Abkhazia Nationalism, Conflict and History

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David Schaich

13 May 2005

Abkhazia: Nationalism, Conflict and History

What is to be the future of this Earthy Paradise?1

As the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) spiraled toward collapse in the late

1980s and early 1990s, there were widespread fears that the breakup of the country

would be accompanied by widespread violence, as proved the case in Yugoslavia. UnlikeYugoslavia, however, the USSR had thousands of nuclear warheads, huge stockpiles of

chemical and biological weapons and dozens of nuclear power stations. As a result, civil

war or anarchy in the Soviet Union had far more terrifying implications than civil war in

the Balkans.2

Although potential doomsday scenarios were fortunately avoided, the dissolution of the

USSR was still marked by some violence, especially in the troubled region of

Transcaucasia. Although only a small corner of the former Soviet Union, Transcaucasiais both densely populated and ethnically diverse, containing a full quarter of the

ethnically-based territorial units that made up the former USSR.3 As in the Balkans,

Transcaucasia's post-Communist development has been scarred by widespread conflict,

instability, separatism, civil war and alleged ethnic cleansing that has affected all of thecountries in the region.

In the West, the best known Transcaucasian conflict is Chechenia's attempt to secedefrom the Russian Federation. Russia's destructive invasions of the region and the

Chechens' use of terrorism has attracted widespread attention and concern. Although notas well-known, a similar conflict in nearby Abkhazia is just as serious. In Soviet times,

Abkhazia was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian

Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). Stretching from the eastern shore of the Black Sea upinto the Caucasus Mountains, this Soviet Riviera4 was renowned for its beautiful

mountain scenery, beaches and pleasant climate. After Georgia broke away from the

Soviet Union in 1991, Abkhazia attempted to secede from the newly-independentcountry. In a bloody war in 1992-1993 that was allegedly accompanied by ethnic

cleansing and caused the flight of around half of Abkhazia's population, separatists

managed to drive Georgian forces out of the region. Although the Abkhazians have set upa government and maintained control of the region for more than a decade, their country

has not been officially recognised by any government in the world.

There are several features which make the Abkhazian conflict one of the most

potentially explosive hotspots in the whole post-Soviet space.5 Abkhazia's success inmaintaining de facto independence from Georgia for so long has presented a major

challenge to the latter country and has complicated negotiations seeking to reunify
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Abkhazia with Georgia. Tensions related to the continued plight of the refugees and

alleged ethnic cleansing also obstruct negotiations and provide continued sources of

conflict. Georgia's inability to maintain or regain control of its territory has led some toask whether a state called 'Georgia' even exists today in any meaningful sense.6

Additionally, the role played by Russia in the conflict is controversial and potentially

explosive. Many Georgians accuse Russia of fomenting the Abkhaz rebellion in order toweaken independent Georgia and re-establish a sphere of influence in Transcaucasia.

While it is true that many Abkhazians have obtained Russian citizenship and some

Russian soldiers took part in fighting against the Georgians during the 1992-1993 war,

conflict between Georgians and Abkhazians has a long history and cannot be blamedsolely on Russian machinations. The primary causes of the conflict are Georgian and

Abkhazian nationalisms and the tensions between them, which date back to Tsarist times

and for decades simmered under the surface of the Soviet Union's official ethnicharmony. Although Georgia, which was one of the countries most eager to break away

from the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is relatively well-known in the

West, Abkhazia and the Abkhazians have received much less attention.

Accordingly, this paper will focus on the sources and historical development ofAbkhazian nationalism and separatism ethnic and linguistic distinctiveness, the myth

and legacy of independent Abkhazian states both before the Tsarist period and during the

revolution, and the historical interactions between Georgians, Russians, Abkhazians andtheir respective states during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Georgian

nationalism will also be considered, but not in such depth. Armed with a better

understanding of the nature and sources of Abkhazian and Georgian nationalism, we will

conclude by consider the development of the current conflict and assess some of the waysin which it may potentially be resolved.

Ethnicity

...practically every modern war or interstate crisis is either the direct outcome of ethnic

antagonisms, national sentiments, and the failure of ethnic congruence or of situations

which... soon rouse latent ethnic sentiments and national fears.7

The Abkhazians' sense of themselves as an ethnic group distinct from Georgians is an

important factor in their desire to separate from Georgia and create an ethnic homeland

under their own control either an independent country or a sovereign and autonomous

region within some federation. This sense of shared ethnicity springs from both cultural

and historical sources. We shall follow A. D. Smith and consider an ethnic community anamed collectivity sharing a common myth of origins and descent, a common history,

one or more elements of distinctive culture [e.g., language], a common territorialassociation and sense of group solidarity.8 The Abkhazians' distinct language and long

history of compact territorial settlement are the main ingredients in their sense of shared

ethnicity. Abkhazian solidarity in opposition to a perceived Georgian threat is alsoimportant and will be considered later, in the general setting of Georgian-Abkhaz

relations and the modern development of Abkhazian nationalism in the twentieth century.
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Less important are other cultural elements such as religion, dress, diet, music and

folklore.

Language and Culture

In the ethnic and linguistic patchwork of the Caucasus, language is by far the mostimportant cultural element in the formation of a sense of ethnicity. In the mountains,

languages are often confined to relatively small and distinct regions. The speakers of a

particular language possess a strong sense of togetherness while at the same time feelingdistinct from neighbours with different dialects. The Abkhazian language is a part of the

Northwest Caucasus language group, which also includes Circassian languages such as

Kabardian and Adyghe and the now-extinct Ubykh. Not coincidentally, these peoples arealso the Abkhazians' closest ethnic relations. Northwest Caucasian languages and ethnic

groups are commonly (though controversially9) merged with Daghestani languages and

tribes to form a blanket North Caucasian group. Although in the past it was traditional

combined North Caucasian languages and Georgian languages to form an even broader

Caucasian language group, the general consensus today is that Abkhaz and the otherNorth Caucasian languages have no genetic link with the Kartvelian (or South

Caucasian) languages.10

The Abkhazians also have other characteristic cultural traditions, traits and habits, butthese are generally less important to their ethnic identity than is their distinct language.

This is due in part to to the fact that many elements of their culture are shared by many of

their neighbours. The basic characteristics of the Abkhazians' ethno-cultural makeupbring them close to the mountain-peoples of the North Caucasus... At the same time long

proximity to, and contacts with, the Transcaucasian peoples have led to some

intermingling of Abkhazian and Kartvelian cultures.11These cultural characteristics are

therefore less effective creating a sense of Abkhazian distinctiveness than are factors suchas language and history. Since the focus in the recent past has been on the unique features

of Abkhazians and their apartness from their neighbours, these cultural traditions haverelatively little symbolic significance at present.

