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Sochi conflict | |||||||||
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Part of World War I and Russian Civil War | |||||||||
![]() Georgian artillerymen in Sochi, 1919 | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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The Sochi conflict was a three-party armed conflict which involved the counterrevolutionary White Russian forces, Bolshevik Red Army and the Democratic Republic of Georgia, each of which sought control over the strategic Black Sea town of Sochi. The conflict was fought as a part of the Russian Civil War and lasted with varying success from June 1918 to May 1919, and ended through British mediation.
Georgian claims came from the fact that the area was politically dominated by the medieval Kingdom of Georgia at the height of its prestige and strength, and then came under the rule of a successor, the Kingdom of Imereti and, eventually, the Principality of Abkhazia. The area of increasing tourist interest, part of this region was detached by the Tsar's decree of December 25, 1904, from the Sukhumi district (Kutais Governorate) to become part of the Black Sea Governorate. The region was inhabited by a significant number of Armenians and Georgians.
According to Peter Kenez, "The collapse of the Turkish front, which resulted directly from the fall of the Provisional Government, meant a great danger to this area: Georgians and Armenians, traditional enemies of the Turks, remained defenseless. Politicians formed a federal government, the Transcaucasian Commissariat, with the participation of Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Russians in order to cope with the immediate problems of the area and to organize some sort of defense." After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, each member of the federation declared their own independence. Kenez states, "Whatever the Georgian Mensheviks felt about the Germans, the Republic desperately needed their help; they were the only force with the means to restrain the Turks. Indeed the German Command pressured the Turks into accepting a reasonable treaty with Georgia. German troops soon arrived and took possession of the most important roads and railways." [1]
The Russian general Anton Denikin and his colleagues insisted, however, that the border between Georgia (though not yet recognized by either White or Soviet leadership) and the White-controlled Kuban People's Republic should be that between the former Russian governorates of Kutais and Black Sea, i.e. slightly in the north to the Bzyb River.
The conflict was preceded by a pro-Bolshevik revolt in Abkhazia. In March 1918, local Bolsheviks in Abkhazia under the leadership of Nestor Lakoba, a close associate of Joseph Stalin, capitalized on agrarian disturbances and, supported by the revolutionary peasant militias, kiaraz, won power in Sukhumi in April 1918. The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, which claimed the region as its part, sanctioned the suppression of the revolt and, on May 17, the National Guard of Georgia ousted the Bolshevik commune in Sukhumi.
Another revolt took place in June 1918 that made the local Abkhazian government, Abkhaz People's Council, which emerged after the February Revolution in Russia, to request aid from the Democratic Republic of Georgia and join it as an autonomous entity (June 8, 1918). [2] A Georgian force under Major General Giorgi Mazniashvili was deployed in the region and joined by Abkhaz cavalry provided by local nobility. Mazniashvili repulsed a Bolshevik offensive from Sochi late in June. [3] [2]
The Georgians armed the Kuban Cossacks, and prevented a Red Army advance south along the Black Sea coast. By the middle of July the Georgians had occupied Tuapse. [2] Mazniashvili was soon ordered to take control of the Tuapse-Maykop railway line, the Caspian oil pipeline, and Sochi. Denikin sent E.V. Maslovskii as Volunteer Army's representative. [1] Kenez states, "The first month in the history of the relations between the Volunteer Army and Georgia was the best." The Volunteer Army helped stop a Bolshevik advance on Tuapse, after the Georgians retreated to Sochi. [1]
On September 18, a Council for Sochi (a legislature formed by the local Mensheviks and SRs in August) declared the unification of the city and its district to the Democratic Republic of Georgia as a "temporary measure" against the threats from both Lenin and Denikin. The annexation by Georgia followed immediately and caused an acute protest from the leaders of the White forces.
