinces and in 1001 King Bagrat III Bagrationi became the first king of the unified Georgian Kingdom.

In the 16th century, after the break-up of the united Georgian Kingdom, an autonomous Principality of Abkhazia (abxazetis samtavro in Georgian) emerged, ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty (aka Sharvashidze, or Chachba). Since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of Ottoman Empire and Islam. Under the Ottoman rule, the majority of Abkhazians were converted to Islam, and the Abkhazian ruling dynasty Shervashidze lost their ties with the Christian Georgian nobility.

Abkhazia within the Russian Empire and Soviet Union

In the beginning of 19th century when Russians and Ottomans struggled for control of the region, the rules of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide. The first attempt to enter into relation with Russia was made by Keilash Beyin 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 in 2 May 1808. On 2 July 1810, the Russian Marines stormed Suhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival brother, Sefer-Bey (1810-1821), who had become converted to Christianity and assumed the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian empire as an autonomous principality. However, George’s rule, as well of his successors, was limited to the neighbourhood of Suhum-Kale and the Bzyb area. 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 more needed to 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. Abkhazia was incorporated in the Russian Empire as a special military province of Suhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883, into an okrug as part of the Kutais Guberniya. Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians — said to have constituted as much as 60% of the Abkhazian population, although contemporary census reports were not very trustworthy — emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878 together with other Muslim population of Caucasus in the process known as Muhajirism.