Abkhazia
Partially recognised state in the South Caucasus / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Abkhazia[n 1] (/æbˈkɑːziə/ ⓘ ab-KAH-zee-ə),[5] officially the Republic of Abkhazia,[n 2] is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western 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.
Republic of Abkhazia | |
---|---|
Anthem: Аиааира (Abkhaz) Aiaaira "Victory" | |
Status | Recognised by 5 UN member states |
Capital and largest city | Sukhumi 43°0′0″N 41°1′40″E |
Official languages | |
Spoken languages |
|
Ethnic groups (2011) | |
Demonym(s) |
|
Government | Unitary presidential republic |
Aslan Bzhania | |
Alexander Ankvab | |
Legislature | People's Assembly |
Establishment | |
31 March 1921 | |
19 February 1931 | |
• Abkhazian declaration of sovereignty | 25 August 1990 |
• Abkhazian declaration of independence | 23 July 1992 |
• Act of state independenceb | 12 October 1999 |
Area | |
• Total | 8,664.59[1] km2 (3,345.42 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 244,236[2] (180th) |
• 2011 census | 240,705 |
• Density | 28.2/km2 (73.0/sq mi) (160th) |
GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | 31.4 billion ruble (439.6 million US$)[citation needed] |
• Per capita | 128,203 ruble (1,795 US$)[citation needed] |
Currency | (RUB) |
Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +7 840 / 940 and +995 44[3][4] |
The political status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Abkhaz–Georgian conflict and Georgia–Russia relations. Abkhazia has been recognised as an independent state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria; however, the Georgian government and nearly all United Nations member states consider Abkhazia a sovereign territory of Georgia.[6][7][8][9] Lacking effective control over the Abkhazian territory, Georgia maintains an Abkhaz government-in-exile.
The region had autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s. Simmering ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz—the region's titular ethnicity—and Georgians—the largest single ethnic group at that time—culminated in the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia, which resulted in Georgia's loss of control over most of Abkhazia and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia.
Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought a war against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. On 23 October 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, a position shared by most United Nations member states.[10]
Abkhazia is heavily dependent on Russia: half of its budget comes from Russian aid and much of its state structure is integrated with Russia; it uses the Russian ruble, its foreign policy is coordinated with Russia, and a majority of its citizens have Russian passports.[11]
Abkhazia[n 3] (/æbˈkɑːziə/ ⓘ[5] ab-KAH-zee-ə or /æbˈkeɪziə/ ⓘ ab-KAY-zee-ə[12]) is etymologized as a land of the soul[13] however the literal meaning is a country of mortals.[14] It possibly first appeared in the seventh century in an Armenian text, perhaps referring to the ancient Apsilians.[15]
The term Apkhazeti that appeared in the Georgian annals was sometimes used to denote Abasgia specifically, and at other times the western region of the Kingdom of Georgia.[citation needed]
In early Muslim sources, the term "Abkhazia" was generally used to mean the territory of Georgia.[16][17]
Presumably considered as a successor state of Lazica (Egrisi in Georgian sources), this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some Byzantine era Georgian and Armenian chronicles (e.g. The Vitae of the Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli and The History of Armenia by Hovannes Draskhanakertsi).
