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128-651: The mine in Kazreti was developed in 1970 during the Soviet era. From 1970 until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazreti was generally known in Georgia as being a cosmopolitan village, inhabited by workers from the various Soviet republics. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the majority of people who now live in the town are of Georgian nationality. Kazreti has been the site of various environmental and labor protests during both

256-551: A Russian-occupied territory , a position shared by most United Nations member states. The Russian name Абхазия ( Abkhaziya ) is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი ( Apkhazeti ). Abkhazia's name in English ( / æ b ˈ k ɑː z i ə / ab- KAH -zee-ə or / æ b ˈ k eɪ z i ə / ab- KAY -zee-ə ) The Abkhaz name Apsny ( Abkhaz : Аԥсны , IPA [apʰsˈnɨ] )

384-589: A " treaty republic" associated with the Georgian SSR . In 1931, Joseph Stalin made it an autonomous republic ( Abkhaz ASSR ) within the Georgian SSR. Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong direct rule from central Soviet authorities. The publishing of materials in Abkhazian dwindled and was eventually stopped altogether; Abkhaz schools were closed in 1945–1946, requiring Abkhaz children to study in

512-477: A Georgian university instead of an Abkhaz one. After several days of violence, Soviet troops restored order in the city. In March 1990, Georgia declared sovereignty, unilaterally nullifying treaties concluded by the Soviet government since 1921 and thereby moving closer to independence. The Republic of Georgia boycotted the 17 March 1991 all-Union referendum on the renewal of the Soviet Union called by Gorbachev; however, 52.3% of Abkhazia's population (almost all of

640-686: A Roman client state for most of its history. In 337, King Mirian III adopted Christianity as the state religion of Iberia, beginning the Christianization of the Western Caucasus region and solidly anchoring it in Rome's sphere of influence by abandoning the ancient Georgian polytheistic religion heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism . However, the Peace of Acilisene in 384 formalized the Sasanian control over

768-523: A Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought a war against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. On 23 October 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia

896-581: A dominant regional group in ancient times. The name Sakartvelo ( საქართველო ) consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i ( ქართველ-ი ), specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli , or Iberia as it is known in sources of the Eastern Roman Empire . The official name of the country is Georgia per Article 2 of the Georgian Constitution . In Georgia's two official languages ( Georgian and Abkhaz ),

1024-578: A legacy of great cathedrals, romantic poetry and literature, and the epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin , considered a national epic. David IV suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized power in his hands to effectively deal with foreign threats. In 1121, he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the Battle of Didgori and abolished the Emirate of Tbilisi . The 29-year reign of Tamar,

1152-614: A major centre for textile goods. Joseph Stalin , an ethnic Georgian, was prominent among the Bolsheviks, ultimately becoming the de facto leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death on 5 March 1953. Fellow Georgians such as Lavrentiy Beria and Vsevolod Merkulov likewise held powerful positions in the Soviet government. Stalin's Great Purge between 1936 and 1938 led to thousands of Georgian dissidents, intellectuals, and other presumed threats to Soviet authority being executed or sent to Gulag penal labor camps , severely truncating

1280-426: A national revival movement led by Ilia Chavchavadze . This period also brought social and economic change to Georgia, with new social classes emerging: the emancipation of the serfs freed many peasants but did little to alleviate their poverty; the growth of capitalism created an urban working class in Georgia. Both peasants and workers found expression for their discontent through revolts and strikes, culminating in

1408-512: A new government. On 9 April 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Council of Georgia declared independence  [ ka ] after a referendum held on 31 March. Georgia was the first non- Baltic republic of the Soviet Union to officially declare independence, with Romania becoming the first country to recognize Georgia in August 1991. On 26 May, Gamsakhurdia

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1536-575: A part of Georgia. In 1919, a first election was held to the Abkhaz People's Council. The Council favored being an autonomous region within Georgia, and it lasted until Red Army invasion of Georgia in February 1921. In 1921, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a socialist Soviet republic ( SSR Abkhazia ) with the ambiguous status of

1664-447: A personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II , who succeeded in stabilizing Eastern Georgia to a degree. In 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed the Treaty of Georgievsk , which made eastern Georgia a protectorate of Russia, guaranteed its territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning Bagrationi dynasty in return for prerogatives in

