Raul Jumkovich Khajimba is the current President of Abkhazia, having been elected in 2014 after the May Revolution. He was also Chairman of the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia from 2010–2015. Khajimba previously held the offices of Vice President (2005–2009), Prime Minister (2003–2004) and Defence Minister (2002–2003). He unsuccessfully ran for President in 2004, 2009 and 2011.
The Prime Minister of Abkhazia is the head of government of the Republic of Abkhazia.
Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh was the second President of the Republic of Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and was later elected as President in 2005. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election. He died on 29 May 2011, at the age of 62, from complications of surgery.
Sergei Shamba is a senior politician from Abkhazia. He is currently a member of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia and Chairman of United Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister of Abkhazia under President Sergei Bagapsh from 13 February 2010 until 27 September 2011. Between 1997 and 2010 he had been Minister for Foreign Affairs under both Bagapsh and his predecessor Vladislav Ardzinba, with only a half-year interruption in 2004. Shamba has twice unsuccessfully participated in Presidential elections, in 2004 and 2011. He has been a staunch proponent for dialogue between Abkhazia and Georgia.
Politics in Abkhazia is dominated by its conflict with Georgia. Abkhazia became de facto independent from Georgia after the 1992–1993 war, but its de jure independence has only been recognised by a few other countries. Abkhazia is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system, wherein the President is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government of the Republic of Abkhazia. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the People's Assembly of Abkhazia.
The Abkhaz–Georgian conflict involves ethnic conflict between Georgians and the Abkhaz people in Abkhazia, a de facto independent, partially recognized republic. In a broader sense, one can view the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict as part of a geopolitical conflict in the Caucasus region, intensified at the end of the 20th century with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Abkhazia elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five term by the people. The People's Assembly has 35 members, elected for a five-year term in single seat constituencies. Abkhazia is a one party dominant state. Opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. The last elections seems to show a development towards a multi-party system.
Pitsunda or Bichvinta is a resort town in the Gagra district of Abkhazia, Georgia.
Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia which has controlled it since the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia, although most of the international community considers it legally part of Georgia.
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.
Gulripshi District is a district of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s breakaway republics. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district. Its capital is Gulripshi, the town by the same name. Until the August 2008 Battle of the Kodori Valley, the north-eastern part of Gulripshi district was part of Upper Abkhazia, the corner of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia until the Battle of the Kodori Valley during the August 2008 South Ossetia War. Upper Abkhazia was home to 1,956 of the district's 19,918 inhabitants, most of whom were ethnic Svans. Most of these fled before the battle and have not yet returned.
Sukhum District is one of the districts of Abkhazia, Georgia’s breakaway republic. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian municipality. Its capital is Sukhumi, the town by the same name, which is also the capital of entire Abkhazia. The population of the district is 11,531 according to the 2011 census. The city of Sukhumi is a separate administrative entity with more than 60,000 inhabitants.
2007 in Georgia saw a number of military incidents involving Georgia and Russia over the Abkhazia area. Abkhazia is a partially recognised state within Georgia's territory. In March, Georgia accused Russia of attacking the Kodori Valley in Upper Abkhazia, which was the only area in Abkhazia that Georgia controlled. Russia denied the claims, saying that their aircraft in the area were grounded at the time. In August, Georgia claimed that Russia fired a missile into Georgia. This claim was confirmed by 2 investigation teams but challenged by a Russian investigation team. Also in August, Georgia claimed it shot down Russian aircraft that were in Georgia's airspace over the Georgia-controlled Upper Abkhazia area. Russia denied this claim and Abkhazia said that it was an American or Georgian aircraft that crashed in Abkhazia. Abkhazia also held elections that were not recognised by any countries. The president was Mikheil Saakashvili, who stepped down in November to run in the 2008 elections, which he won, again becoming president and replacing Nino Burjanadze who had been acting president since he stepped down.
Aiaaira is the de facto anthem of the partially recognized state of Abkhazia. It was adopted in 1992. The lyrics were written by poet Gennady Alamia, and the music composed by Valery Chkadua.
The Armenians in Abkhazia form the second largest ethnic group in Abkhazia after the native Abkhazians. Armenians settled in Abkhazia in late 19th and the early 20th centuries and are now the largest ethnic group in Sukhumi, Gulripsh and Gagra districts forming 20% of the Abkhazian population with approximately 42,000 out of a total of 242,862.
Human rights in Abkhazia are granted by Chapter II of its Constitution which makes reference to adherence of Abkhazia to UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR. However, Abkhazia is not a UN member state and is not a party of UN human rights treaties, unlike Georgia, whose sovereignty over Abkhazia is recognized by a bigger part of the international community.
The elections for the 5th convocation of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia were held in two rounds on 10 and 24 March 2012.
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.