Religion

The Abkhaz are 80 per cent Christian, twenty per cent (Sunni) Muslim, and 100 per cent

pagan!12

Another factor that has not played a major role in the development of an Abkhazian

identity is religion. Although

[d]uring the war between Georgia and Abkhazia in 1992-93, both members of the

Georgian leadership, and much of the international press, initially at least, portrayed

events as the struggle between Orthodox Christianity in Georgia and the secessionistMuslim Abkhaz ... in actual fact, religion played no part in the war.13
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For one thing, it would be inaccurate to describe Abkhazians (even Abkhazian

separatists) as predominantly Muslim. Although many Abkhazians converted to Islam in

the 15th-17th centuries when the region was under the control of the Ottoman Turks,Christianity (which had been officially adopted while the country was a part of the

Byzantine Empire) by no means disappeared. After Russia took control of the Caucasus

during the nineteenth century, a large number of Muslims, including most of the Abkhazpopulation, were forced to emigrate to the Ottoman Empire and Christianity again

became the most prominent religion.14

Figure 1: The current flag of Abkhazia, adopted 23 July 199215

However, throughout Abkhazia's history, the population's actual religious practices havebeen some mix of Christianity, Islam, and traditional customs and practices that predate

the adoption of monotheism. The Abkhazians take pride in their religious pluralism, as

can be seen from their current flag (above), in which the prominent green and whitestripes represent harmony between Islam and Christianity. Despite well-known tensions

between Islam and Christianity throughout the world, it seems true that the Abkhaz lackany sense of exclusive dogma or fundamentalism; individual religious difference isrespected, and belonging to different denominations is seldom a reason for antagonism.16

There is a chance this situation may change if the large numbers of Abkhazians

descended from those who fled to the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century

immigrate into the country. This community, which lives primarily in Turkey (withsmaller groups in Syria, Germany and the United States), consists mainly of practising

Muslims and is four to five times the size of the Abkhazian population in Abkhazia

itself.17

Common origins and history Abkhazia in ancient times

Abkhazian statehood has existed for over 1,200 years, and Abkhazians have had todefend themselves against invaders on more than one occasion.18

The eastern shore of the Black Sea has long been a centre of human settlement.Archaeological records give evidence of human civilisation around the shores of the

Black Sea dating back more than 5000 years19. During the first millennium BCE,

Abkhazia was a part of Colchis, famous from Greek mythology. Although little if

anything is firmly known about the ethnic composition of these ancient residents of the
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area currently comprising Abkhazia and Western Georgia, both Abkhazians and

Georgians are quick to claim them as their own. Abkhazians, for their part, sometimes

refer to these ancient tribes as proto-Abkhazians20 and claim that since the secondmillennium BC the Western Caucasus had not witnessed any significant population-

changes.21

The earliest real evidence of actual Abhkazians living in north-west Transcaucasia comes

from the first millennium of the common era, especially the eighth century CE and later.Starting in the first century CE, the region was a part of first the Roman and then the

Byzantine Empires, and there are references in Roman writings to 'Abazgians',

'Apsilians', and 'Abazas' living in the area.22 Although the region was technically a part ofthe Roman/Byzantine Empire until the ninth century, it was effectively independent after

the fourth century. Following an unsuccessful Arab invasion of the Caucasus that further

weakened Byzantine control, a relatively powerful Abkhazian Kingdom was establishednear the end of the eighth century. This Kingdom existed for some two centuries before

merging with the Georgian Kingdom to the east. The Georgian Kingdom later began

slowly disintegrating following repeated Mongol and Timurid invasions, allowing the re-emergence of some independent Abkhazian principalities. The whole region was

eventually incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the 15 th century.

The existence of the independent Abkhazian Kingdom in the 8th-10th centuries is a critical

component of the Abkhazians' 'common myth of origins and descent'. It is repeatedlyinvoked to establish the existence of an ancestral Abkhazia homeland and justify the

Abkhazians' demand for autonomy or independence. The Act of State Independence of

the Republic of Abkhazia, for instance, opens with the statement Abkhazian Statehood

stretches over 12 centuries of history. For centuries the people of Abkhazia have had tostruggle to preserve their independence.23 Similar statements can be found in many other

writings by Abkhazians, who use it as a historical, objective justification for theirstruggle for secession from Georgia.24 Symbols from these independent Abkhazian statesare also prominent on the Abkhazian flag. The seven stars in the upper-left corner

represent the seven historical regions of the Abkhazian Kingdom, which cover roughly

the same territory as the modern state. The white hand of friendship on a redbackground was the symbol of Sebastopol (now Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia) in the

Middle Ages and represented Abkhazia on Italian maps in the 13th and 14th centuries.25

Many Georgians contest this tale of ancient Abkhazian statehood and ethnic continuity.

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, a theory was developed to the effect that theresidents of these ancient states were really ethnic Georgians, who were later displaced

by Abkhazians. The Abkhazians, it was claimed, migrated into the area from regions to

the north during the period of Ottoman rule. Abkhazians (and all other minority groups)were considered to be guests on territory that was organically Georgian and had been

since time immemorial.26 Although this theory is most likely incorrect, it was endorsed by

the Communist Party in the 1940s and became especially popular in Georgia in the late

1980s and early 1990s, due in part to its embrace and espousal by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, aleader in the Georgian nationalist movement and the first President of independent post-

Soviet Georgia.27
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Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia and the Soviet Union

Although the existence of a distinct Abkhazian language, homeland, historical story and

resulting sense of ethnicity provided the sources of and fertile ground for Abkhazian

nationalism, the actual development of Abkhazian nationalism and separatism during the

last century and a half was highly dependent on Abkhazians' interactions and relationswith their Russian and Georgian neighbours. Although Abkhazia was a centre of

resistance to Russian rule in the Caucasus throughout much of the nineteenth century, bythe early twentieth century Abkhazians seem to have concluded that Georgia posed a

greater threat to their nation than did Russia. In the 1905 Revolution, Abkhazians

generally supported the Tsarist regime, at least in part because Georgians tended to

oppose it.28 To reward them for their loyalty, Tsar Nicholas II forgave the Abkhazians fortheir nineteenth-century opposition to Russian rule and removed their status as a 'guilty

nation' (which had been imposed following an Abkhaz rebellion during the 1877-1878

Russo-Turkish War).

Following the 1905 Revolution, Abkhazians gained a reputation in Georgia as being pro-Russian fifth columnists. This sentiment was reinforced by Abkhazia's attempts to break

away from Georgia during the 1917-1921 Revolution and throughout the latter half of the

century. Abkhazians for their part came to view Russia as the lesser of two evils, due inlarge part to the influx of Georgians into the region. In the last decades of the nineteenth

century, large numbers of Georgians moved in to Abkhazia, filling the vacuum left by the

departure of the Abkhazian exiles to Turkey. At the same time, as mentioned above,Georgians proposed that Abkhazia was an historically Georgian territory, which raised

fears that the Georgians would attempt to wipe out the Abkhazian nation, assimilating or

expelling those who had not been forced to the Ottoman Empire.

Abkhazians nationalists feel that [t]hree times in this [20th

] century Georgia haspresented a major threat to the existence of Abkhazia first during the 1917 Revolution

when Abkhazia was invaded by Georgian forces and incorporated into the short-lived

Democratic Republic of Georgia; then during a period of 'Georgianisation' from 1937-1953; and finally during the conflict of the early 1990s, which has not yet been

resolved.29 All three of these events heightened tensions between Georgians and

Abkhazians, as did the steady increase in the Georgian population of Abkhazia and the

explosion of Georgian nationalism in the 1980s. At the same time, Abkhazia's curiousstatus within the Soviet Union aided Abkhaz separatism. These modern events that

shaped and guided the development of the current Georgian-Abkhaz conflict during the

Soviet period will be surveyed in roughly chronological order in the following sections.

Abkhazia and Georgia during the Revolution

In a year or two Georgia had traversed the long road from a colony of Russian to a small

empire of her own. The difference between the Georgian attitude toward Akbhazia, or

Ajaristan, and the attitude of Russian toward Georgia, or Armenia, was not one ofprinciple but of scale. In their own backyard the Georgians proved to be as imperialistic

as the Russians. The beautiful phrases of socialist solidarity of nations, self-

determinations, etc., were forgotten and buried.30
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Although it can be difficult to piece together all the events in the Caucasus during the

1917-1921 Revolution and Civil War, there appear to be several similarities between the

situation in those years and that which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Inparticular, Abkhazians and Georgians experienced dramatic national awakenings,

attempted to form independent states, and came into conflict over the status of Abkhazia.

