Abkhazia or (Abkhaz: Aphsny, Apkhazeti, or Abkhazeti, Abhazia) is a region of 8,600 kmÂ² (3,300 sq.mi.) in the Caucasus, which is de jure an autonomous republic of Georgia (, Abkhaz: ), but has proclaimed independence after the war in the early 1990s. It remains largely de facto independent of Georgia and maintains control over the large part of its territory, although not recognized as such internationally. The capital is Sukhumi, which is located on the Black Sea.

Political status

United States, European Union and International organizations (UN, OSCE, Council of the European Union, etc) recognize Abkhazia as integral part of Georgia Human Rights Watch. "Georgia/Abkhazia: Violations of the Laws of War and Russia's Role in the Conflict." Published on hrw.org, March 1995 and are urging both sides to settle the conflict over Abkhazian autonomy through peaceful means. However, the Abkhaz separatist government considers Abkhazia a sovereign country.

Meanwhile the Russian State Duma is looking for legal ways to incorporate this region into the Russian Federation, while Russian media produce numerous materials in support of separatist rule. During the war, Russian authorities supplied significant military and financial aid to the separatist side. Since the beginning of the war, Russia has politically and militarily contributed in the creation of the separatist movement in Abkhazia.Vakhtang Kholbaia, Labyrinth of Abkhazia, 1992Today, Russia still maintains a strong political and military influence over the separatist rule in Abkhazia. http://mosnews.com/news/2006/07/21/luzhkabkhaz.shtml

Geography and climate

Abkhazia covers an area of about 8,600 kmÂ² at the western end of Georgia, on the north shore of the Black Sea. The Caucasus Mountains to the north and the northeast divide Abkhazia from Circassia. To the east, the region is bordered by Svanetia. To the southeast, Abkhazia is bounded by Samegrelo; and on the south and southwest by the Black Sea.

The region is extremely mountainous (nearly 75% is classified as mountains or foothills) and settlement is largely confined to the coast and a number of deep, well-watered valleys. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range runs along the region's northern border. The Gagra, Bziphi, and Kodori Ranges branch off from the Main Caucasus Range. The highest peaks of Abkhazia are in the northeast and east (along the border with Svanetia) and several exceed 4,000 meters (13,120 feet) above sea level. The climate is quite mild, which in the Soviet times caused it to become a popular holiday destination known as the "Georgian Riviera". It is also renowned for its agricultural produce, including tea, tobacco, wine and fruits.

Landscape

Lake Ritsa to the north from Pitsunda.

Abkhazia is well known for its beauty and contrasting landscapes. The landscapes of the region range from coastal forests (endemic pine forests near Bichvinta/Pitsunda) and citrus plantations, to eternal snows and glaciers to the north of the republic. Because of Abkhazia's complex topographic setting, most of the territory has been spared from significant human cultivation and development. Therefore, a large portion of Abkhazia (nearly 70% of the territory) is still covered by forests today. Abkhazia is also well known for the high number of endemic species of plants that are found only in the Caucasus, only in Georgia, or only in Abkhazia.

Southeastern Abkhazia, a part of the Colchis Lowland, is covered by Colchian forests (alder, hornbeam, oak, beech), or by citrus and tea plantations. The foothills, up to an elevation of 600 meters (1,968 feet) above sea level, are covered by deciduous forests (with evergreen elements), and include tree species such as oak, hornbeam, beech, and buxus. The forest covers from 600 to 1,800 meters (1,960-5,904 ft.) above sea level is made up of both deciduous and coniferous species of tree. The most common species are beech, spruce, and fir. The mixed forest zone is home to some of the tallest trees in Europe and the world, where some specimens of the Nordmann Fir (especially around Lake Ritsa) reach heights of over 70 meters (230 feet). The zone extending 1,800-2,900 m (5,904-9,512 ft.) above sea level is made up of either subalpine forests or alpine meadows. Territory lying above 2,900 m (9,512 ft.) is mainly covered by eternal snows and glaciers.

Climate

Because of Abkhazia's proximity to the Black Sea, its climate is very mild, considering the northern latitude. The Caucasus Mountains are greatly responsible for moderating the region's climate, as they shield Abkhazia from cold northerly winds.

