Vladislav Ardzinba was the first de facto president of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia to de facto independence in the 1992–1993 War with Georgia, but its de jure independence from Georgia remained internationally unrecognised during Ardzinba's two terms as President from 1994 to 2005. His government orchestrated ethnic cleansing of Georgian civilians in Abkhazia in 1993.
The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, also known as the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, or simply Transcaucasia, was a republic of the Soviet Union that existed from 1922 to 1936.
An Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was a type of administrative unit in the Soviet Union (USSR), created for certain ethnic groups to be the titular nations of. The ASSRs had a status lower than the constituent union republics of the USSR, but higher than the autonomous oblasts and the autonomous okrugs.
The Georgian Civil War lasted from 1991 to 1993 in the South Caucasian country of Georgia. It consisted of inter-ethnic and international conflicts in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as the violent military coup d'état against the first democratically-elected President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and his subsequent uprising in an attempt to regain power.
The Abkhazia conflict is a territorial dispute over Abkhazia, a region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in the South Caucasus, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The conflict involves Georgia, the Russian Federation and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia, which is internationally recognised only by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria; Georgia and all other United Nations members consider Abkhazia a sovereign territory of Georgia. However, as of 2023, Georgia lacks de facto control over the territory.
The Abkhazians or Abkhazes are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the Caucasian War in the late 19th century. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.
The flag of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1991 by Valeri Gamgia. It was officially adopted on 23 July 1992.
The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union created within the Georgian SSR on April 20, 1922. It was an ethnic enclave created for the Ossetians within Georgia by Soviets as a reward for their political loyalty during the 1921 Soviet invasion of Georgia. Its autonomy was revoked on December 11, 1990 by the Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR after illegally holding rival elections, leading to the First South Ossetian War. Currently, its territory is controlled by the breakaway Republic of South Ossetia.
The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is an administration established by Georgia as the legal and only government of Abkhazia. Abkhazia has been de facto independent from Georgia – though with limited international recognition – since the early 1990s. Ruslan Abashidze, elected in May 2019, is the current head of the government-in-exile.
The history of Abkhazia, a region in the South Caucasus, spans more than 5,000 years from its settlement by the lower-paleolithic hunter-gatherers to its present status as a partially recognized state.
Nestor Apollonovich Lakoba was an Abkhaz communist leader. Lakoba helped establish Bolshevik power in Abkhazia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, and served as the head of Abkhazia after its conquest by the Bolshevik Red Army in 1921. While in power, Lakoba saw that Abkhazia was initially given autonomy within the USSR as the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia. Though nominally a part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic with a special status of "union republic," the Abkhaz SSR was effectively a separate republic, made possible by Lakoba's close relationship with Joseph Stalin. Lakoba successfully opposed the extension of collectivization of Abkhazia, though in return Lakoba was forced to accept a downgrade of Abkhazia's status to that of an autonomous republic within the Georgian SSR.
The Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia was a short-lived republic within the Caucasus region of the Soviet Union that covered the territory of Abkhazia, and existed from 31 March 1921 to 19 February 1931. Formed in the aftermath of the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921, it was independent until 16 December 1921 when it agreed to a treaty that united it with the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. The SSR Abkhazia was similar to an autonomous Soviet republic, though it retained nominal independence from Georgia and was given certain features only full union republics had, like its own military units. Through its status as a "treaty republic" with Georgia, Abkhazia joined the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which united Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian SSRs into one federal unit when the latter was formed in 1922. The SSR Abkhazia was abolished in 1931 and replaced with the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian SSR.
The Sukhumi riot was a riot in Sukhumi, Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, in July 1989, triggered by an increasing inter-ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz and Georgian communities and followed by several days of street fighting and civil unrest in Sukhumi and throughout Abkhazia.
This article describes the background of the Russo-Georgian War.
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi.
The flag of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted in 1951 by the republic's government. Its primary visual features are identical to those of the flag of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. A later version of the flag includes a gold inscription under the canton of the republic's name.
The Georgia–Russia border is the state border between Georgia and Russia. It is de jure 894 km in length and runs from the Black Sea coast in the west and then along the Greater Caucasus Mountains to the tripoint with Azerbaijan in the east, thus closely following the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia. In 2008 Russia recognised the independence of two self-declared republics within Georgia, meaning that in a de facto sense the border is now split into four sections: the Abkhazia–Russia border in the west, the western Georgia–Russia border between Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the South Ossetia–Russia border and the eastern Georgia–Russia border between South Ossetia and Azerbaijan. At present most of the international community refuse to recognise the independence of the two territories and regard them as belonging to Georgia.
Elections to the People's Council were held in Abkhazia on 13 February 1919, alongside parliamentary elections in Georgia.
The Abkhazia–Georgia separation line is a de facto boundary set up in aftermath of the War in Abkhazia and Russo-Georgian War, which separates the self-declared Republic of Abkhazia from the territory controlled by the Government of Georgia. Republic of Abkhazia, and those states that recognise its independence, view the line as an international border separating two sovereign states, whereas the Georgian government and most other countries refer to it as an 'Administrative Border Line' within Georgian territory. The Georgian government views Abkhazia as a Russian-occupied Georgian territory and designates the de facto boundary as an occupation line in accordance with the Georgian "Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia". The Constitution of Georgia recognizes Abkhazia as autonomous within Georgia, therefore the line corresponds to the 'Administrative Border' of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia within Georgian territory.
The Georgia–South Ossetia separation line is a de facto boundary set up in aftermath of the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War and Russo-Georgian War, which separates the self-declared Republic of South Ossetia from the territory controlled by the Government of Georgia. South Ossetia, and those states that recognise its independence, view the line as an international border separating two sovereign states, whereas the Georgian government views it as an occupation line in accordance with the Georgian "Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia". The Constitution of Georgia does not recognize South Ossetia as having any special status within Georgia, therefore the line does not correspond to any Georgian administrative area, with the territory claimed by the Republic of South Ossetia shared out amongst several Georgian Mkhares: Shida Kartli, Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti.