The Russian Абхазия (Abkhaziya) is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი (Apkhazeti). Abkhazia's name in most languages is derived directly from the Russian.[citation needed]
The state is designated as the "Republic of Abkhazia" in its constitution.[18]
Before the 20th century, the region was sometimes referred to in English language sources as "Abhasia".[19][20]
Early history
Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis.[21][22] Around the 6th century BC, the Greeks established trade colonies along the Black Sea coast of present-day Abkhazia, in particular at Pitiunt and Dioscurias.[23]
Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke.[24] Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi[25] and Moschoi[26] peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. This region was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Lazica.[27][28]
According to an Eastern tradition, Simon the Zealot died in Abkhazia during a missionary trip and was buried in Nicopsis; his remains were later transferred to Anacopia.[29]
Within the Roman / Byzantine Empire
The Roman Empire conquered Lazica in the 1st century AD; however, the Roman presence was confined to the ports.[30] According to Arrian, the Abasgoi and Apsilae peoples were nominal Roman subjects, and there was a small Roman outpost in Dioscurias.[31] Abasgoi likely served in the Roman army in Ala Prima Abasgorum which was stationed in Egypt.[32] After the 4th century Lazica regained a measure of independence, but remained within the Byzantine Empire's sphere of influence.[33] Anacopia was the principality's capital. The country was mostly Christian, with the archbishop's seat in Pityus.[34] Stratophilus, the Metropolitan of Pityus, participated in the First Council of Nicaea in 325.[35]
Around the middle of the 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia, a conflict known as the Lazic War. During the war the Abasgians revolted against the Byzantine Empire and requested Sasanian assistance; the revolt was suppressed by General Bessas.[36][37][36]
An Arab incursion into Abasgia, led by Marwan II, was repelled by Prince Leon I jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in 736. Leon I then married Mirian's daughter and a successor, Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Lazica in the 770s.[38]
The successful defence against the Arab Caliphate, and new territorial gains in the east, gave the Abasgian princes enough power to claim more autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. Towards circa 778, Prince Leon II, with the help of the Khazars declared independence from the Byzantine Empire and transferred his residence to Kutaisi. During this period the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy and culture.[39]
Within the Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Abkhazia flourished between 850 and 950, which ended by unification of Abkhazia and eastern Georgian states under a single Georgian monarchy ruled by King Bagrat III at the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century.[40]
During the reign of Queen Tamar, Georgian chronicles mention Otagho as the Eristavi of Abkhazia.[41] He was one of the first representatives of the House of Shervashidze (also known as Chachba) which went on to rule Abkhazia until the 19th century.
In the 1240s, Mongols divided Georgia into eight military-administrative sectors (dumans). The territory of contemporary Abkhazia formed part of the duman administered by Tsotne Dadiani.[42]
Ottoman domination
In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, the Principality of Abkhazia (nominally a vassal of the Kingdom of Imereti) emerged, ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty.[1] In 1453, the Ottomans first attacked Sukhumi, and in the 1570s, they had a garrison there. Throughout the 17th century, they continued to launch attacks, leading to the imposition of tribute on Abkhazia. Ottoman influence grew significantly in the 18th century with the construction of a fort in Sukhumi, accompanied by a conversion of the rulers of Abkhazia and many other Abkhaz to Islam. Nonetheless, conflicts between the Abkhaz and Turks persisted.[43]
Abkhazia sought protection from the Russian Empire in 1801, but was declared "an autonomous principality" by the Russians in 1810.[44][45] Russia then annexed Abkhazia in 1864, and Abkhaz resistance was quashed as the Russians deported Muslim Abkhaz to Ottoman territories.[1][46][44]
Within Russia
In the beginning of the 19th century, while the Russians and Ottomans were vying for control of the region, the rulers of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide.[47] The first attempt to enter into relations with Russia was made by Kelesh-Bey in 1803, shortly after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire (1801). However, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed for a short time after his assassination by his son Aslan-Bey on 2 May 1808.[48] On 2 July 1810, the Russian Marines stormed Sukhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival brother, Sefer-Bey (1810–1821), who had converted to Christianity and assumed the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian Empire as an autonomous principality, in 1810.[1] However, George's rule was limited and many mountain regions were as independent as before.[49] The next Russo-Turkish war strongly enhanced the Russian positions, leading to a further split in the Abkhaz elite, mainly along religious divisions. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), Russian forces had to evacuate Abkhazia and Prince Michael (1822–1864) seemingly switched to the Ottomans.[50]
Later on, the Russian presence strengthened and the highlanders of Western Caucasia were finally subjugated by Russia in 1864. The autonomy of Abkhazia, which had functioned as a pro-Russian "buffer zone" in this troublesome region, was no longer needed by the Tsarist government and the rule of the Shervashidze came to an end; in November 1864, Prince Michael was forced to renounce his rights and resettle in Voronezh.[51] Later that same year, Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a special military province[1] of Sukhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883, into an okrug as part of the Kutais Governorate. Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians, said to have constituted as much as 40% of the Abkhazian population, emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878, together with other Muslim populations of the Caucasus, a process known as Muhajirism.[citation needed]
