Abkhazia

Abkhazia (Abkhaz ?????/Aphsny, Georgian ????????/Apkhazeti, Russian ????????/Abkhazia) is a region of 8,600 km² (3,300 sq.mi.) in the Caucasus. It is formally an autonomous republic within Georgia but is de facto independent, although not recognised as such internationally. The capital is Sukhum (Sokhumi)2.

Abkhazia today

The Abkhaz conflict has not been resolved; a ceasefire agreement was signed on 15 May 1994 and a United Nations peacekeeping force (UNOMIG) was given the task of monitoring the agreement. A separate force from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was assigned to a peacekeeping mission.

Related Topics:
15 May - 1994 - United Nations - UNOMIG - Commonwealth of Independent States

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Peace talks have taken place on and off over the last ten years but have achieved little of significance. Although there have been no major outbreaks of fighting in the meantime, border clashes and armed raids by both sides continue to inflict casualties.

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A new constitution was adopted on 4 November 1994 which declared Abkhaz sovereignty. Elections were held on 23 November 1996 but these were not recognised by the Georgian government or the international community. The CIS imposed economic sanctions in January 1996 and the region is formally blockaded by both Georgia and Russia.

Related Topics:
4 November - 1994 - 23 November - 1996

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On 3 October 2004 presidential elections were held in Abkhazia. In the elections, Russia evidently supported then-Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba, also backed by seriously ailing outgoing separatist President Vladislav Ardzinba. Posters of Russia's President Vladimir Putin together with Khadjimba, who like Putin had worked as a KGB official, were everywhere in Sukhumi. Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, led by Joseph Kobzon, both a deputy and a popular songster, came to Abkhazia compaigning for Khadjimba.

Related Topics:
3 October - 2004 - Raul Khadjimba - Vladislav Ardzinba - Vladimir Putin - KGB - Joseph Kobzon

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Still, on 12 October Abkhazia's Supreme Court, after a series of contradictory decisions by the Electoral Committee, recognized that the new president would be businessman Sergei Bagapsh, accused by his rival's supporters of being pro-Georgian. Abkhazia's outgoing President Ardzinba claimed the decision was illegal and made under pressure from supporters of Bagapsh. The decision was cancelled by the Supreme Court that night. When supporters of Raul Khadjimba seized the building of the Supreme Court and destroyed the protocols from local electoral constituencies, new elections were prescribed.

Related Topics:
12 October - Sergei Bagapsh - Raul Khadjimba

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Soon the Supreme Court cancelled the later decision, and again named Bagapsh the new president. His supporters captured a local TV station, while Khadjimba's supporters took control over the parliament's building. Outgoing President Ardzinba replaced Khadjimba as prime minister with Nodar Khashba, who before this appointment served in the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations.

Related Topics:
Nodar Khashba - Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations

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On 12 November supporters of Bagapsh, who was planning to be inaugurated on 7 December, took the building of Abkhazia's administration, making Nodar Khashba flee from his room. Capturing the major governmental offices in Sukhumi led to the death of one elderly woman, Tamara Shakryl. (Bagapsh's supporters claim she was killed by Ardzinba's guard.) The same day Russia made it clear that it would directly intervene in Abkhazian developments in case of threats to its interests in this unrecognized republic, and blamed Bagapsh for the disorders.

Related Topics:
12 November - 7 December - Nodar Khashba - Tamara Shakryl

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In response, Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it "calls upon the Group of Friends of the UN Secretary General and the international community to give the proper reaction to such Russian declarations, to reiterate their support to Georgia's full sovereignty and territorial integrity and to warn Russia to abstain from any interference in Georgia's internal affairs."

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In response to Georgia's accusations that Russia was sending its so-called peacemaking troops to Sukhumi, Russian lieutenant colonel Yevgeni Morenko, head of the Collective Peacemaking Forces in the region, told journalists on 12 November that only two armored troop-carriers were sent to Abkhazia's capital, "for better protection of the Peacemaking Headquarters".

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On 14 November, Prime Minister Nodar Khashba, named by the relatives of Tamara Shakryl as responsible for her death and threatened by them, had to spend the night at Russia's Peacemaking Headquarters in Sukhumi. Tensions continued to mount as the day for Bagapsh's inaugural ceremony came. In early December 2004, however, Bagapsh came to an agreement with Khadjimba under which they would run in new elections under a national unity ticket, with Bagapsh as presidential candidate and Khadjimba as vice-presidential candidate. The ticket won the elections with over 90% of the vote, and the new administration took office on 12 February 2005.

Related Topics:
14 November - Nodar Khashba - 12 February

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