In May 1917, Abkhazia joined the Union of United Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus,which declared independence from Russia as the Mountain Republic a year later.31

Only a few months later, however, Georgia annexed Abkhazia and placed it under

military occupation. The Abkhazians responded with rebellions and uprisings, boycottedelections, and assisted Russian invasions of the country. The first of these was by

Denikin's Volunteer Army in February 1919. Two years later the residents of Abkhazia

assisted the Bolshevik invasion of Georgia then by the Bolsheviks in March 1921:

The aggressive politics of the government of Georgia towards Abkhazia occasionedextreme displeasure among the local Abkhazian, Armenian, Russian, Greek and a

significant proportion of the Kartvelian peoples, which actually helped to facilitate the

establishment of Soviet power in the region on March 4, 1921. Confirmation of the newauthority, which coincided with the 'New Economic Policy' (NEP), was welcomed by the

peoples of Abkhazia as a deliverance from the repression and meddling of the Georgian

Republic.32

I have argued elsewhere33that Georgia's short-lived independence was a critical factor inthe modern development of Georgian nationalism; much the same is true in the case of

Abkhazia. Even more than the existence of the Abkhazian Kingdom in ancient times, the

recent existence of an independent Abkhazian country has both encouraged and served as

a model for Abkhazia's current attempt to become an independent state. TheConfederation of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, formed in 1989, is clearly

inspired by the 1917 Union of United Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus. ThisConfederation gave significant aid to Abkhazia during the 1992-1993 War, though it doesnot seem to have been very active since the mid-1990s. Abkhazia's current flag is actually

based on the flag of the Mountain Republic of which it was briefly a part the only new

feature that has been added is the white hand in the upper-left corner.34 Abkhazia'sexperience during the Revolution and Civil War also reinforced the impression that it was

Georgia that was the greatest threat to the Abkhazian nation and that Russia was a

potential protector, counterweight, or at least the lesser of two evils.

The Abkhazian SSR

After the Bolsheviks took over Georgia (the last of the Transcaucasia countries to beconquered by the Red Army), they rewarded the Abkhazians' support with an ostensibly

independent Abkhazian SSR, formally established 31 March 1921. Although Abkhazia

was technically an independent country again, the Abkhazian SSR was controlled by theCommunist Party, and therefore in reality totally subordinate to Moscow. This period of

independence was also short-lived, since
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in December 1921 under strong pressure from Stalin, Sergo Orjonik'idze and others,

Abkhazia... was obliged to conclude with Georgia a special union-treaty... ratified in

February 1922, which established in essence the equality of status of the two Republics.35

Later that year, Abkhazia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were incorporated into the

Transcaucasian Federated SSR (TFSSR), which became a founding republic of the SovietUnion at the end of 1922.

The actual status of Abkhazia at this point is slightly confusing. Although it was just apart of a joint Abkhaz-Georgian member state of the TFSSR, the literature (Abkhazian,

Georgian and otherwise) is universal in agreeing that during this period the Abkhazian

SSR... was not an autonomous but a union republic with the status of a sovereign stateand official (though meaningless) right of secession.36 This is significant since upon the

collapse of the Soviet Union, all of its Union republics but none of its autonomous

republics were internationally recognised as independent states even if, like Abkhazia,

they were able to gain de facto independence by force of arms. The key ingredient that

allowed the Union republics to become independent countries was the supposed 'status ofa sovereign state' and right to secession that they alone possessed within the Soviet

federal structure.37

In 1931 Abkhazia was converted into an autonomous republic within the Georgian SSR.Nest'or Lak'oba, who headed the Abkhazian government from 1922 through 1936 and ran

the country as a virtual fiefdom,38 opposed Stalin's collectivisation policies and

attempted to protect his Republic from the ravages of collectivisation. Stalin, who hadstrong personal ties with Lak'oba, apparently offered a deal: Abkhazia would be spared

collectivisation if its status were reduced to an autonomous republic. Lak'oba accepted.39

Abkhazia's 'demotion' to an autonomous republic was followed by a full week of protestrallies by Abkhazians, which somehow barely managed to avoid being forciblysuppressed. There were further rallies and demonstrations throughout the post-Stalin

period calling for the restoration of Abkhazia's Union republic status (or, as a

compromise, its removal from Georgia and incorporation into the Russian SovietFederated Socialist Republic (RSFSR)). Eventually, the Supreme Soviet of Abkhazia

simply declared the restoration of Abkhazia's status as a sovereign state in a Declaration

on the State Sovereignty of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia in 1990 (thisDeclaration was ignored by all countries and Soviet republics except Georgia, which

promptly denounced it and declared it illegal, null and void). Moreover, even though

Abkhazia had been reduced in status to an autonomous republic, it still maintained a full

governmental structure. After the region declared its independence, that structure couldimmediately be put to use as the government of an independent Abkhazia.

The Period of Georgianisation

In December 1936 Lak'oba died after dining with Lavrenty Beria, then head of the

Communist Party in Transcaucasia, and was quickly declared an enemy of the people.Although the official cause of his death was a heart attack, there is general agreement that
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he was poisoned. Abkhazia was fully collectivised by the end of 1937, and large numbers

of Georgians were resettled in the region by Beria and his subordinates while the

Abkhazian intelligentsia and political elite was thoroughly purged. This was most likely areaction against the amount of autonomy and independence that Lak'oba had managed to

exercise in his 'virtual fiefdom'. He was probably considered to have possessed an

unacceptable amount of power and influence in Abkhazia, so his organisation and basesof support were destroyed from bottom to top.

At the same time additional steps were taken to Georgianise Abkhazia. Abkhazian

geographic names were changed to Georgian ones and written Abkhazia was shifted to a

Georgian script.40Later the Abkhazian language was banned from all official use Abkhazian-language schools were shut down and Abkhazian-language broadcasts and

publications were banned. The theory that Abkhazians had only recently migrated into

what was a historically Georgian territory received official backing. Although

[t]he attempted forced Georgianization of Abkhazia (and the parallel campaign in

Southern Ossetia) falls into the late 1930s Stalinist trend to reduce the roster of nationalautonomies to a more manageable number and to eliminate along the way virtual

fiefdoms like the one carved up by Lakoba in Abkhazia[,] the fact that both Stalin andBeria were ethnic Georgians was not missed in either Abkhazia or in Georgia.41

The Georgianisation of Abkhazia from 1937 to 1953 was viewed by many Abkhazians as

a vicious attempt by the Georgians to exterminate their nation and eradicate their culture.

Abkhazian nationalism, which, based on Abkhazians' shared history and commonlanguage, had been blossoming under the protection of Lak'oba and his quasi-

autonomous state, now felt mortally threatened by its Georgian neighbour.

Demographics

Following the deaths of Stalin and Beria in 1953, the Georgianisation of Abkhazia waspartially reversed by the new leadership under Khrushchev. Some Abkhazian-language

schools were reopened and a few Abkhazian-language publications and broadcasts were

restarted. However, high levels of Georgian immigration into Abkhazia continued,

leading some Abkhazians to claim that Georgianisation continued in a more covertmanner or in a veiled form even in the post-Stalin period.42 Although it seems unlikely

Georgian immigration into Abkhazia after Stalin's death was encouraged primarily to

undermine the position of Abkhazians in their own autonomous republic, it is true thatthe Georgian population of Abkhazia continued growing prodigiously (mainly by

immigration, as Georgian birthrates were very low), as shown below. By the end of the

1980s, Abkhazians made up only 17-18% of Abkhazia's population.