On September 25–26, 1918, the Volunteer Army met in Ekaterinodar with the a Georgian delegation consisting of E. P. Gegechkori, foreign minister, and General G. I. Mazniashvili. The main issue discussed at the conference was the possession of Sochi. However, negotiatians broke off without an agreement after heated exchanges. According to Kenez, "The Ekaterinodar meeting set the pattern for future relations. The history of these relations is a dreary series of bitter exchanges, border skirmishes, and at times even large-scale fighting." [1]
On February 6, 1919, the Georgian troops were forced back to the Bzyb river with their commander General Konyev (Koniashvili), and his staff captured by the Russians at Gagra. Georgia sent reinforcements, but the British representatives intervened establishing a demarcation line along the Bzyb. The captured Georgian officers were released. On March 14, 1919, a Georgian delegation presented at Paris peace conference a project of the borders of the country in which it demanded a part of the former Black Sea province up to the small river Makopse 14 km southeast to the town Tuapse. The negotiations, however, yielded no results.
On April 12, 1919, a Sukhumi-based Georgian People's Guard and army units under General Mazniashvili launched a counteroffensive. Avoiding the British peacekeeping posts at the Bzyb river, they retook Gagra after a bloody clash and, in cooperation with the "Green" Russian guerillas, moved to the Mekhadiri river. The British intervention however halted the Georgian advance. A new demarcation line was established south to Adler, on the Psou River. Along the border, a British expeditionary force took positions to prevent further outbreak of the war. On May 23–24, Georgian, Russian Volunteers' and British representatives met in Tbilisi to find a peace resolution. Actually, this was the end of the conflict. Occasional skirmishes occurred, however, until the late 1919.
The establishment of the current official Russian-Georgian border along the Psou was perhaps the main outcome of the Sochi conflict. The new border was de jure recognized by the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (May 1920) and the Allies (January 1921).
Gagra is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular health resort in Imperial Russian and Soviet times.
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.
Giorgi Mazniashvili was a Georgian general and one of the most prominent military figures in the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
The Bzyb or Bzipi is one of the two largest rivers of Abkhazia and the twelfth longest river in Georgia. The river valley has rich biodiversity of herbaceous garden plants, particularly in the gorge section in the upper reaches where the most prominent and colourful bellflower Campanula mirabilis with profuse growth of 100 flowers per plant is given the name, the "Queen of the Abkhazian flora". During 1904-1917 it served as the border between the Russian Empire's Sukhumi Okrug and the Black Sea Governorate.
Gagra Range is a mountain range of the Greater Caucasus in Abkhazia, Georgia.The range runs between the valleys of the Bzyb and Psou rivers to the south of the Caucasus Major, in a general North-South direction. The highest elevation is 3,357 m.
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.
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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Abkhazia:
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.
Russia has a 255.4 kilometres (158.7 mi) border with a self-proclaimed, internationally unrecognized republic of Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia under Russian occupation, while the border itself is "guarded" by FSB Border Service of Russia and State Security Service of Abkhazia. Georgia considers any attempt to demarcate a boundary between the breakaway region and Russia as illegitimate.
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.
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The North Caucasus Operation was a strategic offensive conducted by the Caucasian Front of the Red Army against the White Armed Forces of South Russia in the North Caucasus region between 17 January and 7 April 1920. It took place on the Southern Front of the Russian Civil War and was a Soviet attempt to destroy White resistance.
The Sukhumi or Sukhum okrug was a special administrative district (okrug) in the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, part of the Kutaisi Governorate from 1883 until 1905. The administrative center of the district was the Black Sea port city of Sukhum. The okrug bordered the Kutaisi Governorate to the southwest, the Kuban Oblast to the north and the Black Sea Governorate to the northwest and in terms of its area corresponded to most of contemporary Abkhazia. During 1905–1917, the Sukhumi okrug was one of the smallest independent administrative units of the Russian Empire, second to the Zakatal okrug.
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.
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The Abkhazian conflict was an armed conflict in Abkhazia between the Georgian Democratic Republic, Russian Soviet Republic and Ottoman Empire. It consisted of a series of Bolshevik uprisings and an Ottoman landing defeated by the Georgian military.
The Battle of Gagra was fought on April 16–19, 1919, between the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the White Army. The battle resulted in a Georgian victory.