Abkhazian Navy | |
---|---|
Военно-морские силы Республики Абхазия | |
Founded | 1992 |
Country | Abkhazia |
Branch | Abkhazian Armed Forces |
Type | Navy |
Role | Naval defense of Abkhazia |
Size | 600 sailors |
Headquarters | Sukhumi, Ochamchire, and Pitsunda |
Equipment | BMP-2 SPG-9 KS-19 |
Engagements | Abkhaz–Georgian conflict |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Aleksander Voinsky |
The Abkhazian Navy is an operational-strategic formation of the Abkhazian Armed Forces, with its headquarters located in the vicinity of Sukhumi lighthouse. Its primary mission is to ensure the security of the self-proclaimed state of Abkhazia on the Black Sea coast. The Navy consists of littoral combat boats, a battalion of marines, parts of coastal troops and special forces. Joint exercises are often held with the Russian Navy. [1]
On December 23, 2014, the Parliament of Abkhazia ratified the Treaty on Alliance and Strategic Partnership with the Russian Federation. In accordance with the agreement, the main areas of cooperation are: conducting a coordinated foreign policy and common space of defense and security, promoting socio-economic development, and creating conditions for the full participation of Abkhazia in the post-Soviet era.
Tensions had long existed between Abkhaz nationalists and ethnic Georgians under Soviet rule, leading to the 1989 Sukhumi riots. In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Abkhazia remained as part of newly-independent Georgia. Tensions over autonomy demands led to the Abkhazian government proclaiming the independence of the region on 23 July 1992. On 14 August, Georgian police and National Guard units were dispatched to restore government control over Abkhazia, which marked the commencement of the war in Abkhazia. On 15 August, a marine tugboat was sent from Novorossiysk, Russia to Ochamchire to tow a decommissioned ship that had been sold to Turkey for scrap. As Georgian forces recaptured Ochamchire, the tug was seized and incorporated into the Georgian Navy.
Two days later, a group organized by long-distance navigator Levan Katiba brought a number of vessels across the Gumista River. In Gudauta, the formation of a fleet was organized by Kuchkan Enik, who served from 29 August as head of the coast guard. By order of Colonel Sosnaliev, who was the Chief of Staff of the State Committee for Defense, Enik was given the right to appoint specialists and take sea boats throughout the Gudauta District. [2] In September, Katiba began to form the Navy in the city of Pitsunda from floating seacraft, which at that time were in the hands of local Abkhaz militias. It originally consisted of 25 sailors, with Katiba being the first commander. Abkhaz sailors had a role in blocking the naval communications of the Georgian Armed Forces during the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993). On 20 September 1993, a Tu-154 was shot down from a boat by a gunner of the Atar Battalion. A day later, a Tupolev Tu-134 passenger plane flying from Sochi was shot down over the sea (killing 22 civilians and 5 crew members, including journalists from Russia and the European Union [ citation needed ]) and the day after, two Tu-154 planes carrying Georgian Special Forces personnel from Tbilisi were shot down by the Ablhaz fleet. [3] The Komsomolets of Abkhazia and Sukhum carried out humanitarian transport to Sochi for Abkhaz refugees as part of a POW exchange program. On 12 November 1992, personnel of the Gudauta Coast Guard Base began to be deployed to the main naval base while transferring a boat and a Project 343ME Volga glider at the same time.
On 19 December 1992, Katiba, began to address issues related to the replenishment of equipment, staffing of ships as well as ship documentation and launched a working group to address these needs for the young navy. The interim acting commander of the navy became Raul Nanba, who until then had served as midshipman in the Russian Navy. Raul Nanba resigned from his duties in January 1993. Captain Alexander Voinsky was appointed to this position, with Yuri Achba, a former commander of a nuclear submarine of the Soviet Navy's Northern Fleet, serving as chief of staff. In July of that year, Captain Ali Aliyev, a retired Dagestani graduate of the Caspian Higher Naval School in Baku. [4]
Further development of the navy was associated with the purchase of disarmed or decommissioned boats post-Soviet states. the countries of the former USSR. Until 2001, there were 9 fishing trawlers in the Sukhumi Naval Division. Between June and August 2004, the Navy of Abkhazia replenished four artillery boats from the 116th River Ship Brigade (located in Izmail) of the Black Sea Fleet, [5] purchased with funds from the Abkhazian diaspora. In early September 2009, President Sergey Bagapsh ordered the navy "to destroy" Georgian Navy ships near the maritime border of Abkhazia. [6] On 23 December 2014, the Parliament of Abkhazia ratified a treaty between Abkhazia and the Russian Federation, which laid the foundation for naval cooperation. [7]
As of October 5, 2023, Russia has signed a deal for a permanent naval base on the Abkhazian coast prompting criticism from Georgia. [8]
The Navy of Abkhazia is divided into three divisions, with the naval headquarters being located in the Sukhumi Lighthouse Area. The main fleet bases are located in Sukhumi, Ochamchire, Pitsunda. The number of sailors in the navy numbers more than 600 people. The composition of the Navy includes:
Konstantin Ozgan was a leading politician in Abkhazia serving i.a. as Supreme Soviet Chairman, Foreign Minister, Economy Minister, First Vice Premier and as Chairman of the Council of Elders of Abkhazia
Aleksandr Zolotinskovich Ankvab is an Abkhaz politician and businessman who was the president of Abkhazia from 29 May 2011 until his resignation on 1 June 2014. He previously served as prime minister from 2005 to 2010 and as vice-president from 2010 to 2011 during the presidency of Sergei Bagapsh. He was appointed prime minister again on 23 April 2020 and resigned following the 2024 Abkhazian protests.