The coastal areas of the Republic have a subtropical climate, where the average annual temperature in most regions is around 15 degrees Celsius. Average winter (January) temperatures vary between 4 and 6 degrees C, while average summer (July) temperatures are anywhere between 22 and 23 degrees C. The coastal territory rarely experiences strong frosts during the winter.

Higher elevations of Abkhazia, above 1,000 meters (3,280 ft.) above sea level have a maritime, mountain climate, experiencing relatively cold winters and long, warm summers. Elevations above 2,000 m (6,560 ft.) above sea level have colder winters and shorter summers. Abkhazia's highest regions have a cold, summerless climate throughout the year.

Abkhazia receives high amounts of precipitation, but is known for its unique micro-climate (transitional from subtropical to mountain) along most of its coast, causing lower levels of humidity. The annual precipitation along the coast ranges from 1,100 to 1,500 mm (43-59 inches). The foothills, the lower ranges, and the interior gorges of the Republic receive anywhere between 1,000 and 1,800 mm (39-71 in.) of precipitation annually. Some of the interior gorges that are sheltered from the moist influences of the Black Sea receive the lowest amounts of precipitation. The higher mountainous regions receive 1,700-3,500 mm (67-138 in.) of precipitation per year. Although there is usually no significant snowfall in the coastal regions, the mountains of Abkhazia do receive significant amounts of snow. Avalanches in the northeast sometimes pose a threat to populated areas. Snow depths often exceed 5 meters (18 feet) in some of the high, mountainous areas facing the Black Sea.

Demographics

[[Image:abkhazman.jpg|thumb|150px|Elderly Abkhazian Man in Traditional Dress]]The demography of Abkhazia has undergone a massive shift since the 1990s. At the time of the last Soviet census in 1989, it had a population of about 500 000, of whom 48% were ethnic Georgians (principally Mingrels) and only 17% were Abkhaz.

In 1993, war led to Abkhazia breaking away from Georgia, and virtually the entire ethnic Georgian population â€" some 250 000 people and virtually the entire population of the east of the country â€" were displaced in what is alleged to have been a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Abkhazia's much-reduced population now has an ethnic Abkhaz plurality of 45%, with Russians, Armenians (mostly Christian Hamshenis), Georgians, Greeks, and Jews comprising most of the remainder of the population.

History

Early history

In the 9th-6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was a part of the ancient kingdom of Colchis (Kolkha), which was absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Egrisi. Greek traders established ports along the Black Sea shoreline. One of those ports, Dioscurias, eventually developed into modern Sukhumi, Abkhazia's traditional capital.

The Roman Empire conquered Egrisi in the 1st century AD and ruled it until the 4th century, following which it regained a measure of independence, but remained within the Byzantine Empire's sphere of influence. Though the exact time when the population of Abkhazia was converted to Christianity is not determined, there is known that the Metropolitan of Pitius participated in the First Oecumenical Council in 325 in Nicea. Abkhazia was made an autonomous principality of the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century â€" a status it retained until the 9th century, when it was united with the province of Imereti and became known as the Abkhazian Kingdom. In 9-10th centuries the kings of Abkhazs were trying to unify all the Georgian provinces and in 1001 King Bagrat III Bagrationi of Abkhazia became the first king of the unified Georgian Kingdom. Because the Kingdom of Abkhazs was the leader of the unifying movement, the new Georgian kingdom was often called the "Kingdom of Abkhazs" in the Byzantine Empire.

In the 16th century, after the break-up of the united Georgian Kingdom, the area was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, during which the Abkhazians were partially converted to Islam. The Ottomans were pushed out by the Georgians, who established an autonomous Principality of Abkhazia (abxazetis samtavro in Georgian), ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty (aka Sharvashidze, or Chachba).

Abkhazia within the Russian Empire and Soviet Union

The expansion of the Russian Empire into the Caucasus region led to small-scale but regular conflicts between Russian colonists and the indigenous Caucasian tribes. Various Georgian principalities were annexed to the empire between 1801 and 1864. The Russians acquired possession of Abhkazia in a piecemeal fashion between 1829 and 1842; but their power was not firmly established until 1864, when they managed to abolish the local principality. Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians â€" said to have constituted as much as 60% of the Abkhazian population, although contemporary census reports were not very trustworthy â€" emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878.