Table 1: Population and ethnic composition of Abkhazia, 1922-1989 43

1922/1923 1926 1939 1959 1970 1979 1989

Total 174,126 201,016 311,885 404,738 486,959 486,082 525,061
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Population

Abkhazians83,794

(48.1%)

55,922

(27.8%)

56,197

(18.0%)

61,193

(15.1%)

77,276

(15.9%)

83,097

(17.1%)

93,267

(17.8%)

Georgians 32,039(18.4%)

68,003(33.8%)

91,967(29.5%)

158,221(39.1%)

199,595(41.0%)

213,322(43.9%)

239,872(45.7%)

Armenians17,761

(10.2%)

28,000

(13.9%)

49,705

(15.9%)

64,425

(15.9%)

74,850

(15.4%)

73,350

(15.1%)

76,541

(14.6%)

Russians10,273(5.9%)

12,554(6.2%)

60,201(19.3%)

86,715(21.4%)

92,889(19.1%)

79,730(16.4%)

74,914(14.3%)

Greeks22,288

(12.8%)

24,847

(12.4%)

34,621

(11.1%)

9,101

(2.3%)

13,114

(2.7%)

13,642

(2.8%)

14,664

(2.8%)

Figure2: Population and ethnic composition of Abkhazia, 1897-198945
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Under Khrushchev, with the urging of Abkhazian leaders, Moscow's policies toward

Abkhazia reverted

to the 'truly Leninist nationality policies,' namely state sponsorship of Abkhazian cultureand affirmative action in university admissions and administrative promotions favoring

the titular nationality. Naturally, these policies provoked apprehension and resentmentamong Georgians

in Abkhazia.44This situation was maintained by Khrushchev's successors as well. In the1980s, however, as Georgian nationalism re-emerged from relative dormancy, conflicts

between Georgian and Abkhazian nationalists, involving these issues among others,

began to drive the course of events leading to the 1992-1993 War and the currentimpasse.

The Impact of Georgian nationalism

As for the period of the rise of the national independence movement, there was one thing

for which Georgia was notable more than any other Soviet republic. Georgia was theonly place among these republics where the pro-independence movement was dominated

by its radical factions... It was this confrontational character of political discourse and

activities that was primarily responsible for the different kinds of conflicts that eventually

developed in Georgia.46

As Georgian nationalism re-emerged in the 1980s, Georgian and Abkhazian nationalists

each took steps that seemed to confirm the worst fears of the other, leading to cycles of

escalating distrust and extremism. While the Abkhazians, as mentioned above, wereafraid of the Georgianisation of their territory and national oppression at the hands of the

Georgians, the Georgians themselves also feared for the survival oftheirnation.

Specifically, they feared that Russia would try to destroy Georgia to punish the countryfor its attempts to secede from the Soviet Union. The ethnic minorities, which made up30% of the country's population and already had a reputation as being pro-Russian,

appeared to be trying to break up Georgia in collusion with Moscow. The notion was

widespread that the fears and aspirations of the non-Georgians were artificial,illegitimate, and influenced by sinister forces from Moscow.47

The Georgians therefore placed the highest value on national unity. In particular, many

Georgian nationalists urged the government to abolish all of the autonomous republics

and regions within Georgia and establish a unitary Georgian state (even while the countrywas still part of the USSR).48 The most extreme Georgian nationalists hoped to drive the

minorities (especially the Russians) out of the country in order to increase the ethnic

homogeneity and loyalty of the country.49 Needless to say, these tendencies made theAbkhazians (as well as other minorities in Georgia) extremely nervous and increased

their desperation to separate from Georgia, or at least secure extensive, permanent

autonomy within it.

As the Soviet Union spiraled toward collapse, tensions between Georgians andAbkhazians spiraled out of control. On 9 April 1989, a massive Georgian demonstration


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in Tbilisi opposing Abkhaz separatism was famously broken up by Soviet troops, killing

around 20. In July, 17 died in Sukhumi during Abkhaz-Georgian riots over university

enrollment policies in the autonomous republic. When Georgia reinstated theConstitution of the 1918-1921 Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1992, it implicitly

stripped Abkhazia of its autonomous status (and reminded Abkhazians how they had

been invaded and annexed by Georgia during that period). Abkhazian leaders respondedby reinstating Abkhazia's 1925 Constitution, effectively declaring Abkhazia an

independent state (though possibly one which could join Georgia in a federation). Less

than a month later, Georgian troops entered Abkhazia and the 1992-1993 War began.

What is to be the future?

Nearly a dozen years after the conclusion of that War, Abkhazia and Georgia are stillattempting to negotiate some sort of settlement and determine their mutual relationship.

There are several contentious issues that prevent the sides from making much progress.

Chief among these is the problem of Georgian refugees from Abkhazia. During the 1992-

1993 war, some 200,000 to 250,000 Georgians fled Abkhazia for Georgia proper.Georgians demand their resettlement as a precondition to any negotiations about

Abkhazia's status, and the inability of such a large proportion of the population to vote

has led the international community to deny the validity of all elections that have takenplace in Abkhazia since the start of the conflict. The Abkhazians claim probably

correctly that a badly prepared repatriation procedure will provoke large-scale clashes

between the Kartvelians and the Abkhazians... which could [be used by the Georgiangovernment] as an excuse for a new attempt at armed invasion.50 Although tens of

thousands of refugees have returned to their homes in areas patrolled by Russians troops,

the Abkhazian government itself is basically not able (nor particularly willing) toguarantee their safety in the rest of the country.

The problem of the refugees are related to another contentious issue, namely alleged

ethnic cleansing during the conflict. Each side accuses the other of attempted genocide,

and each side is able to point to atrocities committed against it by the other to substantiatetheir claims. The initial Georgian invasion of Abkhazia was accompanied by many war

crimes committed against the non-Georgian population in general.51 These crimes, though

they have largely gone unpunished, were not actually sanctioned by the Georgian

government. Most of the Georgians who entered Abkhazia in August 1992 belonged tothe paramilitary bands of warlords effectively out of Tbilisi's control.52 As the

Abkhazians gained control of the region, they in turn committed atrocities especially

the volunteers from Chechenia and other Caucasian regions who joined the Abkhazian

fighters during the conflict. Because of these atrocities, neither side is particularly eagerto negotiate with the other. Each side demands the other acknowledge its genocidal

actions and agree to reparations.

The role of Russia is also controversial. As mentioned above, many Georgians suspectedAbkhaz nationalism and separatism was simply a Russian ploy to undermine a newly-

independent Georgia. The majority of the Georgian population believed that, as a matter

of fact, it was Russia who waged war against Georgia [in Abkhazia], making use of local
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separatist forces.53 Indeed, Russian troops did take some steps to help the Abkhazians.

However, this appears to have been both unofficial and of relatively small scale. The

most infamous incident involving Russian troops during the conflict is the bombing ofSukhumi by Russian airplanes, which apparently was in retaliation for Georgians

shooting down a Russian helicopter evacuating refugees from the region.54 More recently,

Russia has made it relatively easy for Abkhazians and South Ossetians to obtain Russiancitizenship and passports. Between 60% and 80% of Abkhazians are estimated to have

done so. Although the Russian Duma has refused to grant Abkhazia membership in the

Russian Federation, the Russian-Abkhaz border is notoriously porous. All of this causesGeorgians to fears that Russia is manoeuvring into a position from which it would be

easy to absorb Abkhazia should the opportunity arise. Many Georgians view Abkhazian

leaders as Russian puppets and Georgian negotiators sometimes attempt to organise

negotiations involving only Russia and Georgia.55

Ultimately, the main stumbling block in Georgian-Abkhaz negotiations is the almost

complete lack of trust between the two sides, which has gradually been developing over

the course of the twentieth century, exploded in the 1980s and during the 1992-1993 War,and which has been maintained by some of the conflicts and disagreements just

mentioned. The negotiations thus seem to be caught in a Catch-22. Although they will

most likely not progress until there is an increase in the trust of the two sides in each

other and their willingness to work together, such an increase in trust and cooperationmost likely will not come about unless some progress is made in negotiations and the

peaceful resettlement of a significant proportion of the Georgian refugees. In a further

complication, the vast majority (74%) of Georgian refugees view the reunification ofGeorgia and Abkhazia as a precondition for their return to the region.56 At the same time,

many Georgian negotiators view their return as a precondition for negotiations on the

status of Abkhazia.

