| Abkhazia conflict | |||||||||
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| Part ofDissolution of the Soviet Union andpost-Soviet conflicts | |||||||||
 Half-destroyedSukhumi. The Government House of Abkhazia is visible in the background. 2006 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 South Ossetia |
 Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (2001) UNA-UNSO (1992–1993)[1] White Legion (1992–1998) Mkhedrioni (1991–1998)Forest Brotherhood (1992–1998) | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Killed senior commanders: |
Killed senior commanders: | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 1992–1993: 12,000[3] 1998: 25–300[4][5] 2008: 3 | 1992–1993: 14,000[3] 250,000 displaced[6] 1998: 103-160,[4][5] 35,000-40,000 displaced[7] 2008: 2,192 | ||||||||
| 18 killed 448 injured in1989 40 killed in2001 | |||||||||
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TheAbkhazia conflict is aterritorial dispute overAbkhazia, a region on the eastern coast of theBlack Sea in theSouth Caucasus, at the intersection ofEastern Europe andWestern Asia. The conflict involvesGeorgia, theRussian Federation and the Russian-backed self-proclaimedRepublic of Abkhazia, which isinternationally recognised only by Russia,Venezuela,Nicaragua,Nauru, andSyria;Georgia and all otherUnited Nations members consider Abkhazia asovereign territory of Georgia.[8][9][10][11] However, as of 2025, Georgia lacksde facto control over the territory.
The beginning of the conflict dates back to thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991; however, the dispute can be traced to 1918—1919Abkhazia conflict overSukhumi okrug (which corresponds to the Abkhazia region) between theGeorgian Democratic Republic,White Russia and theRussian SFSR. Since 1989, the conflict has involved several wars: the1992—1993 War in Abkhazia, the1998 War in Abkhazia and the2008 Russo-Georgian War.
The conflict, one of the bloodiest in the post-Soviet era, remains unresolved. The Georgian government has offered substantialautonomy to Abkhazia several times. However, both the Abkhaz government and the opposition in Abkhazia refuse any form of union with Georgia. Abkhaz regard their independence as the result of a war of liberation from Georgia, while Georgians believe that historically Abkhazia has always formed part of Georgia.[12] Georgians formed the single largest ethnic group in pre-1993 Abkhazia, with a 45.7% plurality as of 1989. During the war the Abkhaz separatist side carried out anethnic cleansing campaign which resulted in the expulsion of up to 250,000[13] and in the killing of more than 5,000 ethnic Georgians.[14] TheOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conventions ofLisbon,Budapest andIstanbul have officially recognized the ethnic cleansing of Georgians,[15] whichUN General Assembly Resolution GA/10708 also mentions.[16] TheUN Security Council has passed a series of resolutions in which it appeals for a cease-fire.[17]
The written history of Abkhazia largely begins with thecolonization by Ancient Greeks of its coast in the 6th-5th centuries BC. During this time, the territory was part of the western Georgian kingdom ofColchis (Egrisi). During theAntiquity, various tribes were recorded on the territory today known as Abkhazia:Moschi,Sanigs,Misimians,Apsilae andAbasgois. Moschi, Sanigs and Misimians were known to have Georgian (Kartvelian) origin, while origin ofApsilae andAbasgois is disputed, with some scholars considering them to be Kartvelian tribes, while others regard them as being ancestors of people today called asAbkhazians. Throughout Antiquity, the territory was controlled byPontus, theRoman Empire, and theByzantine Empire. Local tribes played a huge role into consolidation of local population into single unit. They managed to break free from the Byzantine Empire in the 8th century and establish their independent kingdom. During this time, the term "Apkhazeti" first appeared in theGeorgian annals, which is ofMingrelian (Western Georgian) origin, "Apkha" meaning back or shoulder.[18][19][20] The term gave rise to the name "Abkhazia", which is used today in most foreign languages. It was used to denote wholeAbasgia (Byzantine name for the territory). The medievalKingdom of Abkhazia managed to unite whole Western Georgia into a single political entity and transferred its capital to the Georgian city ofKutaisi. Although the origin of this kingdom'sruling family is still disputed, most scholars agree that the Abkhazian kings were Georgian in culture and language. The kingdom is frequently referred in modern history writing as the Egrisi-Abkhazian kingdom due to the fact that medieval authors viewed the new monarchy as asuccessor state of Egrisi and sometimes used the terms interchangeably. In order to eliminate the Byzantine religious influence, the dynasty subordinated the localdioceses to theGeorgian Orthodoxpatriarchate ofMtskheta.[21][22]