Mingrelo-Abkhaz family in Gudauta. 90 years old Abkhaz man wearing Abkhaz-Mingrelian traditional costume.

Modern Abkhazian historians maintain that large areas of the region were left uninhabited, and that many Armenians, Georgians and Russians (all Christians) subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of the vacated territory. This version of events is strongly contested by Georgian historians (see Lortkipanidze M., The Abkhazians and Abkhazia, Tbilisi 1990) who argue that Georgian tribes (Mingrelians and Svans) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom. According to Georgian scholars, the Abkhaz are the descendants of North Caucasian tribes (Adygey, Apsua), who migrated to Abkhazia from the north of the Caucasus mountains and merged there with the existing Georgian population. Either way, at the beginning of the 20th century Abkhaz were a minority in the region. The EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica reported in 1911 that in Sukhumi (population at the time 43 000), two-thirds of the population were Mingrelian and one-third were Abkhaz.

Soviet Caucasus 1989 political divisions and subdivisons showing the Abkhazian ASSR (Abkhazskaya ASSR in Russian) of Georgian SSR

The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of an independent Georgia (which included Abkhazia) in 1918. Georgia's Menshevik government had problems with the area through most of its existence despite a limited autonomy being granted to the region. In 1921 the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a Soviet republic with the ambiguous status of Union Republic associated with the Georgian SSR, In 1931 Stalin made it an autonomous republic within Soviet Georgia. Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong central rule from central Soviet authorities. Georgian became the official language. Purportedly Lavrenty Beria encouraged Georgian migration to Abkhazia, and many took up the offer and resettled there. Russians also moved in Abkhazia in great numbers. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, Vazgen I and the Armenian church encouraged and funded the migration of Armenians to Abkhazia. Currently, Armenians are the largest minority group in Abkhazia.

The repression of the Abkhaz was ended after Stalin's death and Beria's execution, and Abkhaz were given a greater role in the governance of the republic. As in most of the smaller autonomous republics, the Soviet government encouraged the development of culture and particularly of literature. Ethnic quotas were established for certain bureaucratic posts, giving the Abkhaz a degree of political power that was disproportionate to their minority status in the republic. This was interpreted by some as a "divide and rule" policy whereby local elites were given a share in power in exchange for support for the Soviet regime. In Abkhazia as elsewhere, it led to other ethnic groups â€" in this case, the Georgians â€" resenting what they saw as unfair discrimination, thereby stoking ethnic discord in the republic.

The Abkhazian War

The Black Sea at Sukhumi.

As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at the end of the 1980s, ethnic tension 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. The dispute turned violent on 16 July 1989 in Sukhumi. Sixteen Georgians are said to have been killed and another 137 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 and blamed rival nationalist paramilitaries for provoking confrontations.

Georgia declared independence on 9 April 1991, under the rule of the former Soviet dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Gamsakhurdia's rule became unpopular, and that December, the Georgian National Guard, under the command of Tengiz Kitovani, laid siege to the offices of Gamsakhurdia's government in Tbilisi. After weeks of stalemate, he was forced to resign in January 1992. He was replaced as president by Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister and architect of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Shevardnadze inherited a government dominated by hardline Georgian nationalists, and although he was not an ethnic nationalist, he did little to avoid being seen as supporting the government figures and powerful coup leaders who were.

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. In response, on 23 July 1992, the Abkhazia government effectively declared seccession from Georgia, although this gesture went unrecognized by any other country. The Georgian government accused Gamsakhurdia supporters of kidnapping Georgia's interior minister and holding him captive in Abkhazia. The Georgian government dispatched 3,000 troops to the region, ostensibly to restore order. Heavy fighting between Georgian forces and Abkhazian militia broke out in and around Sukhumi. The Abkhazian authorities rejected the government's claims, claiming that it was merely a pretext for an invasion. After about a week's fighting and many casualties on both sides, Georgian government forces managed to take control of most of Abkhazia, and closed down the regional parliament.