Large areas of the region were left uninhabited and many Armenians, Georgians, Russians and others subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of the vacated territory.[52] Some Georgian historians assert that Georgian tribes (Svans and Mingrelians) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom.[53] By official decision of the Russian authorities the residents of Abkhazia and Samurzakano had to study and pray in Russian. After the mass deportation of 1878, Abkhazians were left in the minority, officially branded "guilty people", and had no leader capable of mounting serious opposition to Russification.[54]
On 17 March 1898 the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church of Georgia-Imereti, by order 2771, again prohibited teaching and the conduct of religious services in church schools and churches of the Sukhumi district in Georgian. Mass protests by the Georgian population of Abkhazia and Samurzakano followed, news of which reached the Russian emperor. On 3 September 1898 the Holy Synod issued order 4880 which decreed that those parishes where the congregation was Mingrelians i.e. Georgians, conduct both church services and church education in Georgian, while Abkhazian parishes use old Slavic. In the Sukhumi district, this order was carried out in only three of 42 parishes.[54] Tedo Sakhokia demanded the Russian authorities introduce Abkhazian and Georgian languages in church services and education. The official response was a criminal case brought against Tedo Sakhokia and leaders of his "Georgian Party" active in Abkhazia.[54]
After the February Revolution, Special Transcaucasian Committee of the Russian Provisional Government was established in South Caucasus to administer internal affairs of the region. It was headed by Akaki Chkhenkeli, a deputy of Fourth State Duma from the districts of Sukhumi, Batumi and Kars. Abkhazia (Sukhumi okrug), as well as whole Transcaucasia, came under its authority. Sukhumi Okrug was administrated by the Temporary Social Security Regional Committee, formed on 10 March 1917. It was chaired by Aleksandr Sharvashidze. At the same time, Abkhaz People's Council was organized on 7-8 November 1917 in Sukhumi as a representative body of Abkhaz people. It announced its membership in the Union of the Peoples of the Northern Caucasus, but at the same time, it recognized the authority of the Special South Caucasian Committee.[55] Initially the Transcaucasian authorities declared their intention to remain as a part of the reformed Russia with greater autonomy, a similar position to that of the Union of the Peoples of the Northern Caucasus.[56]
Within Georgian Democratic Republic
The consequences of the Bolshevik revolution changed the situation in the region. The Special Transcaucasian Committee was replaced by the Transcaucasian Commissariat, which took steps towards the independence after the Bolsheviks prevented the convocation of the Constituent Assembly of Russian Republic on 18 January 1918.[57] Transcaucasia declared its independence from Russia on 9 April 1918 as a federative republic. On 8 May 1918, the Bolsheviks seized power in Abkhazia and disbanded the Abkhaz People's Council. It requested an aid from the Transcausian authorities, which dispatched the Georgian People's Guard and defeated the rebels on 17 May.[58]
On 26 May 1918, Georgia declared independence from the Transcaucasian Federation, which soon dissolved. On 8 June 1918, the Abkhaz People's Council signed a treaty with the Georgian National Council, which confirmed Abkhazia's status as an autonomy within the Georgian Democratic Republic. It remained part of Georgia after another Bolshevik revolt and a Turkish expedition were defeated in 1918. The 1918 Abkhazia operation successfully returned territory to Abkhazia.[59] Russian general and a leader of White movement Anton Denikin also laid claims on Abkhazia and captured Gagra, but Georgians counter-attacked in April 1919 and retook the city.[60][61] Denikin's Volunteer Army was eventually defeated by the Red Army, and the Bolshevik Russia signed an agreement with Georgia in May 1920, recognizing Georgian independence and Abkhazia as a part of Georgia.[60]
In 1919, a first election was held to the Abkhaz People's Council. The Council favored being an autonomous region within Georgia, and lasted until Red Army invasion of Georgia in February 1921.[62]
The short-lived 1921 Georgian constitution granted Abkhazia theoretical autonomy, but no concrete steps were taken to actually establish such a status.[63]
Within the Soviet Union
In 1921, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR Abkhazia) with the ambiguous status of a treaty republic associated with the Georgian SSR.[1][64][65] In 1931, Joseph Stalin made it an autonomous republic (Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or in short Abkhaz ASSR) within the Georgian SSR.[46] Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong direct rule from central Soviet authorities. Under the rule of Stalin and Beria Abkhaz schools were closed, requiring Abkhaz children to study in the Georgian language.[66][67][68] Georgian Communist Party leader Candide Charkviani supported the Georgianization of Abkhazia,[69] which included the organised settlement of ethnic Georgians.[70] About 9,000 peasant households were settled in the underpopulated areas of Abkhazia between 1947 and 1952 and left to fend for themselves.[71]
As in most of the smaller autonomous republics, the Soviet government encouraged the development of culture and particularly of literature.[72] The Abkhazian ASSR was the only autonomous republic in the USSR in which the language of the titular nation (in that case Abkhazian) was confirmed in its constitution as one of its official languages.[73]
The Abkhaz launched protests in 1978 over the cultural and political issues and demanded the right to secede from Georgia. Under pressure from Moscow, the government of the Georgian SSR defused the tensions by granting concessions to the Abkhaz, including an affirmative action program. This caused resentment on part of the ethnic Georgians living in the region.[74]
Post-Soviet Georgia
As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at the end of the 1980s, ethnic tensions 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. With the onset of perestroika, the agenda of Abkhaz nationalists became more radical and exclusive.[75] In 1988 they began to ask for the reinstatement of Abkhazia's former status of Union republic, as the submission of Abkhazia to another Union republic was not considered to give enough guarantees of their development.[75] They justified their request by referring to the Leninist tradition of the right of nations to self-determination, which, they asserted, was violated when Abkhazia's sovereignty was curtailed in 1931.[75] In June 1988, a manifesto defending Abkhaz distinctiveness (known as the Abkhaz Letter) was sent to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Georgian–Abkhaz dispute turned violent on 16 July 1989 in Sukhumi. Numerous Georgians were killed or 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.