However, the recent resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze as President of Georgia and theelection of Mikhail Saakashvili has led to renewed activity and hope of progress in

Georgian-Abkhazian relations. Saakashvili has made the reunification of Georgia one of

the main goals of his Presidency. Although he initially threatened to reincorporateAbkhazia and South Ossetia by force, he quickly backed down and has recently

considered offering to Abkhazians some concessions such as autonomy and dual

Russian-Georgian citizenship.57 Saakashvili's efforts have made the eventual resolution ofthe Abkhaz-Georgian conflict seem a theoretical possibility; last year he was able to

peacefully reunite Georgia and Ajaria, yet another separatist region that had been

effectively independent throughout Shevardnadze's Presidency.

Noting that there's a chance the Abkhazia-Georgia could be resolved raises the questionof how it could be resolved. Barring a major upheaval, there are only four even remotely

plausible outcomes: Abkhazia could finally manage to obtain de jure independence; it

could be incorporated into the Russian Federation; or it could rejoin Georgia, either in a

federation or as a constituent part of a unitary state. Of these four options, the last two arethe most possible, though the least popular among Abkhazians, according to this survey

data from 1994.


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Table 2: The solution preffered Polling data on the future of Abkhazia58

Abkhazians Russians Armenians GeorgiansGeorgian

Refugees

Independence 67.3% 21.3% 35.9% 13.5% 21.0%

Union with Russia 27.0% 68.7% 58.1% 29.7% 9.0%

Union with Georgia 3.8% 8.6% 4.3% 37.8% 32.0%

Reincorporation

into Georgia0% - - 8.1% 36.0%

The international community has been unanimous in its commitment to the territorial

integrity of Georgia, which means that for Abkhazia to become an independent country,

it would have to do so with the permission of Georgia, which is not forthcoming.Similarly, if Abkhazia were to join the Russian Federation, Russia would either need to

get Georgian permission to absorb Abkhazia or be prepared to suffer strong international

condemnation. Georgia would also encounter international (and especially Russian)criticism if it were to attempt to forcibly reconquer Abkhazia, so the most likely

resolution is some sort of federation of Abkhazia and Georgia. The specific form this

federation could take is completely unknown; an entire book has been written exploringsome of the possibilities.59

As we watch Georgians and Abkhazians attempt to negotiate a mutually satisfactory

arrangement, we should remind ourselves that this conflict is not necessarily unsolvable.

The conflict between the Abkhazians and the Georgians is not the result of some age-oldethnic hatred which has been festering for millennia. On the contrary, we have seen that

the primary cause of the conflict is the unfortunate course of Abkhazia and Georgia

during the twentieth and late nineteenth centuries. The situation and relation of Abkhaziaand Georgia during that time was the main factor in the development of their respective

nationalisms and tensions between them. Although the sources from which Abkhazian

nationalism developed are ancient, its actual development has been relatively recent, as

has Georgian nationalism. The cultural similarities and long, shared history of peacefulcoexistence between Georgians and Abkhazians serves to give hope that someday

harmony may return to their relationship.

From afar the ethnic and civil warfare in Georgia often looks to casual observers like thelatest eruption of ancient tribal conflicts or irradicable primordial hatreds. But anattentive reading of the Georgian past can lead to a far less pessimistic understanding...

The hostilities of the present may be linked to certain memories of the past, but only if

other memories are repressed... The key to the future lies in what a people selects fromits past, how it imagines itself as a community and continues to remake itself as a

nation.60
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Appendix A: Maps and Geography

Abkhazia is located in the north-west Transcaucasus, between the eastern shore of the

Black Sea and the Greater Caucasus mountain range. Covering an area of approximately

8600-8700 square kilometers, it is almost entirely covered by mountains, the main

exception being a low-lying coastal plain in the south of the region. It borders Georgia(specifically, the provinces of Megrelia and Svanetia) to the east and southeast, and

Russia (Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar and Stavropol) to the north.

The following four maps gradually focus in on Abkhazia. The first (from Edward W.Walker,Dissolution: Sovereignty and the Breaukup of the Soviet Union (Lanham:

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003), xi) shows the entire former Soviet Union

along with its entire ethno-federal structure. Note that Transcaucasia contains a fullquarter of these ethnically-defined territorial units.

The second map (from Graham Smith, ed., The Nationalities Question in the Post-Soviet

States (London: Longman, 1996), 247) shows the whole of Transcaucasia.

The third map (from MSN Encarta World Atlas,

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/mapcenter/map.aspx) focuses on Abkhazia andsome of its closest neighbours. This map combines political and geographical features.

The final map (from Svetlana Chervonnaya, Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia,

Abkhazia and the Russian Shadow (Glastonbury: Gothic Image, 1994), x-xi) shows only

Abkhazia itself, including several cities and the six current administrative regions of thecountry.

[Note that three of these maps were photocopied from books and thus are not availableonline. Here is the map from MSN Encarta World Atlas.]


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Appendix B: Important Dates in Abkhazian History since 1800

The information in this timeline was distilled from a large number of sources, all of

which were cited in the main body of the paper. A great effort was made to keep thistimeline as factual and objective as possible in particular, the facts were checked and

verified in multiple independent sources if at all possible (see Bibliography, below).

Additional timelines containing more information can be found in Svetlana Chervonnaya,

Conflict in the Caucasus: Georgia, Abkhazia and the Russian Shadow (Glastonbury:


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Gothic Image, 1994), 139-172, and at the Web site ofAccord: an international review of

peace initiatives, published by Conciliation Resources (CR) (http://www.c-

r.org/accord/geor-ab/accord7/Chronol.shtml).

1801: Russia begins absorbing Transcaucasian principalities into its empire.

1806 - 1812: Abkhazia becomes an 'autonomous princedom' within the Russian Empire

during a Russo-Turkish War. During the nineteenth century, much of the Abkhazian

population emigrates to the Ottoman Empire.

1808 1824: Rebels led by the son of Abkhazia's last independent prince repeatedly takecontrol of Abkhazia and are repeatedly driven into exile by Russian expeditions.

1830s 1860s: Many Abkhazians in the Caucasus take part in Shamil's anti-Russian

rebellions.

1862: A modified Cyrillic alphabet is developed for the Abkhazian language, which hadpreviously been written in an Arabic script.

1864: Abkhazian princedom abolished, reorganised into the Sukhum Military Sector

(renamed Sukhum District in 1883).

1866 1867: Confusion related to serf emancipation sparks a widespread rebellion.

Almost 20,000 Abkhazians are expelled into the Ottoman Empire.

1877 1878: A new rebellion accompanies another Russo-Turkish War. Around 50,000

Abkhazians are expelled into the Ottoman Empire. Georgian immigration into Abkhazia

increases.

1905 - 1906: Abkhazians generally oppose the revolution while (perhaps because)Georgians tend to support it.

May 1917: Abkhazia joins the Union of United Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus,

which includes 7 North Caucasian states.

22 April 1918: A Democratic Federative Republic of Transcaucasia consisting ofGeorgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan breaks away from the Russian Empire under Turkish

pressure.

11 May 1918: The Union of United Mountain Peoples declares independence as the

Mountain Republic.

26 May 1918: Georgia declares independence, breaking up the Democratic FederativeRepublic of Transcaucasia.

17-22 June 1918: The Georgian army occupies Abkhazia.


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21 February 1921: The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopted.