The Abkhazians' 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 pro-Russian movements in the North Caucasus, Russia (Chechens, Cossacks, Ossetians and others). Hundreds of volunteer paramilitaries from Russia (including the then little known Shamil Basayev) joined forces with the Abkhazian separatists to fight the Georgian government forces. Regular Russian forces also reportedly sided with the seccessionsts. In September, the Abkhaz and Russian paramilitaries mounted a major offensive 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". The year 1992 ended with the rebels in control of much of Abkhazia northwest of Sukhumi. Significant ethnic cleansing occurred on both sides, with Abkhazians displaced from Georgian-held territory and vice-versa; some 3,000 people were reported to have been killed in this first phase of the war, see Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia.

The conflict remained stalemated until July 1993, when the Abkhaz separatist militias launched an abortive attack on Georgian-held Sukhumi. The capital was surrounded and heavily shelled, with Shevardnadze himself trapped in the city.

Although a truce was declared at the end of July, this collapsed after a renewed Abkhaz attack in mid-September. After ten days of heavy fighting, Sukhumi fell on 27 September, 1993. Eduard Shevardnadze narrowly escaped death, having vowed to stay in the city no matter what, but he was eventually forced to flee when separatist snipers fired on the hotel where he was residing. Abkhaz, North Caucasians militants and their allies committed one of the most horrific massacres of this war against remaining Georgian civilians in the city known as Sukhumi Massacre. The mass killings and destruction continued for two weeks, leaving thousands dead and missing.

The separatist 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). In the chaotic aftermath of defeat, almost the entire non-Abkhazian (mainly ethnic Georgians) population fled the region by sea or over the mountains escaping a large-scale ethnic cleansing initiated by the victors. Many thousands died â€" it is estimated that between 10,000-30,000 ethnic Georgians and 3,000 ethnic Abkhaz may have perished â€" and some 250,000-300,000 people were forced into exile.

Politics

There are approximately 300,000 Georgian IDPs from Abkhazia

Politics in Abkhazia is dominated by the conflict with Georgia, of which the territory seceded, and by the fight over the presidency in 2004/2005. On 3 October 2004 presidential elections were held in Abkhazia. In the elections, Russia evidently supported Raul Khajimba, the prime-minister backed by seriously ailing outgoing separatist President Vladislav Ardzinba. Posters of Russia's President Vladimir Putin together with Khajimba, who like Putin had worked as a KGB official, were everywhere in Sukhumi. Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, lead by Joseph Kobzon, a deputy and a popular songster, came to Abkhazia campaigning for Khajimba.

International Involvement

The UN has played various roles during the conflict and peace process: a military role through its observer mission (UNOMIG); dual diplomatic roles through the Security Council and the appointment of a Special Envoy, succeeded by a Special Representative to the Secretary-General; a humanitarian role (UNHCR and UNOCHA); a development role (UNDP); a human rights role (UN Human Rights Office); and a low-key capacity and confidence-building role (UNV). The UN's position has been that there will be no forcible change in international borders. Any settlement must be freely negotiated and based on autonomy for Abkhazia legitimized by referendum under international observation once the multi-ethnic population has returned. According to Western interpretations the intervention did not contravene international law since Georgia, as a sovereign state, had the right to secure order on its territory and protect its territorial integrity.

OSCE has increasingly engaged in dialogue with officials and civil society representatives in Abkhazia, especially from NGOs and the media, regarding human dimension standards and is considering a presence in Gali. OSCE expressed concern and condemnation over ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia during the 1994 Budapest Summit Decision and later at the Lisbon Summit Declaration in 1996.

The USA rejects the unilateral secession of Abkhazia and urges its integration into Georgia as an autonomous unit. In 1998 the USA announced its readiness to allocate up to $15 million for rehabilitation of infrastructure in the Gali region if substantial progress is made in the peace process. USAID has already funded some humanitarian initiatives for Abkhazia. The USA has in recent years significantly increased its military support to the Georgian armed forces but has stated that it would not condone any moves towards peace enforcement in Abkhazia.