User:Sephia karta/Republic of Abkhazia

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This article is about the internationally unrecognised but de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia. It should not be confused with the Georgian Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, which is internationally recognised. This article is about the government, politics and society of the Republic of Abkhazia. For information about the history, geography, climate and nature of the region, see Abkhazia.
Аҧснытәи Республика
Apsnyti Respublika
Republic of Abkhazia
Flag of Abkhazia Image:Abkhasia g.gif
Flag Coat of Arms
Anthem: Aiaaira
Location of Abkhazia
Capital
(and largest city)		 Sukhumi
43°00′N, 40°59′E
Official languages Abkhaz [1]
Government Presidential system
 -  President Sergei Bagapsh
 -  Vice President Raul Khadjimba
 -  Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab
Independence
 -  declared  
 -  recognised not until date 
Area
 -  Total 8,600 km² 
Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "," sq mi 
 -  Water (%) Negligible
Population
 -  2000 estimate 150,000 (193rd)
 -  Density 29/km² 
75.1/sq mi
Currency Russian ruble
Time zone (UTC+3)
Internet TLD none

Abkhazia IPA: /æbˈkeɪʒə/ or /æbˈkɑziə/ (Abkhaz: Аҧсны Apsny, Georgian: აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti, or Abkhazeti, Russian: Абха́зия Abhazia) is a de facto independent republic within the de jure borders of Georgia, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, bordering the Russian Federation to the north. Abkhazia’s independence is not recognized by any international organization or country and is regarded as an autonomous republic of Georgia (Georgian: აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა, Abkhaz: Аҧснытәи Автономтәи Республика), with Sukhumi as its capital.

A strong secessionist movement of Abkhaz ethnic minority in the region led to the declaration of independence from Georgia in 1992 and the Georgian-Abkhaz armed conflict from 1992 to 1993 which resulted in the Georgian military defeat and the mass exodus of ethnic Georgian population from Abkhazia. In spite of the 1994 ceasefire accord and the ongoing UN-monitored CIS peacekeeping operation, the conflict has not yet been resolved and the region remains divided between the two rival authorities, with over 83 percent of its territory controlled by the Russian-backed Sukhumi-based separatist government and about 17 percent governed by the representatives of the de jure Government of Abkhazia, the only body internationally recognized as a legal authority of Abkhazia, located in the Kodori Valley, part of Georgian-controlled Upper Abkhazia.

Contents

[edit] Political status

The United States, European Union and international organizations (UN, OSCE, Council of the European Union, etc.) recognize Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia and are urging both sides to settle the conflict over Abkhazian autonomy through peaceful means.[2] However, the Abkhaz separatist government and the majority of the current Abkhazian population (excluding ethnic Georgians who still populate the Gali District and the Kodori Gorge) consider Abkhazia a sovereign country, even though not recognized by any party in the world.

Meanwhile the Russian State Duma is urging to take into consideration the Abkhazian Republic's appeal to be recognized as an independent state,[3] while Russian state media produce numerous materials in support of separatist rule.[citation needed] During the war, Russian authorities supplied significant military and financial aid to the separatist side. Today, Russia still maintains a strong political and military influence over the separatist rule in Abkhazia.[4] Additionally, the Russian Orthodox Church recently published translations of the Gospels in Abkhazian, which drew protests from the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church as a violation of Orthodox Church canon law, constituting a meddling in the internal affairs of another Orthodox church.[5]

On October 18, 2006, the Abkhazian parliament passed a resolution, calling upon Russia, international organizations, and the rest of the international community to recognize Abkhazian independence, claiming that the region possesses all the properties of an independent state.[6]

[edit] Economy

The economy of Abkhazia heavily depends on Russia and the Russian ruble is used for currency. Tourism is a key industry. Abkhaz de facto authorities claim that the organised tourists (mainly from Russia) numbered more than 100,000 in the last years (compared to about 200,000 in the 1990 before the war)[1] and estimate the total number of visitors in 2006 at 1-1.5 million.[2] Although the CIS economic sanctions imposed against Abkhazia in 1994 are still formally in force and Russia has established a visa regime with Georgia, Russian tourists don’t need a visa to enter Abkhazia.

[edit] Demographics

According to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (published in Russia in 1890-1906) at the beginning of the 20th century Abkhazians and Georgians constituted 60-65% and 25-30% of the Sukhum district population respectively (this district occupied about the same territory as Abkhazian ASSR in Soviet times)[3][4].