In March 1990, Georgia declared sovereignty, unilaterally nullifying treaties concluded by the Soviet government since 1921 and thereby moving closer to independence. The Republic of Georgia boycotted the 17 March 1991 all-Union referendum on the renewal of the Soviet Union called by Gorbachev; however, 52.3% of Abkhazia's population (almost all of the ethnic non-Georgian population) took part in the referendum and voted by an overwhelming majority (98.6%) to preserve the Union.[76][77] Most ethnic non-Georgians in Abkhazia later boycotted a 31 March referendum on Georgia's independence, which was supported by a huge majority of Georgia's population. Within weeks, Georgia declared independence on 9 April 1991, under former Soviet dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Under Gamsakhurdia, the situation was relatively calm in Abkhazia and a power-sharing agreement was soon reached between the Abkhaz and Georgian factions, granting to the Abkhaz a certain over-representation in the local legislature.[78][79]
Gamsakhurdia's rule was soon challenged by armed opposition groups, under the command of Tengiz Kitovani, that forced him to flee the country in a military coup in January 1992. Former Soviet foreign minister and Soviet Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze became the country's head of state in March 1992.[80]
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, although the 1921 constitution contained a provision for the region's autonomy.[81] On 23 July 1992, the Abkhaz faction in the republic's Supreme Council declared effective independence from Georgia, although the session was boycotted by ethnic Georgian deputies and the gesture went unrecognised by any other country. The Abkhaz leadership launched a campaign of ousting Georgian officials from their offices, a process which was accompanied by violence. In the meantime, the Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba intensified his ties with hard-line Russian politicians and military elite and declared he was ready for a war with Georgia.[82]
War in Abkhazia
By mid-1992, Abkhazia, as well as whole Georgia, were plunged into chaos of civil war. On 9 July 1992, Alexander Kavsadze, the deputy prime minister of Georgia, was kidnapped by Gamsakhurdia’s supporters in north-west Georgia, Mingrelia and Abkhazia. However, Georgia's ruling State Council refused to fulfill their demands.[83] Meanwhile, Vladislav Ardzinba spurned reconciliation talks following his declaration of sovereignty. High-level Georgian negotiators, including the Georgian Interior Minister and security chief, were taken captive in Abkhazia.[84] The rail infrastructure in Abkhazia came under attacks, with one out of every 10 trains being robbed.[84] On 14 August 1992, the Georgian troops were sent to secure the highway and railroad, as well as to free the hostages.[84] However, they were attacked by Abkhaz militia, which perceived this movement of Georgian troops as violation of Abkhaz sovereignty proclaimed one month earlier.[84][85] The Abkhaz were relatively unarmed at the time and the Georgian troops were able to march with relatively little resistance.[86] The Abkhaz retreated to Gudauta, where ethnic cleansening against Georgians has been reported.[87] Georgian troops entered Sokhumi and engaged in ethnically based pillage, looting, assault, and murder.[88]
The Abkhaz 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 movements in the North Caucasus, including elements of Circassians, Abazins, Chechens, Cossacks, Ossetians and hundreds of volunteer paramilitaries and mercenaries from Russia, including the then-little-known Shamil Basayev, later a leader of the anti-Moscow Chechen secessionists. They sided with the Abkhaz separatists to fight against the Georgian government. In the case of Basayev, it has been suggested that when he and the members of his battalion came to Abkhazia, they received training by the Russian Army (though others dispute this), presenting another possible motive.[89] In September, the Abkhaz and North Caucasian paramilitaries mounted a major offensive against Gagra 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". 1992 ended with the rebels in control of much of Abkhazia northwest of Sukhumi.[citation needed]
