Abkhazia

History:-

- Abkhazian people have occupied these lands for more than 2 millennia. 

- The territory—like many in the Caucasus region—has been fought over, conquered and occupied by different empires (Mongolian, Ottoman, and Russian) throughout this time. 

- Although it has been a difficult history, Abkhazia has maintained its own unique language, culture, and heritage.

- The Greek Empire established ports along the Abkhaz coast, including the ancient city of Dioscurias, which today is Sukhum. Abkhazia was part of the kingdoms of Colchis and Egrisi, and under rule of the Roman Empire until the 4th century CE. 

- Abkhazia became an autonomous principality under the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century and had varying degrees of independence over the next centuries. 

- It was under Byzantine influence that Abkhazians adopted Christianity, and Islam gained influence with the rise of the Ottoman Empire.

- In 1810 Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire as an autonomous principality, and preserved that autonomy until 1864. 

- The Russian-Circassian war of the mid 19th century forced many Caucasians to flee to the Ottoman Empire and allowed Russians and Georgians to emigrate into Abkhazia. 

- At the collapse of the Russian Empire, Georgia and Abkhazia both established themselves as independent states, but in May 1918 the new Georgian Democratic Republic occupied and annexed Abkhazia. 

- From 1918 until 1921, Abkhazia fought a liberation war against Georgia, backed by Caucasian regional organizations.

- In 1920 Abkhazia became part of the Soviet Union and was initially granted full republican status, this status being recognised by Soviet Georgia. 

- The establishment of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federation some time later in the 1920s saw Abkhazia becoming a member in treaty-alliance with Georgia (the two entities were still separate republics at this time). 

- This status was later undermined by Joseph Stalin in 1931, when he subordinated Abkhazia to Georgia (his home-republic, of course) and soon thereafter began the mass-deportation of so-called ‘Georgians’ (mainly Mingrelians and Georgians) to Abkhazia.

- In the period 1937-1953, the Abkhaz were deprived of the right to teach their children in their native language. 

- All Abkhaz schools and institutions were closed. The Abkhaz were only allowed to study in Georgian schools. 

- Abkhaz script (originally based on the Latin and then on Cyrillic) was altered, against the will of the Abkhaz people, to one based on Georgian characters. 

- As a result, after 1938 the Abkhaz were deprived of the right to read newspapers, journals, and other literature in the native language.

- As a result of the massive Georgification of Abkhazia, by the 1990s, less than a fifth of people in Abkhazia were ethnic Abkhaz. 

- Despite their status as minorities in their own state, Abkhazians actively pushed for independence. 

- The period of perestroika (mid- to late-1980s) under the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave Abkhazians, as well as other Soviet minorities, encouragement to voice grievances about their treatment under the Soviet regime. 

- At the end of this period (1990-91), Georgia made a move to withdraw completely from the Soviet Union and annulled all Soviet Legislation. 

- It also annulled the legislation which had subordinated Abkhazia to Georgian control, thereby nullifying its control of Abkhazia. 

- On July 23, 1992, Abkhazia adopted the Constitution of 1925, which effectively declared independence, though this went unrecognized internationally. 

- Georgians responded through military aggression in the summer of 1992, which was fiercely defended by the people of Abkhazia until the Georgian forces withdrew in the autumn of 1993. 

- During the war of 1992-93, Abkhazia lost 4% of its population as well as large swathes of infrastructure and historical/cultural treasures. 

- A cease-fire was signed between the two sides in May 1994.

- Abkhazia adopted a new constitution on November 26 1994, declaring Abkhazia’s national sovereignty, which went unrecognized internationally.

- Abkhazia was blockaded by Georgia, Russia and the CIS states issued economic sanctions in January 1996. 

- This had severe impacts on the economic growth and development of Abkhazia.

- In 2006, Georgian President Saak´ashvili once again raised tensions when he introduced, under the guise of a policing operation, military personnel into that part of Abkhazia (the Upper K’odor Valley) which had had remained in Georgian hands since the end of the war in 1993. 

- There were plans in place to attempt another armed incursion into Abkhazia in the spring of 2008, but, in August 2008, it was South Osetia which instead became the focus of the Georgian military attack. 

- At that time, Abkhazia and South Osetia requested assistance from the Russian government in resisting the deadly attacks of the Georgian military. 

- Russia immediately complied with the request, and the Georgian threat was repelled.

- Since the five-day war of 2008, Abkhazia’s independence has been fully recognised by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.

National Emblem:-

- The National Emblem of the Republic of Abkhazia is a shield vertically divided into two equal white and green parts.

- The outline of the Emblem and the subject image are golden.

- At the bottom of the Emblem there is an eight-pointed golden Abkhaz star.

- At the top there are two eight-pointed golden stars symmetrically placed on the white and green backgrounds.