25 February 1921: The Red Army invades Georgia, meeting little resistance. The

Bolsheviks are supported by many in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and other regions that hadbeen forcefully occupied by Georgia.

31 March 1921: An ostensibly independent Abkhazian SSR is founded under

Communist leadership.

16 December 1921 February 1922: Abkhazia and Georgia conclude a 'special union-

treaty' and form a federation in which each have equal status.

10 December 1922: Abkhazia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are incorporated into

the Transcaucasian Federated SSR on 10 December and join the USSR three weeks later.

1922 1936: Nest'or Lak'oba heads the government of Abkhazia and opposes

collectivisation and Georgianisation. In December 1936 Lak'oba dies while visitingLavrenty Beria. A widespread purge of Abkhazian intellectuals and the Abkhazian

Communist Party follows.

April 1930 - February 1931: In a compromise to avoid collectivisation, Abkhazia is

demoted from a 'treaty-republic' to an ASSR within Georgia. A week of protests byAbkhazians follows the transformation.

1937 1953: Migration of Georgians into Abkhazia encouraged.

1938: Abkhazian-language newspapers and radio programs shut down; Abkhazian

language shifted to a Georgian script.

1945: Language of instruction in Abkhazian schools changed from Abkhaz to Georgian.

1953: Stalin and Beria die.

1953 1954: Some Abkhazian-language newspapers and radio programs revived; some

Abkhazian-language schools reopened.

1957: Demonstrations demanding the separation of Abkhazia from Georgia either the

restoration of its Union republic status or its incorporation into the RSFSR.

1964: Demonstrations demanding the separation of Abkhazia from Georgia.

1967: Demonstrations demanding the separation of Abkhazia from Georgia.

December 1977: 130 Abkhazian intellectuals call for the separation of Abkhazia from

Georgia.


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January - May 1978: Large demonstrators demanding the secession of Abkhazia from

Georgia and its incorporation into the RSFSR.

18 March 1989: A demonstration in Lykhny organised by the 'Popular Forum ofAbkhazia' and attended by over 30,000 calls for the restoration of Abkhazia's status as an

independent SSR. The drafting of a Lykhny letter outlining their demands is commonlyseen as the start of the current Abkhaz-Georgian conflict.

9 May 1989: A demonstration in Tbilisi opposing Abkhaz separatism grows into a pro-independence rally. At least 19 die when it is broken up by Soviet troops.

16 July 1989: 16 reportedly die in clashes between Abkhaz and Georgian rioters in

Sukhumi.

25-26 August 1989: The First Conference of the Peoples of the Caucasus is held in

Sukhumi. The Assembly of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus (later transformed into

the Confederation of [Mountain] Peoples of the Caucasus) is founded. The othermembers support Abkhazia in its attempts to separate from Georgia.

25 August 1990: The Supreme Soviet of Abkhazia passes theDeclaration on the State

Sovereignty of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia.

9 April 1991: Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union. In May, Zviad

Gamsakhurdia is elected President of Georgia.

December 1991: A military coup overthrows Gamsakhurdia, who flees to Chechenia.

21 February 1992: Georgia abolishes its Soviet-era Constitution and reinstates the 1921Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921). This implicitly strips

Abkhazia of its status as an autonomous republic.

March 1992: Georgia's governing military council names former Soviet Foreign Minister

Eduard Shevardnadze head of state.

23 July 1992: Abkhazia reinstates its 1925 Constitution, effectively declaringindependence from Georgia. Independence not yet recognised by any state.

14 August 1992: Georgian troops invade Abkhazia in an attempt to restore central

authority. Mechanised units attacking from Western Georgia (Megrelia) quickly manageto capture Sukhumi, while an amphibious attack in the north captures the town of Gagra.The Abkhazian government retreats to Gudauta.

Early October 1992: Abkhazian fighters recapture Gagra. This is widely considered to

be the turning point of the war.


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25 March 1993: The Georgian parliament grants citizenship to all residents of Georgia

and makes Abkhazian and Georgian official languages in Abkhazia.

24 September 1993: Gamsakhurdia returns to western Georgia (Megrelia) and launchesa rebellion against Shevardnadze and the military council.

30 September 1993: The last Georgian troops leave Abkhazia. During the war, the

Abkhazians received strong international criticism for repeatedly breaking truces and

cease-fires (as did Georgian forces, but to a lesser extent). Most Georgians living inAbkhazia 200,000 to 250,000, or nearly half of the region's population flee to Georgia

proper during the conflict.

October 1993: Georgia joins the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

December 1993: Gamsakhurdia's uprising is defeated. Gamsakhurdia himself dies on 31

December, probably by suicide.

26 November 1994: Abkhazia ratifies a new Constitution based on its 1925 Constitution.

1995 1997: Russia imposes a relatively ineffective blockade on Abkhazia, in retaliation

for Abkhaz support of Chechen separatists.

May 1998: A Six-Day War of clashes between Abkhazians and Georgian troops cause

20,000-30,000 of the Georgians who had returned after the 1992-1993 war to again fleeAbkhazia.

3 October 1999: Abkhazia held a referendum on independence and its Constitution,

which passed easily. The referendum is considered invalid internationally, since refugeesfrom Abkhazia were unable to participate.

1 August 2002: Abkhazia's Constitution is amended to allow citizens to obtain dual

citizenship. At least two-thirds of Abkhazians have acquired Russian citizenship.

2003: Under strong Georgian pressure, Russia closes the last of its military bases in

Abkhazia left over from the Soviet period. Russian peacekeeping troops still patrol theGeorgian-Abkhaz border.

28 November 2003: The Russian Duma defeats an effort led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky to

grant Abkhazia associate membership in the Russian Federation.

November 2003 January 2004: Demonstrators force Eduard Shevardnadze to resign.Mikhail Saakashvili becomes President of Georgia. Reunification of the country is one of

his major goals.

October 2004 January 2005: A botched Presidential election in Abkhazia leads to

worries of clashes between Russia, Georgia and Abkhazia.


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May 2004: Saakashvili proposes reuniting Georgia and Abkhazia in a two-state

federation. The proposal is rejected by Abkhazian leaders. Georgian negotiators are

reported to have unofficially considered allowing Abkhazians to possess dual Russian-Georgian citizenship. In the same month, Ajaria, another breakaway region in the south

of Georgia, was reincorporated into the country.

Bibliography (with some notes)

Books and pamphlets:

Aves, Jonathan. 1996. Georgia: from chaos to stability? London: Royal Institute of

International Affairs.

Bayev, Pavel. 1997.Russia's policies in the Caucasus. London: Royal Institute of

International Affairs.

Chervonnaia, Svetlana. 1994. Conflict in the Causasus: Georgia, Abkhazia and theRussian Shadow. Glastonbury: Gothic Image.

A very interesting and valuable book, written during the Abkhaz-Georgian war of 1992-1993. However, its glowing Foreword by Eduard Shevardnadze and its characterisation

of the Abkhazians and Mountain Peoples in general as Black-Hundred obscurantist

forces (202) leads me to take it with a grain of salt.

Cohen, Jonathan, ed. 1999.A Question of sovereignty: The Georgia-Abkhazia peaceprocess. London: Conciliation Resources.

This is an entire issue ofAccord: an international review of peace initiatives that includesnearly a dozen articles by a wide range of authors. It is available online at http://www.c-r.org/accord/geor-ab/accord7/index.shtml

Coppieters, Bruno, David Darchiashvili and Natella Akaba, eds. 2000.Federal practice :

exploring alternatives for Georgia and Abkhazia. Brussels: VUB University Press.