The conflict was in stalemate until July 1993, when Abkhaz separatist militias launched an abortive attack on Georgian-held Sukhumi. They surrounded and heavily shelled the capital, where Shevardnadze was trapped. The warring sides agreed to a Russian-brokered truce in Sochi at the end of July. But the ceasefire broke down again on 16 September 1993. Abkhaz forces, with armed support from outside Abkhazia, launched attacks on Sukhumi and Ochamchira. Notwithstanding UN Security Council's call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and its condemnation of the violation of the ceasefire by the Abkhaz side, fighting continued.[90] After ten days of heavy fighting, Sukhumi was taken by Abkhazian forces on 27 September 1993. Shevardnadze narrowly escaped death, after vowing to stay in the city no matter what. He changed his mind, however, and decided to flee when separatist snipers fired on the hotel where he was staying. Abkhaz, North Caucasian militants, and their allies committed numerous atrocities[91] against the city's remaining ethnic Georgians, in what has been dubbed the Sukhumi Massacre. The mass killings and destruction continued for two weeks, leaving thousands dead and missing.[citation needed]
The Abkhaz 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). Only a small region of eastern Abkhazia, the upper Kodori gorge, remained under Georgian control (until 2008).[citation needed]
During the war, gross human rights violations were reported on both sides (see Human Rights Watch report).[91] Georgian troops have been accused of having committed looting[86] and murders "for the purpose of terrorising, robbing and driving the Abkhaz population out of their homes"[91] in the first phase of the war (according to Human Rights Watch), while Georgia blames the Abkhaz forces and their allies for the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, which has also been recognised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summits in Budapest (1994),[92] Lisbon (1996)[93] and Istanbul (1999).[94]
Ethnic cleansing of Georgians
Before the 1992 War, Georgians made up nearly half of Abkhazia's population, while less than one-fifth of the population was Abkhaz.[95] As the war progressed, confronted with hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians who were unwilling to leave their homes, the Abkhaz separatists implemented the process of ethnic cleansing in order to expel and eliminate the Georgian ethnic population in Abkhazia.[96][97] About 5,000 were killed, 400 went missing[98] and up to 250,000 ethnic Georgians were expelled from their homes.[99] According to International Crisis Group, as of 2006 slightly over 200,000 Georgians remained displaced in Georgia proper.[100]
The campaign of ethnic cleansing also included Russians, Armenians, Greeks, moderate Abkhaz and other minor ethnic groups living in Abkhazia. More than 20,000 houses owned by ethnic Georgians were destroyed. Hundreds of schools, kindergartens, churches, hospitals, and historical monuments were pillaged and destroyed.[101][better source needed] Following the process of ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion, the population of Abkhazia has been reduced to 216,000, from 525,000 in 1989.[102]
Of about 250,000 Georgian refugees, some 60,000 subsequently returned to Abkhazia's Gali District between 1994 and 1998, but tens of thousands were displaced again when fighting resumed in the Gali District in 1998. Nevertheless, between 40,000 and 60,000 refugees have returned to the Gali District since 1998, including persons commuting daily across the ceasefire line and those migrating seasonally in accordance with agricultural cycles.[103] The human rights situation remained precarious for a while in the Georgian-populated areas of the Gali District. The United Nations and other international organisations have been fruitlessly urging the Abkhaz de facto authorities "to refrain from adopting measures incompatible with the right to return and with international human rights standards, such as discriminatory legislation... [and] to cooperate in the establishment of a permanent international human rights office in Gali and to admit United Nations civilian police without further delay."[104] Key officials of the Gali District are virtually all ethnic Abkhaz, though their support staff are ethnic Georgian.[105]
Post-war
Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 3 October 2004. Russia supported Raul Khadjimba, the prime minister backed by the ailing outgoing separatist President Vladislav Ardzinba.[106] Posters of Russia's President Vladimir Putin together with Khadjimba, who, like Putin, had worked as a KGB official, were everywhere in Sukhumi.[107] Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, led by Joseph Cobsohn, a State Duma deputy and a popular singer, came to Abkhazia, campaigning for Khadjimba.[108]
However, Raul Khadjimba lost the elections to Sergei Bagapsh. The tense situation in the republic led to the cancellation of the election results by the Supreme Court. After that, a deal was struck between former rivals to run jointly, with Bagapsh as a presidential candidate and Khadjimba as a vice-presidential candidate. They received more than 90% of the votes in the new election.[109]