- In the centre of the Emblem there is a figure of horseman riding a flying magic horse Arash and shooting an arrow towards the stars.

- The plot of the Emblem is related to the with the Abkhaz Nart saga of the Abkhaz.

- The green color of the Emblem symbolizes youth and life, the white color represents spirituality. 

- The big eight-pointed star is a solar symbol of revival. Small stars symbolize unity of the two cultural worlds – the East and the West.

Flag:-

- The ratio of length to height is 2:1. Seven alternating green and white stripes are placed along the length; four of them are green and the other three are white. 

- The first upper stripe is green. Green and white stripes were an element in the flag of the Mountain Republic (1918) and Abkhazia was a part of it. 

- The green color symbolizes life and the white color symbolizes the bright future of the country.

- In the upper left corner near the flagstaff there is a bright red rectangle of 0, 38 length of the flag with the height equal to three stripes. 

- In the centre of the red rectangle there is a white open palm in vertical position. Seven white five-pointed stars are placed in semicircle over the palm.

- The open palm and seven stars on the red background have been adopted from the flag of the Abkhaz Kingdom (VII-X). 

- The red color symbolizes military valor and the open palm represents peace, kindness and hospitality. 

- The open white palm is also a symbol of the Abkhaz statehood which was established in the times of the Abkhaz Kingdom and is 12 centuries old.

- Seven five-pointed stars represents seven historic regions of Abkhazia: Sadz (Jigetia), Bzyp, Guma, Abjiua, Samyrzakan, Dal-Tsabal, Pshu-Aibga. 

- They cover the ethnic territory of the Abkhaz from river Khosta (border with the Ubykhs) to the river Ingur (border with the Mingrelians) and from the Black Sea to the Caucasus Mountains.

Republic of Abkhazia:-

Capital: Sukhum (Akua in Abkhaz)

Area: 8,600 km²

Population: 242 826 (2011)

Currency: Russian rouble

Languages: Abkhaz, Russian, Armenian, Megrelian, Georgian

Religion: Orthodox Christianity, Traditional Islam.

Main ethnic groups: Abkhaz, Armenians, Russians, Georgians, Megrelians, Greeks. 

Places of great symbolic importance:-

• Lake Ritsa
• Kodor Gorge
• Sukhum
• Monkey Nursery
• Botanical Garden
• Geg waterfalls
• New Athons Monastery
• New Athons Cave
• Old Temples, Monasteries and castles dating from 4th-19th century

Geography:-

- Abkhazia is situated along the eastern coast of the Black Sea, bordering Russia in the West and the North along the Great Caucasus Range and Georgia in the East. 

- Abkhazia is divided into seven administrative districts: Gagra, Gudauta, Sukhum, Ochamchyra, Gulripsh, Tquarchal and Gal. The capital city is Sukhum (Aqua in Abkhazian).

Natural and Climatic Conditions:-

- Abkhazia has unique natural and climatic conditions. Its climate is warm, mild and humid due to its proximity to the sea. There are about 200-220 sunny days per year. 

- The weather is moderately hot in summer – around +27, +28 C, the temperature of the sea reaches +28 C.

- There are abundance of ecologically clean sweet water, a lot of healing springs, hot mineral springs, mountain rivers and lakes.

Population:-

- According to the 2011 census, there are 240 705 people residing in Abkhazia, of whom approximately 51% are ethnic Abkhazians, 20% Georgian and Megrelians, 18% Armenians, 9% Russians, less than 1% Greeks, and the others.

Languages:-

- Abkhaz is an official state language. Russian language is used as means of inter-ethnic communication.

- Armenian and Georgian are also common. In the district of Gal, Georgian is more prevalent where there is a higher Georgian population.

Religion/Culture:-

- The Abkhaz ethnic culture is rich in traditions, preserving to the present day quite a few archaic elements whose origins ante-date the Christian era.

- The fundamental constructive moral-ethical element in Abkhazian national culture is the concept of 'Apswara, or 'Abkhazianness' - 'Abkhazian view of the world', 'Abkhazian ideology'.

- Abkhazia had a highly diverse demography with many Turks, Armenians, Jews, and Greeks, among others

- The majority of Abkhazians are Orthodox Christians. There are also some population of Sunni Muslims, and a there is small number of Jews, Lutherans, Catholics and followers of new religions.

Prominent citizens of Abkhazia:

• Bagrat Shinkuba - Writer, poet, historian, linguist and politician
• Alexandr Chachba - Painter
• Fazil Iskander - Writer
• Murat Yagan - Philosopher, national leader
• Khibla Gerzmava - Opera singer
• Denis Tsargush - Free-style Wrestling World and Europe champion
• Alan Palavandzia - Shotokan-style Karate World champion
• Akhra Tsveiba - Football player.

~~Regards~~

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Abkhazia