1792-710: A pro-Russian "buffer zone" in this troublesome region, was no longer needed by the Tsarist government and the rule of the Sharvashidze came to an end; in November 1864, Prince Mikhail (Hamud-Bey) was forced to renounce his rights and resettle in Voronezh, Russia . Later that same year, Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a special military province of Sukhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883, into an okrug as part of

1920-466: A resolution which condemned Georgia, supported Abkhazia and called for the suspension of the delivery of any weapons and equipment to Georgia and the deployment of a Russian peacekeeping force in Abkhazia. It was sponsored by a Russian nationalist politician Sergei Baburin , a Russian deputy who met Vladislav Ardzinba and argued that he was not that much sure that Abkhazia was part of Georgia. In October,

2048-449: A result of incessant Ottoman–Persian Wars and deportations, the population of Georgia dwindled to 784,700 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century. Eastern Georgia , composed of the regions of Kartli and Kakheti , had been under Iranian suzerainty since the Peace of Amasya signed with neighboring rivalling Ottoman Turkey ( Safavid Georgia ). With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free and were reunified through

2176-414: A series of reforms were launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities, as well as to reorient its foreign policy westwards. The new government's efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of Adjara led to a major crisis in 2004. Abkhazia Abkhazia ( / æ b ˈ k ɑː z i ə / ab- KAH -zee-ə ), officially

2304-598: A short time after Kelesh-Bey was assassinated by his son, Aslan-Bey , in 1801. On 2 July 1810, Russian Marines stormed Sukhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival and brother, Sefer Ali-Bey , who had converted to Christianity and assumed the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian Empire as an autonomous principality, in 1810. However, Sefer-bey's rule was limited and many mountain regions were as independent as before. Sefer-bey ruled from 1810 to 1821. The next Russo-Turkish war (1828–1829) strongly enhanced

2432-532: A successful police operation against the rebelled administrator of the Georgian-populated Kodori Valley , Emzar Kvitsiani . Kvitsiani had been appointed by the previous president of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze and refused to recognise the authority of president Mikheil Saakashvili , who succeeded Shevardnadze after the Rose Revolution . Although Kvitsiani escaped capture by Georgian police,

2560-420: A third live in the capital and largest city , Tbilisi . Georgians , who are native to the region, constitute a majority of the country's population and are its titular nation . Georgia has been inhabited since prehistory , hosting the world's earliest known sites of winemaking , gold mining, and textiles. The classical era saw the emergence of several kingdoms, such as Colchis and Iberia , that formed

2688-560: Is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and West Asia . It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north and northeast, Turkey to the southwest, Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the southeast. Georgia covers an area of 69,700 square kilometres (26,900 sq mi). It has a population of 3.7 million, of which over

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2816-586: Is etymologized as 'a land of the soul' however the literal meaning is 'a country of mortals'. It possibly first appeared in the seventh century in an Armenian text, perhaps referring to the ancient Apsilians . In early Muslim sources, the term Abkhazia was generally used to mean the territory of Georgia. Presumably considered as a successor state of Lazica ( Egrisi in Georgian sources), this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some Byzantine era Georgian and Armenian chronicles (e.g. The Vitae of

2944-609: The Umm Leisun inscription found in the Old City of Jerusalem . The medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos , a great-grandson of Japheth who medieval chroniclers believed to have been the root of the local name of their kingdom. However, scholars agree that the word Kartli is derived from the Karts , a proto-Kartvelian tribe that emerged as

3072-755: The 6th millennium BC , especially in Western Georgia, while the Mtkvari basin became stably populated in the 5th millennium BC , as evidenced with the rise of various cultures closely associated with the Fertile Crescent , including the Trialetian Mesolithic , the Shulaveri–Shomu culture , and the Leyla-Tepe culture . Archaeological findings show that settlements in modern-day Georgia were responsible for

3200-667: The Abasgoi and Moschoi peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. This region was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Lazica . According to an Eastern tradition, Simon the Zealot died in Abkhazia during a missionary trip and was buried in Nicopsis ; his mortal remains were later transferred to Anacopia . The Roman Empire conquered Lazica in

3328-484: The Abkhaz —the region's titular ethnicity —and Georgians —the largest single ethnic group at that time—culminated in the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia , which resulted in Georgia's loss of control over most of Abkhazia and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia . Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and

