Abkhazia

Abkhazia

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Abkhazia (Abkhaz: Аҧсны Apsny, Georgian: აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti, Russian: Абха́зия Abkhazia) is a region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus whose status is disputed. It considers itself an independent state (the Republic of Abkhazia), but this is recognised only by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru, and by South Ossetia and Transnistria, the last two of which are themselves in a situation similar to Abkhazia.

The Georgian government and most of the world consider Abkhazia part of Georgia's territory. In Georgia's official subdivision it is an autonomous republic (Georgian: აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა, apkhazetis avt'onomiuri resp'ublik'a, Abkhaz: Аҧснытәи Автономтәи Республика, Apsnitwi Avtonomtwi Respublika), whose government sits in exile in Tblisi. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution declaring Abkhazia a "Russian-occupied territory".

The status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict. The wider region formed part of the Soviet Union until 1991. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate towards the end of the 1980s, ethnic tensions grew between Abkhaz and Georgians over Georgia's moves towards independence. This led to the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia that resulted in a Georgian military defeat, de facto independence of Abkhazia and the mass exodus and ethnic cleansing of the Georgian population from Abkhazia. In spite of the 1994 ceasefire agreement, and years of negotiations the status dispute has not been resolved, and despite the long-term presence of a United Nations monitoring force and a Russian-dominated CIS peacekeeping operation, the conflict has again flared up on several occasions. In August 2008, the sides again fought during the South Ossetia war, which was followed by the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 cease fire agreement and the termination of the UN and CIS missions.
 

History

Early history

In the 9th–6th centuries B.C., the territory of modern Abkhazia was the part of the ancient kingdom of Colchis ("Kolkha"), which was absorbed in 63 B.C. into another Kingdom of Egrisi, known to the Byzantine authors as "Lazica" anD to Persians as "Lazistan" after the Laz tribe.

Between 1000 and 550 B.C., Greeks established the trade colonies at the Black Sea coastal areas, e.g. Pitiunt or Dioscurias which then became the capital of the modern day Abkhazia. They encountered local warlike and piratical tribes who they called Heniochi. Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke. Arrian, Pliny and Strabo locate Abasgoi (usually considered ancestors of modern Abkhazians) and Moschoi people somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea.

The Roman Empire conquered Egrisi in the 1st century A.D. 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 Nicaea.

Abkhazia, or Abasgia of classic sources, formerly part of Colchis and later of Egrisi (Lazica) until the late 690s, was a princedom under the Byzantine authority. Anacopia was the princedom's capital. The country was mostly Christian with the archbishop's seat in Pityus. Arab incursion in Abkhazia was repelled by Leon I jointly with his Egrisian and Kartlian allies in 736.

After acquiring Egrisi via a dynastic union in 780s  Abkhazia became the dominant power in the region and the Kingdom of Abkhazia also known as Kingdom of Apkhazeti-Egrisi or the Kingdom of the Abkhazs was established. Then the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy and culture.The kingdom flourished between 850 and 950 when it annexed significant part of Eastern Georgia including Tbilisi. The period of unrest ensued which ended as Abkhazia and eastern Georgian states were unified into a Georgian monarchy under the King Bagrat III in the end of 10th-beginning of 11th century.

In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom, an autonomous Principality of Abkhazia 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 Ottoman rule, the majority of Abkhazians were converted to Islam. The principality retained a degree of autonomy under the Ottoman, and then the Russian rule, but was eventually absorbed into the Russian Empire in 1864.

Abkhazia within the Russian Empire and Soviet Union

 Abkhazia in 1899In the beginning of 19th century when Russians and Ottomans struggled for control of the region, the rulers of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide. The first attempt to enter into relation 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 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 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 40% 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.

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. According to Georgian historians Georgian tribes (Mingrelians and Svans) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom. Some Georgian scholars even claim that the Abkhaz are the descendants of North Caucasian tribes, who migrated to Abkhazia from the north of the Caucasus Mountains and merged there with the existing Georgian population. However, this theory has little support among most Georgian academics.

 
Soviet Caucasus 1989 political divisions and subdivisions showing the Abkhaz ASSR (Abkhazskaya ASSR in Russian) within the Georgian SSR
Flag of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia (SSR Abkhazia) in 1925
Flag of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Abkhaz ASSR) in 1978The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of an independent Georgia (which included Abkhazia) in 1918. Georgia's Menshevik government had problems with the area through most of its existence despite a limited autonomy being granted to the region. 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, 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 many Georgians (especially Mingrelians) were encouraged to settle in Abkhazia; Abkhaz schools were closed. Russians also moved into Abkhazia in great numbers. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, Vazgen I and the Armenian church encouraged and funded the migration of Armenians to Abkhazia.[citation needed] Currently, Armenians are the second largest minority group in Abkhazia (closely matching the Georgians), although their numbers decreased dramatically from 77,000 in the 1989 census to 45,000 in the 2003 census (see the Demographics).

The oppression of the Abkhaz was ended after Stalin's death and Beria's execution, and 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. Ethnic quotas were established for certain bureaucratic posts, giving the Abkhaz a degree of political power that was disproportionate to their minority status in the republic. This was interpreted by some as a "divide and rule" policy whereby local elites were given a share in power in exchange for support for the Soviet regime. In Abkhazia as elsewhere, it led to other ethnic groups - in this case, the Georgians - resenting what they saw as unfair discrimination, thereby stoking ethnic discord in the republic

Abkhazia