According to the other sources Abkhazians numbered only 20,000 in 1881.[7]

Also, the 1917 statistics is cited according to which Georgians and Abkhazians composed 42% (75,000) and 21% (38,000) of the population of Abkhazia respectively.[citation needed]

According to the 1926 census the composition of Abkhazia (total population 186,004) was as follows: Abkhazians 55,918 (30.1%), Mingrelians 40,989 (22.0%), Armenians 25,677 (13.8%), Georgians 24,588 (13.2%), Greeks 14,045 (7.8%), Russians 12,553 (6.8%), Ukrainians 4,647 (2.5%) and Svans 1,875 (1.0%).[citation needed]

The demography of Abkhazia has undergone a massive shift since the 1990s. At the time of the last Soviet census in 1989, it had a population of about 500 000, of whom 48% were ethnic Georgians (principally Mingrelians) and only 17% were Abkhaz.

In 1993, war led to Abkhazia breaking away from Georgia, and virtually the entire ethnic Georgian population — some 250 000 people and virtually the entire population of the east of the country — were displaced in what is alleged to have been a campaign of ethnic cleansing.[8] Abkhazia's much-reduced population now has an ethnic Abkhaz plurality of 45%, with Russians, Armenians (mostly Christian Hamshenis), Georgians, Greeks, and Jews comprising most of the remainder of the population. The majority of non-Georgian population has Russian citizenship.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Abkhazia

[edit] 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 were trying 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, the area was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, during which the Abkhazians were partially converted to Islam. The Ottomans were pushed out by the Georgians, who established an autonomous Principality of Abkhazia (abxazetis samtavro in Georgian), ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty (aka Sharvashidze, or Chachba).

[edit] Abkhazia within the Russian Empire and Soviet Union

The expansion of the Russian Empire into the Caucasus region led to small-scale but regular conflicts between Russian colonists and the indigenous Caucasian tribes. Eventually the Caucasian War erupted, which ended with Russian conquest of the North and Western Caucasus. Various Georgian principalities were annexed to the empire between 1801 and 1864. The Russians acquired possession of Abhkazia in a piecemeal fashion between 1829 and 1842; but their power was not firmly established until 1864, when they managed to abolish the local principality which was still under Shervashidze rule. 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.

Modern Abkhazian historians maintain that large areas of the region were left uninhabited, and that many Armenians, Georgians and Russians (all Christians) subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of the vacated territory. This version of events is strongly contested by Georgian historians (see Lortkipanidze M., The Abkhazians and Abkhazia, Tbilisi 1990) who argue that Georgian tribes (Mingrelians and Svans) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom. According to Georgian scholars, the Abkhaz are the descendants of North Caucasian tribes (Adygey, Apsua), who migrated to Abkhazia from the north of the Caucasus Mountains and merged there with the existing Georgian population. Either way, at the beginning of the 20th century demographics were such that in 1911 the Encyclopædia Britannica reported that in Sukhumi (population at the time 43 000), two-thirds of the population were Mingrelian and one-third were Abkhaz.

Soviet Caucasus 1989 political divisions and subdivisons showing the Abkhazian ASSR (Abkhazskaya ASSR in Russian) of Georgian SSR
Soviet Caucasus 1989 political divisions and subdivisons showing the Abkhazian ASSR (Abkhazskaya ASSR in Russian) of Georgian SSR

The 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 Soviet republic with the ambiguous status of Union Republic associated with the Georgian SSR, In 1931, Stalin made it an autonomous republic within Soviet Georgia. Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong central rule from central Soviet authorities. Georgian became the official language. Purportedly, Lavrenty Beria encouraged Georgian migration to Abkhazia, and many took up the offer and resettled there. 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. Currently, Armenians are the largest minority group in Abkhazia.

The repression 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.

[edit] The Abkhazian War

Main article: Georgian-Abkhaz conflict

As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at the end of the 1980s, ethnic tension 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. The 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.

Georgia declared independence on 9 April 1991, under the rule of the former Soviet dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Gamsakhurdia's rule became unpopular, and that December the Georgian National Guard, under the command of Tengiz Kitovani, laid siege to the offices of Gamsakhurdia's government in Tbilisi. After weeks of stalemate, he was forced to resign in January 1992. He was replaced as president by Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister and architect of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Shevardnadze inherited a government dominated by hardline Georgian nationalists, and although he was not an ethnic nationalist, he did little to avoid being seen as supporting the government figures and powerful coup leaders who were.