This book is available both at the Mount Holyoke Library and online at

http://poli.vub.ac.be/publi/orderbooks/federal_practice_contents.html

Coppieters, Bruno, Ghia Nodia and Yuri Anchabadze, eds. 1998. Georgians and

Abkhazians. The Search for a Peace Settlement. Brussers: VUB University Press.

This book is also available online: http://poli.vub.ac.be/publi/Georgians/contents.html

Enoch, Reuven. 1998. Two Mirrors: Georgian events of 1988-89, as reflected in the

Georgian and central Soviet mass media. Jerusalem: The Harry S. Truman ResearchInstitute for the Advancement of Peace, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.


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Gachechiladze, Zaza. 1995. The Conflict in Abkazia: a Georgian Perspective.

Washington, D.C.: National Defense University, Institute for National Strategic Studies.

This pamphlet contains notes on a talk given by Professor Gachechiladze of theUniversity of Tbilisi. Gachechiladze discusses the conflict from a Georgian perspective

and explores its significance to Russian, Turkey, Chechenia and Armenia as well asGeorgia.

Goldenberg, Suzanne. 1994.Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post-SovietDisorder. Atlantic Highlands: Zed Books.

Hewitt, George, ed. 1998. The Abkhazians : a handbook. New York: St. Martin's Press.

This volume contains 16 essays on Abkhazian culture and history, as well as English

translations of several important documents. Although generally well-written and

reasonable, most articles are written by Abkhazians and present a prominent bias in favor

of the Abkhazian side of the conflict (according to Abkhazia.org(http://www.abkhazia.org/art_of_politics.html), Hewitt is Abkhazia's Honorary Consul in

London). Although this is a valuable resource, there are some instances in which basicinformation given in this volume directly contradicts that found in other, more objective

sources.

Jones, Stephen and Robert Parsons. 1996. Georgia and the Georgians. In The

Nationalities Question in the Post-Soviet States, edited by Graham Smith, 291-314.London: Longman.

Kazemzadeh, Firuz. 1951. The Struggle for Transcaucasia (1917-1921). New York:

Philosophical Library.

A valuable reference on the brief period of independence experienced by Transcaucasiancountries during the Revolution. Although the focus is on Georgia, Armenia and

Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and the Mountaineers' Republic do receive some mention.

Kozhokin, Evgeny M. 1996. Georgia-Abkhazia. In U.S. And Russian Policymaking with

Respect to the Use of Force, edited by Jeremy R. Azrael and Emil A. Payin. SantaMonica, California: RAND Center for Russia and Eurasia.

Knight, Amy W. 1993.Beria, Stalin's first lieutenant. Princeton: Princeton University

Press.

Beria was an ethnic Georgian (Megrelian) from Abkhazia. This is sometimes used toexplain his policy of Georgianizing Abkhazia during his time in charge of the Georgian

and Transcaucasian Communist Parties.

Leitzinger, Antero, ed. 1997. Caucasus and an unholy alliance. Helsinki: Leitzinger

Books.


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This book includes several articles that address the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict from a

strongly pro-Georgian point of view. Unfortunately, many articles are little more than

wild rants in broken English and often directly contradict information found in manyother sources. Although the Georgian perspective is valuable, it is difficult to take the

articles in this volume very seriously.

Lynch, Dov. 2004.Engaging Eurasia's Separatist States: Unresolved Conflicts and De

Facto States. Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press.

Otyrba, Gueorgui. 1994. War in Abkhazia: The Regional Significance of the Georgian-

Abkhazian Conflict. InNational Identity and Ethnicity in Russia and the New States of

Eurasia, ed. Roman Szporluk, 281-309. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharp.

Parsons, Robert. 1990. Georgians. In The Nationalities Question in the Soviet Union,edited by Graham Smith, 180-196. London: Longman.

Sanchez-Montero, Manuel. 2001. The Conflict in Abkhazia. In The Geopolitics ofHunger, 2000-2001: Hunger and Power, 51-62. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Suny, Ronald Grigor. 1994. The Making of the Georgian Nation. Bloomington: IndianaUniversity Press,.

A history of Georgia from ancient times to post-Soviet independence, this book includes

(on pages 321-322) an admirably concise history of Abkhazia and Abkhaz-Georgian

relations.

-----. 1993. The Revenge of the Past: Nationalism, Revolution and the Collapse of the

Soviet Union. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

-----, ed. 1983. Transcaucasia: Nationalism and Social Change. Ann Arbor: Michigan

Slavic Publications.

United Nations Department of Public Information. 1995. The United Nations and theSituation in Georgia.New York.

This UN reference paper contains both background on the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict

as well as copies of Security Council Resolutions, cease-fire agreements and other

relevant documents.

Walker, Edward W. 2003.Dissolution: Sovereignty and the Breakup of the Soviet Union.Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

This book considers the question of why all the Union SSRs in the Soviet Union became

independent states when none of the country's ASSRs (including Abkhazia) or otherregions were able to accomplish the same even though some of them succeeded in


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establishing de facto independence through civil wars. Walker focuses on the supposed

'sovereignty' of the Union republics and their official right to secede from the USSR.

Journal Articles:

Most articles in periodicals focus specifically on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict during the1990s and 2000s, giving limited historical analysis. Still, they are very helpful in any

attempt to explore the tangled interplay of Russian, Georgia and Abkhazia in recent

years.

Axexseev, Mikhail A. 1998. Early Warning, Ethnopolitical Conflicts, and the UnitedNations: Assessing the Violence in Georgia/Abkhazia.Nationalities Papers 26 (2): 191-

213.

Cornell, Svante E. 2002. Autononmy as a Source of Conflict: Caucasian Conflicts in

Theoretical Perspective. World Politics 54: 245-276.

-----. 2002. Autonomy and Conflict. Ethnoterritoriality and Separatism in the South

Causasus: Cases in Georgia.Dissertation Abstracts International63 (4): 673-C.

Derluguian, Georgi. 2001. The Forgotten Abkhazia. Working Papers of the Center for

Strategic and International Studies Program on New Approaches to Russian Security 18:1-18.

Fawn, Rick. 2002. Russia's Reluctant Retreat from the Caucasus: Abkhazia, Georgia and

the US after 11 September 2001.European Security 11 (4): 131-150.

Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. 1995. Georgia/Abkhazia: Violations of the Laws of Warand Russia's Role in the Conflict.Human Rights Arms Watch Project7 (7): 1-56.

Gorgiladze, Rusudan. 1998. Georgian Politics and the Conflicts in Abkhazia and South

Ossetia.Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, 6 (1): 14-17.

Hewitt, B. G. 1993. Abkhazia: A Problem of Identity and Ownership. Central Asian

Survey 12 (3): 267-323.

King, Charles. 2001. Europe's Nonstate States.East European Constitutional Review 10

(4): 99-102.

-----. 2001. Potemkin Democracy Post-Soviet Georgia. The National Interest64: 93-

104.

-----. 2004. A Rose Among Thorns: Georgia Makes Good. Foreign Affairs 83 (2): 13-18.

-----. 2004. Tbilisi Blues.Foreign Affairs, August 25.

(http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040825faupdate83575/charles-king/tbilisi-blues.html)


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This article and its postscript by King present one of the most concise and clear

explanations of the situation in Abkhazia and Georgia generally that I encountered in my

research. It appears King's postscript is only available at the Foreign Affairs Web site, atthe address given above.

Kvarchelia, Liana. 1998. Georgia-Abkhazia Conflict: View from Abkhazia.Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 6 (1): 18-27.

Lynch, Dov. 2002. Separatist states and post-Soviet conflicts.International Affairs 78(4): 831-848.

Macfarlane, S. Neil. 1997. On the front lines in the near abroad: the CIS and the OSCE in

Georgia's civil wars. Third World Quarterly 18 (3): 509-525.

Migranyan, Andanik. 2003. Georgia Propelling Its Disintegration.Russia in Global

Affairs 3 (4): 118-125.