In the 10th century, Kingdom of Abkhazia played an important role inUnification of the Georgian realm. Through dynastic succession,Bagrat Bagrationi unitedKingdom of Abkhazia, Southern GeorgianKingdom of the Iberians and Eastern Georgian territories ofKartli under single political entity,Kingdom of Georgia.Duchy of Tskhumi was established on the territory of Abkhazia, which later was transformed into Duchy of Abkhazia. The Kingdom became the largest entity in the Caucasus by the 12th century. However, in the late 15th century, the civil strife within the Kingdom of Georgia led to itsdissolution. Various new Georgian kingdoms arose in its place, such asKingdom of Kakheti andKingdom of Kartli in the Eastern Georgia,Samtskhe-Saatabago in the Southern Georgia andKingdom of Imereti in the Western Georgia. The latter consisted of three principalities:Principality of Mingrelia,Principality of Guria andPrincipality of Abkhazia. Eventually Kingdom of Imereti declined due to power struggle within its ruling elites and constantOttoman invasions, leading to these principalities gaining semi-independent status as they frequently acted independently and at times titled themselves as kings. In the 1570s, theOttoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi on the Abkhazian coastline, turning it into the Turkish fortress of Suhum-Kale (hence, the modern name of the city ofSukhumi). In 1555, Georgia and the wholeSouth Caucasus became divided between the Ottoman andSafavidPersian empires per thePeace of Amasya, with Abkhazia, along with all of western Georgia, remaining in the hands of the Ottomans. As a result, Abkhazia came under the increasing influence of Turkey andIslam, gradually losing its cultural and religious ties with the rest of Georgia. According to the Soviet historical science, Turkey, after the conquest has aimed at obliterating the material and spiritual culture of Abkhazia and forcibly convert the population to Islam.[23]
Following the Russian Revolutions, Georgia initially joined theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and subsequently became independent as theDemocratic Republic of Georgia (DRG) governed by GeorgianMensheviks, while Abkhazia fell under control of a group of localBolsheviks and theRed Army of Russia following a Bolshevik-led rebellion against the local Abkhazian self-government, Abkhaz People's Council (APC). This forced the APC to request aid from theDemocratic Republic of Georgia, which ousted the Bolshevik rebels inSokhumi with theNational Guard of Georgia.[24] Abkhazia joined Democratic Republic of Georgia as an autonomous entity. This later led to theSochi conflict between Georgia andSoviet Russia over ownership of Abkhazia and the territories of the formerBlack Sea Governorate. Georgia managed to repulse the Red Army from Abkhazia but conceded to Russian claims overSochi andTuapse. In 1920,Psou river was agreed as a new state border between Soviet Russia and Georgia. This corresponds to the modern internationally recognizedGeorgia–Russia border. In 1921, Abkhazia was granted the status of theautonomy within the Georgian Democratic Republic.
In 1921, theRed Army invaded Georgia and toppled the Menshevik government of the DRG.Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (GSSR) was established under Bolshevik government, which was later incorporated into theUSSR. In exchange for support for Bolsheviks in Abkhazia, the Soviet government agreed to increase the autonomy of Abkhazia. In 1921,Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia was created. However, it was not separate from Georgia and its status was defined as atreaty republic of GSSR. In 1931, status of Abkhazia was again downgraded to the autonomous republic, withAbkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic being established.