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. In response, on 23 July 1992, the Abkhazia government effectively declared secession from Georgia, although this gesture went unrecognized by any other country. The Georgian government accused Gamsakhurdia supporters of kidnapping Georgia's interior minister and holding him captive in Abkhazia. The Georgian government dispatched 3,000 troops to the region, ostensibly to restore order. Heavy fighting between Georgian forces and Abkhazian militia broke out in and around Sukhumi. The Abkhazian authorities rejected the government's claims, claiming that it was merely a pretext for an invasion. After about a week's fighting and many casualties on both sides, Georgian government forces managed to take control of most of Abkhazia, and closed down the regional parliament.

The Abkhazians' 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 pro-Russian movements in the North Caucasus, Russia (Chechens, Cossacks, Ossetians and others). Hundreds of volunteer paramilitaries from Russia (including the then little known Shamil Basayev) joined forces with the Abkhazian separatists to fight the Georgian government forces. Regular Russian forces also reportedly sided with the secessionsts. In September, the Abkhaz and Russian paramilitaries mounted a major offensive 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". The year 1992 ended with the rebels in control of much of Abkhazia northwest of Sukhumi.

The conflict remained stalemated until July 1993, when the Abkhaz separatist militias launched an abortive attack on Georgian-held Sukhumi. The capital was surrounded and heavily shelled, with Shevardnadze himself trapped in the city.

Although a truce was declared at the end of July, this collapsed after a renewed Abkhaz attack in mid-September. After ten days of heavy fighting, Sukhumi fell on 27 September 1993. Eduard Shevardnadze narrowly escaped death, having vowed to stay in the city no matter what, but he was eventually forced to flee when separatist snipers fired on the hotel where he was residing. Abkhaz, North Caucasian militants and their allies committed one of the most horrific massacres[9] of this war against remaining Georgian civilians in the city known as Sukhumi Massacre. The mass killings and destruction continued for two weeks, leaving thousands dead and missing.

The separatist 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). In the chaotic aftermath of defeat almost all ethnic Georgians fled the region, escaping an ethnic cleansing initiated by the victors. Many thousands died — it is estimated that between 10,000-30,000 ethnic Georgians and 3,000 ethnic Abkhaz may have perished — and some 250,000-300,000 people were forced into exile.[citation needed]

During the war, gross human rights violations were reported on the both sides, and the atrocities committed by the Abkhaz forces and their allies are recognized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summits in Budapest (1994), Lisbon (1996) and Istanbul (1999) as the full-scale ethnic cleansing campaign against the Georgian population.


[edit] Politics

Image:Demoidps.jpg
There are approximately 300,000 Georgian IDPs from Abkhazia
Main article: Politics of Abkhazia

Politics in Abkhazia is dominated by the conflict with Georgia, of which the territory seceded, and by the fight over the presidency in 2004/2005. On 3 October 2004 presidential elections were held in Abkhazia. In the elections, Russia evidently supported Raul Khajimba, the prime minister backed by seriously ailing outgoing separatist President Vladislav Ardzinba. Posters of Russia's President Vladimir Putin together with Khajimba, who like Putin had worked as a KGB official, were everywhere in Sukhumi. Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, lead by Joseph Kobzon, a deputy and a popular singer, came to Abkhazia campaigning for Khajimba.

However Raul Khajimba lost the elections to Sergey Bagapsh. The tense situation in the republic led to the cancellation of the election results by the Supreme Court. After that the deal was struck between former rivals to run jointly - Bagapsh as a presidential candidate and Khajimba as a vice presidential candidate. They received more than 90% of the votes in the new election.

[edit] International involvement

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Russian enjoys co-official status and widespread use by the government and other institutions
  2. ^ Human Rights Watch. "Georgia/Abkhazia: Violations of the Laws of War and Russia's Role in the Conflict." Published on hrw.org, March 1995
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6216822.stm
  4. ^ http://mosnews.com/news/2006/07/21/luzhkabkhaz.shtml
  5. ^ http://www.geotimes.ge/index.php?m=home&newsid=2810
  6. ^ Breakaway Abkhazia seeks recognition, Al-Jazeera, October 18, 2006.
  7. ^ Barthold, R. (Minorsky, Vladimir). "Abkhaz", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam.
  8. ^ U.S. State Department, Country Reports on Human Rights Practises for 1993, Pub February 1994
  9. ^ Full Report by Human Rights Watch Helsinki, March 1995

[edit] External links

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