Ochamchire or Ochamchira is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia, and a centre of an eponymous district.
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.
The War in Abkhazia was fought between Georgian government forces for the most part and Abkhaz separatist forces, Russian government armed forces and North Caucasian militants between 1992 and 1993. Ethnic Georgians who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces. Ethnic Armenians and Russians within Abkhazia's population largely supported the Abkhazians and many fought on their side. The separatists received support from thousands of North Caucasus and Cossack militants and from the Russian Federation forces stationed in and near Abkhazia.
Football is a major sport in Abkhazia. During Soviet times, the main club within Abkhazia itself was FC Dinamo Sukhumi, but Abkhazian footballers were prominent in the Georgian team FC Dinamo Tbilisi and in other Soviet teams. In 1994, after its declaration of independence from Georgia, Abkhazia organised a nine-team amateur league.
The Abkhazian Armed Forces are the military forces of Abkhazia. The forces were officially created on 12 October 1992, after the outbreak of the 1992–1993 war with Georgia. The basis of the armed forces was formed by the ethnic Abkhaz National Guard. The Abkhaz military is primarily a ground force but includes small sea and air units. According to the authorities of the Republic of Abkhazia, the Abkhazian Land Forces are organised along the Swiss model – in time of peace they have personnel of 3,000 to 5,000 and in case of war further 40–50,000 reservists are called out. Georgia regards the Abkhaz armed forces as "unlawful military formations" and accuses Russia of supplying and training the Abkhaz troops.
Gagra District is a district of Abkhazia. It corresponds to the Georgian district by the same name. In medieval times, it was known as the southern part of Sadzen. It is located in the western part of Abkhazia, and the river Psou serves as a border with Krasnodar Krai of Russia. Its capital is Gagra, the town by the same name. The population of the Gagra town zone in 1989 was 77,079, but this number dropped dramatically following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia,, to 37,002 at the time of the 2003 census. Ethnic Armenians now constitute a plurality in the district.
During the Soviet-era, the Abkhaz ASSR was divided into six raions (districts) named after their respective capitals.
Many inhabitants of Abkhazia are Orthodox Christians, With significant minorities adhering to Islam and the Abkhaz neopaganism, or the "Abkhazian traditional religion". The influence of this last has always remained strong and has been experiencing a revival through the 1990s and 2000s.
Abkhazian railway is a rail operator in the partially recognised state of Abkhazia. Under a monopoly agreement, it is fully managed and partially owned by Russian Railways for a ten year contract from 2009 to 2019.
Abkhazia is a de facto independent, partially recognised country lying on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, its southern border. It is bordered by Russia to the north, and Georgia to the east recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and the de facto independent republics of South Ossetia and Transnistria, in which context it is referred to as the Republic of Abkhazia with Sukhumi as its capital.
The Abkhazian Orthodox Church is an Eastern Orthodox church outside the official Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical hierarchy. It came into existence when the Sukhumi-Abkhazian Eparchy declared on 15 September 2009 that it no longer considered itself part of the Georgian Orthodox Church and that it was "re-establishing the Catholicate of Abkhazia disbanded in 1795". Vissarion Aplaa is the Primate of the Abkhazian Orthodox Church since 2009 and is the self-proclaimed catholicos of the Church. It has two eparchies (dioceses) in Pitsunda and Sukhumi.
The War in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993 was waged chiefly between Georgian government forces on one side, Russian military forces on other side supporting separatist forces demanding independence of Abkhazia from Georgia. http://www.historyorb.com/russia/georgia.php Ethnic Georgians, who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on the side of Georgian government forces. Ethnic Armenians and Russians within Abkhazia's population, largely supported Abkhazians and many fought on their side. The separatists were supported by thousands of the North Caucasus and Cossack militants and by the Russian Federation forces stationed in and near Abkhazia.
On 12 February 2011, Abkhazia held local elections for the 5th convocations of its local assemblies.
The National Forum Aidgylara is a socio-political movement in Abkhazia. It was founded during Perestroika as the ethno-nationalist movement representing the Abkhaz people. Aidgylara's founding congress took place on 13 December 1988 in the building of the Abkhazian State Philharmonic Orchestra, where the writer Alexey Gogua was elected its first Chairman.
Abkhaz neopaganism, or the Abkhaz native religion, is the contemporary re-emergence of the ethnic religion of the Abkhaz people in unrecognized Abkhazia, a revitalisation which started in the 1980s. The most important holy sites of the religion are the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia, each one having its own priestly clan, where rituals and prayers began to be restored in the 1990s.
The Abkhazian Revolution took place in 2014, when President Aleksandr Ankvab resigned after hundreds of demonstrators stormed his office. After mass protests in the capital Sukhumi and the occupation of his office on 27 May, Ankvab fled to his hometown of Gudauta and ultimately resigned on 1 June, after previously denouncing the demonstration as an attempted coup d'état.
Presidential elections were held in the Republic of Abkhazia on 24 August 2014. The sixth such elections since the post of President of Abkhazia was created in 1994, they were held early due to the resignation of President Alexander Ankvab on 1 June 2014 following the 2014 Abkhazian political crisis. Four candidates contested the elections, which were won by Raul Khadjimba, who received just over 50% of the vote.
The 7th Military Base is a sizable overseas military base of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Bombora in the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia. The base is subordinate to the command of the 49th Combined Arms Army and the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.
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