In July 2006, Georgian forces launched a successful police operation against the rebelled administrator of the Georgian-populated Kodori Gorge, Emzar Kvitsiani. Kvitsiani had been appointed by the previous president of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze and refused to recognise the authority of president Mikheil Saakashvili, who succeeded Shevardnadze after the Rose Revolution. Although Kvitsiani escaped capture by Georgian police, the Kodori Gorge was brought back under the control of the central government in Tbilisi.[110]
Sporadic acts of violence continued throughout the postwar years. Despite the peacekeeping status of the Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia, Georgian officials routinely claimed that Russian peacekeepers were inciting violence by supplying Abkhaz rebels with arms and financial support. Russian support of Abkhazia became pronounced when the Russian ruble became the de facto currency and Russia began issuing passports to the population of Abkhazia.[111] Georgia has also accused Russia of violating its airspace by sending helicopters to attack Georgian-controlled towns in the Kodori Gorge. In April 2008, a Russian MiG – prohibited from Georgian airspace, including Abkhazia – shot down a Georgian UAV.[112][113]
On 9 August 2008, Abkhazian forces fired on Georgian forces in Kodori Gorge. This coincided with the 2008 South Ossetia war where Russia decided to support the Ossetian separatists who had been attacked by Georgia.[114][115] The conflict escalated into a full-scale war between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Georgia. On 10 August 2008, an estimated 9,000 Russian soldiers entered Abkhazia ostensibly to reinforce the Russian peacekeepers in the republic. About 1,000 Abkhazian soldiers moved to expel the residual Georgian forces within Abkhazia in the Upper Kodori Gorge.[116] By 12 August the Georgian forces and civilians had evacuated the last part of Abkhazia under Georgian government control. Russia recognised the independence of Abkhazia on 26 August 2008.[117] This was followed by the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of UN and OSCE monitoring missions.[118] On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution declaring Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory.[119][120]
Since independence was recognised by Russia, a series of controversial agreements were made between the Abkhazian government and the Russian Federation that leased or sold a number of key state assets and relinquished control over the borders. In May 2009 several opposition parties and war veteran groups protested against these deals complaining that they undermined state sovereignty and risked exchanging one colonial power (Georgia) for another (Russia).[121] The vice-president, Raul Khadjimba, resigned on 28 May saying he agreed with the criticism the opposition had made.[122] Subsequently, a conference of opposition parties nominated Raul Khadjimba as their candidate in the December 2009 Abkhazian presidential election won by Sergei Bagapsh.[citation needed]
Political developments since 2014
In the spring of 2014, the opposition submitted an ultimatum to President Aleksandr Ankvab to dismiss the government and make radical reforms.[123] On 27 May 2014, in the centre of Sukhumi, 10,000 supporters of the Abkhaz opposition gathered for a mass demonstration.[124] On the same day, Ankvab's headquarters in Sukhumi was stormed by opposition groups led by Raul Khadjimba, forcing him into flight to Gudauta.[125] The opposition claimed that the protests were sparked by poverty, but the main point of contention was President Ankvab's liberal policy towards ethnic Georgians in the Gali region. The opposition said these policies could endanger Abkhazia's ethnic Abkhazian identity.[123]
After Ankvab fled the capital, on 31 May, the People's Assembly of Abkhazia appointed parliamentary speaker Valery Bganba as acting president, declaring Ankvab unable to serve. It also decided to hold an early presidential election on 24 August 2014.[citation needed] Ankvab soon declared his formal resignation, although he accused his opponents of acting immorally and violating the constitution.[126] Khajimba was later elected president, taking office in September 2014.[127]
In November 2014, Vladimir Putin moved to formalise the Abkhazian military's relationship as part of the Russian armed forces, signing a treaty with Khajimba.[128][129] The Georgian government denounced the agreement as "a step towards annexation".[130]