Migranyan is a professor at Moscow State University. This brief article is an interesting

look at Russian attitudes toward the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict.

Nodia, Ghia. 1998. Dynamics of State-Building in Georgia.Demokratizatsiya: The

Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 6 (1): 6-13.

Transcript of a speech given at Harvard University by Nodia, a professor at Tbilisi StateUniversity. This was one of the most informative and least militant Georgian-authored

articles I was able to find.

Slider, Darrell. 1985. Crisis and Response in Soviet Nationality Policy: The Case ofAbkhazia. Central Asian Survey 4 (4): 51-68.

Stanglin, Douglas. Moscow Adopts the Monroeski Doctrine. US News & World Report,

July 19.

Trimble, Jeff. 1989. The Soviet Agony Over States' Rights. US News & World Report,

April 24.

Web Sites:

Although the information found on Web sites deserves special scrutiny and merits specialskepticism, electronic resources contain much that is difficult to find in print especially

in regards to current events. Additionally, the Internet provides a platform for many ofthe actors themselves to present their own interpretations of events directly, without

being filtered through scholarly analyses. Although we can expect them to be biased,

these accounts should be of considerable interest.

Abkhazia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazia


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Wikipedia contains dozens of relevant articles on Abkhazia, Georgia, the Abkhazian

language, Abkhazian history, Abkhaz-Georgian relations, Abkhazian politicians, etc.

Rather than list them all here, I will include a link to a page on which many of them arereferenced and encourage the reader to explore the relevant articles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Abkhazia

Abkhazia. http://www.socsci.uci.edu/gpacs/abkhazia/

A Web site focusing on Abkhazian culture run by the Center for Global Peace andConflict Studies and the School of Social Ecology of the University of California, Irvine.

Coalition for a Democratic Abkhazia. http://www.abkhazia.org/

The Coalition for a Democratic Abkhazia is an opposition political society based in the

United States. Although it called for an independent Abkhazian state in the 1990s, it has

recently encouraged the reunification Georgia and Abkhazia as equal partners in a

Georgian Confederation, apparently due to what it views as incompetence and corruptionon the part of the current Abkhazian leadership.

Gigineishvili, Levan. 2003. Conflicting Narratives in Abkhazia and Georgia: Different

Visions of the Same History and the Quest for Objectivity.

http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~t656_web/peace/Articles_Spring_2003/Gigineishvili_Levan_

ConflictingNarrativesAbkhaziaGeorgia.htm

Parliamentary Commission on Abkhazian Issues. http://www.abkhazia-georgia.parliament.ge/

A subsection of the official Web site of the Georgian Parliament.

Regions and territories: Abkhazia. BBC News,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3261059.stm

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation.http://www.unpo.org/member.php?arg=03

Abkhazia is a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation. UNPO's

Web site on Abkhazia includes recent news related to Abkhazia as well as many

important documents.

Russian-language Abkhazian Web sites:

http://abhazia.com/

http://www.abkhaziya.org/

http://www.apsny.ru/

Notes


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1. Douglas Freshfield quoted in George Hewitt (ed.), The Abkhazians: a handbook(New

York: St. Martin's Press, 1998), 6.

2. Edward W. Walker,Dissolution: Sovereignty and the Breakup of the Soviet Union(Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003), 11-12.

3. See maps in Appendix A. In order of status, Transcaucasia contained 3 of 15 Union

Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs), 8 of 21 Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics

(ASSRs), 2 of 7 Autonomous Oblasts (AOs) and none of the USSR's ten AutonomousOkrugs (AOks).

4. Bruno Coppieters, The Roots of the Conflict, in Jonathan Cohen (ed.),A Question of

sovereignty: The Georgia-Abkhazia peace process, (London: Conciliation Resources),

1999. http://www.c-r.org/accord/geor-ab/accord7/roots.shtml (Web site last accessed 12May 2005)

5. Jurij Anchabadze, History: the modern period, in Hewitt, The Abkhazians, 146.

6. Charles King, Potemkin Democracy post-Soviet Georgia, The National Interest,

Summer 2001.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2751/is_2001_Summer/ai_76560819/pg_3 (Web

site last accessed 10 May 2004)

7. A. D. Smith. Ethnie and Nation in the Modenn World,Millenium: Journal of

International Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1985, 139.

8.Ibid., 128.

9. Cf. North Caucasian languages and Northwest Caucasian languages, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Caucasian_languages (Web

site last accessed 12 May 2004)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Caucasian_languages (Web site last accessed 12May 2004)

A hypothetical relationship between these languages and the Indo-European family is

also a subject of debate.

10. George Hewitt, Introduction, in Hewitt, The Abkhazians, 13. See also NorthwestCaucasian languages, Wikipedia, and related articles.

'Kartvelian' is the Georgian name for their ethnic group and is commonly used even by

non-Georgian authors; in this paper it will be used interchangeably with 'Georgian'.

11. Jurij Anchabadze, Ethnic culture, in Hewitt, The Abkhazians, 241.
http://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote1anc%23sdfootnote1anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote2anc%23sdfootnote2anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote3anc%23sdfootnote3anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote4anc%23sdfootnote4anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote5anc%23sdfootnote5anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote6anc%23sdfootnote6anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote7anc%23sdfootnote7anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote8anc%23sdfootnote8anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote9anc%23sdfootnote9anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote10anc%23sdfootnote10anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote11anc%23sdfootnote11anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote1anc%23sdfootnote1anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote2anc%23sdfootnote2anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote3anc%23sdfootnote3anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote4anc%23sdfootnote4anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote5anc%23sdfootnote5anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote6anc%23sdfootnote6anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote7anc%23sdfootnote7anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote8anc%23sdfootnote8anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote9anc%23sdfootnote9anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote10anc%23sdfootnote10anchttp://daschaich.homelinux.net/writings/academic/abkhazia.html#sdfootnote11anc%23sdfootnote11anc


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12. Stanislav Lak'oba paraphrased in Rachel Clogg, Religion, in Hewitt, The

Abkhazians, 205. Between 20% and 40% of Abkhazians are officially Muslim, the

remainder officially Christian.

13. Clogg, Religion, 214.

14. Cf. timeline in Appendix B. Anahide Ter Minassian (Nationalisme et Socialisme

dans le Mouvement Revolutionnaire Armenien (1887-1912), in Transcaucasia:

Nationalism and Social Change, edited by Ronald Grigor Suny (Ann Arbor: MichiganSlavic Publications, 1983), 145) estimates that half a million North Caucasian Muslims

fled to the Ottoman Empire after 1864.

15. Image from Abkhazia (Georgia),Flagspot, http://flagspot.net/flags/ge-abkha.html

(Web site last accessed 12 May 2004). The flag has several other layers of symbolicmeaning that will be considered in later sections.

16. Clogg, Religion, 205-206.

17. Cf.Ibid., 215. Abkhazians in Germany tend to be immigrants from Turkey.

Abkhazians in the United States tend to be refugees from the Golan Heights, the center ofthe Syrian community prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

18. Liana Kvarchelia, Georgia-Abkhazia Conflict: View from Abkhazia in

Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter

1998), 18.

19. Cf. Giorgij Shamba, On the track of Abkhazia's antiquity, in Hewitt, The

Abkhazians, 49 and Abkhazia, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazia (Website last accessed 12 May 2004)

20. Abkhazia, Wikipedia (Web site last accessed 12 May 2004)

21. Vjacheslav Chirikba, The origin of the Abkhazian People, in Hewitt, TheAbkhazians, 44.

22. Hewitt, Introduction, 14. Note t

Abkhazia Nationalism, Conflict and History

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