3456-622: The Argonauts . Archaeological evidence points to a wealthy kingdom in Colchis as early as the 14th century BC and an extensive trade network with Greek colonies on the eastern Black Sea shore (such as Dioscurias and Phasis ), though, the entire region would be annexed first by Pontus and then by the Roman Republic in the first century BC. Eastern Georgia remained a decentralized mosaic of various clans (ruled by individual mamasakhlisi ) until

3584-683: The Byzantine Empire 's sphere of influence. Anacopia was the principality's capital. The country was mostly Christian, with the archbishop's seat in Pityus . Stratophilus, the Metropolitan of Pityus, participated in the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Around the middle of the 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia, a conflict known as

3712-655: The Caucasus and benefiting from the Black Sea ecosystem, the region seems to have served as a refugium throughout the Pleistocene , while the first continuous primitive settlements date back to the Middle Paleolithic , close to 200,000 years ago. During the Upper Paleolithic , settlements developed mostly in Western Georgia, in the valleys of the Rioni and Qvirila rivers. Signs of agriculture date back to at least

3840-590: The December 1991 Coup . Shevardnadze announced that the Abkhaz faction took the decision without considering the opinion of the majority of population in Abkhazia. In August 1992, war broke out when the National Guard of Georgia entered Abkhazia to free captive Georgian officials, and to reopen the railway line. Abkhaz troops were the first to open fire. Abkhaz separatist government retreated to Gudauta where

3968-509: The Georgian government and nearly all United Nations member states consider Abkhazia sovereign territory of Georgia . Lacking effective control over the Abkhazian territory, Georgia maintains an Abkhaz government-in-exile . The region had autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s. Simmering ethnic tensions between

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4096-495: The Kingdom of Imereti sent ambassadors to the Russian royal court, with Russia returning the favor in 1651. In the presence of these ambassadors, Alexander III of Imereti swore an oath of allegiance to Tsar Alexis of Russia on behalf of Imereti. Subsequent rulers also sought assistance from Pope Innocent XII but without success. The rulers of regions that remained partly autonomous organized rebellions on various occasions. As

4224-604: The Kutaisi Governorate . Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians, said to have constituted as much as 40% of the Abkhazian population, emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878 together with other Muslim populations of the Caucasus, a process known as Muhajirism . Large areas of the region were left uninhabited and many Armenians , Georgians, Russians and others subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of

4352-594: The Lazic War . During the war the Abasgians revolted against the Byzantine Empire and requested Sasanian assistance; the revolt was suppressed by General Bessas . An Arab incursion into Abasgia, led by Marwan II , was repelled by Prince Leon I jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in 736. Leon I then married Mirian 's daughter and a successor, King Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Lazica in

4480-662: The Mongols , the Ottoman Empire , and Persia , before being gradually annexed into the Russian Empire starting in 1801. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Georgia briefly emerged as an independent republic under German protection , but was invaded and annexed by the Red Army in 1921, becoming one of the Republics of the Soviet Union . In the 1980s, an independence movement grew quickly, leading to Georgia's secession from

4608-694: The Mushki , Laz , and Byzeres . Some historians have suggested that the collapse of the Hittite world in the Late Bronze Age led to an expansion of the influence of these tribes to the Mediterranean Sea , notably with the Kingdom of Tabal . The classical period saw the rise of a number of Georgian states, including Colchis in western Georgia, where Greek mythology located the Golden Fleece sought after by

4736-718: The October Revolution in Russia, the Transcaucasian Commissariat was set up in Southern Caucasus, which gradually took steps towards the independence. Transcaucasia declared its independence from Russia on 9 April 1918 as a federative republic . On 8 May 1918, the Bolsheviks seized power in Abkhazia and disbanded the local Abkhaz People's Council. It requested aid from the Transcausian authorities, which dispatched

4864-557: The Principality of Abkhazia (nominally a vassal of the Kingdom of Imereti ) emerged, ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty . In 1453, the Ottomans first attacked Sukhumi , and in the 1570s, they had a garrison there. Throughout the 17th century, they continued to launch attacks, leading to the imposition of tribute on Abkhazia. Ottoman influence grew significantly in the 18th century with

4992-720: The Republic of Abkhazia , is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus , on the eastern coast of the Black Sea , at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia . It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi . The political status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Abkhazia conflict and Georgia–Russia relations . Abkhazia has been recognised as an independent state by Russia , Venezuela , Nicaragua , Nauru , and Syria ; however,