Tensions between Abkhazians and Georgians began to escalate in 1980s as Georgians increasingly pushed for independence from the Soviet Union, while Abkhazians wanted to remain in theSoviet Union. On 18 March 1989, a group of Abkhazian intellectuals wrote letter to theKremlin, expressing their desire to upgrade the status of Abkhazia to independent SSR within the Soviet Union or joinRussia as an autonomous republic. This is known asLykhny appeal. According to the1979 Soviet Census, Georgians made up 45.7% of the population of Abkhazia, while Abkhazians were 17.8%. In response to the appeal, the Georgian anti-Soviet groups organized a series of unsanctioned meetings across Georgia, claiming that the Soviet government was using Abkhaz separatism in order to oppose the Georgia's pro-independence movement. Thepeaceful demonstration in Tbilisi was suppressed by theSoviet Army on 9 April 1989, which is known today asApril 9 tragedy. In July 1989,the riots started in Abkhazia with the Abkhaz protest against an opening of a branch ofTbilisi State University in Sukhumi, and concluded with the looting of the Georgian school which was expected to house the new university on 16 July 1989. The ensuing violence quickly degenerated into a large-scale inter-ethnic confrontation. The first case of inter-ethnic violence in Georgia, it effectively marked the start of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
The July events in Abkhazia left at least 18 dead and 448 injured, of whom, according to official accounts, 302 were Georgians.[25] The local Abkhaz authorities endeavored to regulate the flow of information by censoring newspaper articles and television programs deemed to threaten the peace of multiethnic autonomy. On August 15, 1990, the Georgian section of Abkhazian radio appealed to the chairman of the Ministerial Council to safeguard the rights and freedoms of expression. In response to this appeal, the Abkhaz authorities imposed a ban on radio broadcasts concerning the Georgian language and interfered with the editorial policies of journalists.[26] Although the government managed to end the violence and maintain peace at that time, the conflict developed further and resulted in the next years in what is often referred as "war of laws". In 1991, Georgia refused to take part in referendum to preserve the Soviet Union as a renewed federation, opting to hold anindependence referendum, which led to adeclaration of independence. However, Abkhazia defied Tbilisi and took part in theSoviet referendum, which was boycotted by the Georgian population of Abkhazia.
In order to defuse tensions, newly elected Georgian presidentZviad Gamsakhurdia agreed on an arrangement to grant a wide over-representation to the Abkhazians in the localSupreme Council, with Abkhazians, while being only 18% of the population, getting the largest portion of seats.[27] According to this settlement, the 65 seats in the Supreme Soviet were allocated to different ethnic groups; 28 were reserved forAbkhazians, 26 forGeorgians (46% of the total population) and 11 for the other ethnic groups.[28] Theelections were held in September 1991 and resulted inVladislav Ardzinba being appointed as Chairman of the Abkhazian Supreme Council. Ardzinba, who was a charismatic but excitable figure popular among the Abkhaz, was believed by Georgians to have helped to instigate theanti-Georgian violence of July 1989. Ardzinba exploited theGeorgian Civil War which began in December 1991 to consolidate his power and launched a practice of replacing ethnic Georgians in leading positions with the Abkhaz. Ardzinba created the Abkhazian National Guard that was mono-ethnically Abkhaz, and on 24 June 1992, attacked the building of the Abkhazian Interior Ministry, a last stronghold of Georgian authority in Abkhazia, severely beating the ethnic Georgian minister Givi Lominadze and installing AbkhazAlexander Ankvab. These events led to a split in the Supreme Council between Georgian and Abkhazian factions and forced the Georgian faction to boycott the sessions. In turn, On 23 July 1992, the Abkhazian faction of the Supreme Council, without aquorum, passed a resolution on restoring the 1925 Abkhazian constitution, declaring a "sovereign state" from Georgia. On 25 July 1992,State Council of the Republic of Georgia, a governing body of Georgia at that time, responded with a special resolution, which nullified this declaration, with Georgian leaderEduard Shevardnadze pointing out that the separatist decision contradicted the opinion of the majority of Abkhazian population.[29] Meanwhile, 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.[30] Russia used Abkhaz and also South Ossetian separatists as its ethnically based proxies to inflame ethnic conflicts in Georgia, undermine Georgian independence and assert Russia's control over the strategically important South Caucasus.[31][32]
The conflict eventually devolved into a war, which lasted for 13 months, beginning in August, 1992, with Georgian government forces and a militia composed of ethnic Georgians who lived in Abkhazia and separatist forces consisting of ethnicAbkhazians andArmenians who also lived in Abkhazia. The separatists were supported by theNorth Caucasian andCossack militants and (unofficially) by Russian forces stationed inGudauta. The conflict resulted in theethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia. Theagreement in Moscow ended hostilities in 1994, however, this would not last.
In April–May 1998, the conflict escalated once again in the Gali District when several hundred Abkhaz forces entered the villages still populated by Georgians to support the separatist-held parliamentary elections. Despite criticism from the opposition, Eduard Shevardnadze,President of Georgia, refused to deploy troops against Abkhazia. Aceasefire was negotiated on May 20. The hostilities resulted in hundreds of casualties from both sides and an additional 20,000 Georgian refugees.
In September 2001, around 400 Chechen fighters and 80 Georgian guerrillas appeared in theKodori Valley. The Chechen-Georgian paramilitaries advanced as far as Sukhumi, but finally were repelled by the Abkhazian forces.
The new Georgian government of PresidentMikheil Saakashvili promised not to use force and to resolve the problem only by diplomacy and political talks.[33]
Georgia decried the unlimited issuing of Russian passports in Abkhazia with subsequent payment of retirement pensions and other monetary benefits by Russia, which Georgia considers to be economic support of separatists by the Russian government.[33]
In May 2006 the Coordinating Council of Georgia's Government and Abkhaz separatists was convened for the first time since 2001.[34] In late July the2006 Kodori crisis erupted, resulting in the establishment of thede jure Government of Abkhazia inKodori. For the first time after the war, this government was located in Abkhazia, and it was headed byMalkhaz Akishbaia,Temur Mzhavia andAda Marshania.[35]
On May 15, 2008United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognising the right of all refugees to return to Abkhazia and reclaim their property rights. It regretted the attempts to alter pre-war demographic composition and called for the "rapid development of a timetable to ensure the prompt voluntary return of all refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes."[36]
On August 10, 2008, theRusso-Georgian War spread to Abkhazia, where separatist rebels and the Russian air force launched an all-out attack on Georgian forces. Abkhazia's pro-Moscow separatist PresidentSergei Bagapsh said that his troops had launched a major "military operation" to force Georgian troops out of the Kodori Gorge, which they still controlled.[37] As a result of this attack, Georgian troops were driven out of Abkhazia entirely.
On August 26, 2008, the Russian Federation officially recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.[38]
In response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government announced that the country cut all diplomatic relations with Russia and that it left the Commonwealth of Independent States.[39]
Relations between Georgia and Abkhazia have remained tense after the war. Georgia has moved to increase Abkhazia's isolation by imposing asea blockade of Abkhazia. During the opening ceremony of a new building of the Georgian Embassy inKyiv (Ukraine) in November 2009,Georgian presidentMikheil Saakashvili stated that residents ofSouth Ossetia and Abkhazia could also use its facilities. "I would like to assure you, my dear friends, that this is your home, as well, and here you will always be able to find support and understanding", he said.[40]
On July 9, 2012, theOSCE Parliamentary Assembly passed a resolution at its annual session inMonaco, underlining Georgia's territorial integrity and referring to breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia asoccupied territories. The resolution "urges the Government and the Parliament of the Russian Federation, as well as the de facto authorities of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, Georgia, to allow the European Union Monitoring Mission unimpeded access to the occupied territories." It also said that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was "concerned about the humanitarian situation of the displaced persons both in Georgia and in the occupied territories of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, Georgia, as well as the denial of the right of return to their places of living."[41]
In 2016, murder of ethnic Georgian Giga Otkhozoria by Abkhaz border guards caused international resonance and raised question about human rights situation of ethnic Georgians remaining in Abkhazia, particularlyGali district, where 98% are ethnic Georgians and are often subject to ethnic discrimination, denial of political and civil rights and police misconduct.[42][43][44]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Russian relations with Georgia were the worst among the post-Soviet states. In addition to fanning the flames of separatism in South Ossetia since 1990s, Russia militarily supported separatists in Abkhazia (1992-1993), which is also a part of Georgian territory, to undermine Georgia's independence and assert Russia's control over the strategically important South Caucasus. [...] This use of small, ethnically- and religiously-based proxies is not unlike Iran's use of Hezbollah and Hamas in Levant.
Keeping Georgian territory undivided is a high priority for Tbilisi, and the Kremlin realized very well that playing on Abkhazian, Ossetian and Ajar separatism was a way to keep Georgia off balance. [...] Under Gorbachev, the Kremlin, eager to undermine the aspirations of the Georgian national-independence movement, initially encouraged the Abkhaz in another variation of the old divide-and-rule game. A second group, Ossetians, are divided between two territorial entities: one, within the Russian Federation, enjoys autonomous republic status, while the other, to the south, is an autonomous region within Georgia. Here the problem is not demography but geopolitics: for the Southern Ossetian territory slices through historically Georgian lands. Its separation would wreak havoc with Georgia's territorial integrity, communications and economy.