5120-412: The Revolution of 1905 . Their cause was championed by the socialist Mensheviks , who became the dominant political force in Georgia in the final years of Russian rule. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was established with Nikolay Chkheidze acting as its president. The federation consisted of three nations: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. As

5248-451: The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 and continued Russian occupation of parts of Georgia . Georgia is a representative democracy governed as a unitary parliamentary republic . It is a developing country with a very high Human Development Index and an emerging market economy . Sweeping economic reforms since 2003 have resulted in one of the freest business climates in the world, greater economic freedom and transparency , and among

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5376-413: The Treaty of Moscow . But the recognition proved to be of little value, as the Red Army invaded Georgia in 1921 and formally annexed it into the Soviet Union in 1922. In February 1921, during the Russian Civil War , the Red Army advanced into Georgia and brought the local Bolsheviks to power. The Georgian army was defeated, and the Social Democratic government fled the country. On 25 February 1921 ,

5504-546: The brutal suppression by Soviet forces of a large peaceful demonstration held in Tbilisi on 4–9 April 1989 proved to be a pivotal event in discrediting the continuation of Soviet rule over the country. In October 1990, the first multi-party elections were held in Soviet Georgia, which were the first multi-party elections in the entire Soviet Union, in which the opposition groups were registered as formal political parties. The Round Table—Free Georgia coalition led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia secured victory in this election and formed

5632-458: The early Middle Ages . The Roman–Persian Wars plunged the region into chaos, with both Persia and Constantinople supporting various warring factions in the Caucasus ; however, the Byzantine Empire was able to establish control over Georgian territories by the end of the 6th century, ruling Iberia indirectly through a local Kouropalates . In 645, the Arabs invaded southeastern Georgia, starting an extended period of Muslim domination in

5760-687: The fastest rates of GDP growth . In 2018, Georgia became the second country in the world to legalize cannabis , and the first former socialist state to do so. Georgia is a member of numerous international organizations, including the Council of Europe , Eurocontrol , BSEC , GUAM , Energy Community . As part of the Association Trio , Georgia is a candidate for membership in the European Union . Ancient Greeks ( Strabo , Herodotus , Plutarch , Homer , etc.) and Romans ( Titus Livius , Tacitus , etc.) referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians ( Iberoi , Ἰβηροι in some Greek sources). The first mention of

5888-404: The post-war period, the Abkhazian ASSR was dominated by the ethnic Abkhazs, which occupied much more positions in the autonomous republic compared to Georgians. During the late Soviet period, ethnic Abkhazs occupied 41% of the seats in Abkhazian Supreme Soviet, and 67% of the republican ministers were ethnically Abkhaz. Moreover, they held even larger proportion of lower level official posts within

6016-463: The 11th century, the nascent Georgian kingdom experienced geopolitical and internal difficulties, with various noble factions opposed to the centralization of the Georgian state. They were often backed by the Byzantine Empire, which feared a dominion of the Caucasus region by the Bagrationi dynasty, and in some instances fueled internal conflict through aristocratic families seeking more power. However, ties between Byzantium and Georgia were normalized when

6144-414: The 1921 constitution contained a provision for the region's autonomy. On 23 July 1992, the Abkhaz faction in the republic's Supreme Council declared effective independence from Georgia, although the session was boycotted by ethnic Georgian deputies and the gesture went unrecognised by any other country. The Abkhaz leadership launched a campaign of ousting Georgian officials from their offices, a process which

6272-472: The 1930s. The 1918 Georgian–Armenian War , which erupted over parts of disputed provinces between Armenia and Georgia populated mostly by Armenians, ended because of British intervention. In 1918–1919, Georgian general Giorgi Mazniashvili led an attack against the White Army led by Moiseev and Denikin to claim the Black Sea coastline from Tuapse to Sochi and Adler for independent Georgia. In 1920 Soviet Russia recognized Georgia's independence with

6400-402: The 1st century AD; however, the Roman presence was confined to the ports. According to Arrian , the Abasgoi and Apsilae peoples were nominal Roman subjects, and there was a small Roman outpost in Dioscurias . Abasgoi likely served in the Roman army in Ala Prima Abasgorum which was stationed in Egypt . After the 4th century Lazica regained a measure of independence, but remained within

6528-399: The 4th century BC when it was conquered by Alexander the Great , eventually leading to the creation of the Kingdom of Iberia under the protectorate of the Seleucid Empire , an early example of advanced state organization under one king and an aristocratic hierarchy. Various wars with the Roman Empire , Parthia , and Armenia made Iberia regularly change its allegiance, though it remained

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6656-402: The 770s. The successful defence against the Arab Caliphate, and new territorial gains in the east gave the Abasgian princes enough power to claim more autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. Circa 778, Prince Leon II, with the help of the Khazars , declared independence from the Byzantine Empire and transferred his residence to Kutaisi . During this period the Georgian language replaced Greek as

6784-452: The 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Kingdom of Colchis . Around the 6th century BC, the Greeks established trade colonies along the Black Sea coast of present-day Abkhazia, in particular at Pitiunt and Dioscurias . Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke. Arrian , Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of

6912-574: The Abkhaz de facto authorities "to refrain from adopting measures incompatible with the right to return and with international human rights standards, such as discriminatory legislation... [and] to cooperate in the establishment of a permanent international human rights office in Gali and to admit United Nations civilian police without further delay." Key officials of the Gali District are virtually all ethnic Abkhaz, though their support staff are ethnic Georgian. Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 3 October 2004. Russia supported Raul Khajimba ,

7040-472: The Abkhaz and North Caucasian paramilitaries mounted a major offensive against Gagra 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". 1992 ended with the rebels in control of much of Abkhazia northwest of Sukhumi. The conflict

7168-509: The Abkhaz population out of their homes" in the first phase of the war (according to Human Rights Watch ), while Georgia blames the Abkhaz forces and their allies for the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, which has also been recognised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summits in Budapest (1994), Lisbon (1996) and Istanbul (1999). Before the 1992 War in Abkhazia , Georgians made up nearly half of Abkhazia's population, while less than one-fifth of

7296-420: The 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. The Abkhazian ASSR was the only autonomous republic in the USSR in which the language of the titular nation (in that case Abkhazian) was confirmed in its constitution as one of its official languages. In

7424-481: The Bagrationi. Dynastic conflicts eventually weakened Abkhazia in the second half of the 10th century while in Tao-Klarjeti, Prince David III used his influence within Byzantine Anatolia to empower the Bagrationi. Bagrat III, heir of the Bagrationi dynasty, successively became King of Abkhazia (978), Prince of Tao-Klarjeti ( 1000 ), and King of the Iberians (1008), allowing him to unify most Georgian feudal states and be crowned in 1010 as King of Georgia . For much of

7552-403: The Brilliant (r. 1299–1302), known for reuniting eastern and western Georgia and restoring the country's previous strength and Christian culture. After his death, local rulers fought for their independence from central Georgian rule, until the total disintegration of the kingdom in the 15th century. Georgia was further weakened by several disastrous invasions by Timur . Invasions continued, giving

7680-487: The Caucasus, and extended over large parts of present-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northern Iran, and used the vacuum of power left by the Fourth Crusade to create the Empire of Trebizond as a Georgian vassal state. The revival of the Kingdom of Georgia was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the Khwarezmian leader Jalal ad-Din in 1226, followed by devastating invasions by Mongol ruler Genghis Khan . The Mongols were expelled by George V

7808-453: The Gali District in 1998. Nevertheless, between 40,000 and 60,000 refugees have returned to the Gali District since 1998, including persons commuting daily across the ceasefire line and those migrating seasonally in accordance with agricultural cycles. The human rights situation remained precarious for a while in the Georgian-populated areas of the Gali District. The United Nations and other international organisations have been fruitlessly urging

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7936-419: The Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli and The History of Armenia by Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi ). The state is designated as the "Republic of Abkhazia" in its constitution. On the website of the President of Abkhazia, it says: "The names the Republic of Abkhazia and Apsny are equivalent". Before the 20th century, the region was sometimes referred to in English language sources as Abhasia . Between

8064-411: The Georgian People's Guard and defeated the rebels on 17 May. On 26 May 1918, Georgia declared independence from the Transcaucasian Federation, which soon dissolved. On 8 June 1918, the Abkhaz People's Council signed a treaty with the Georgian National Council, which confirmed Abkhazia's status as an autonomy within the Georgian Democratic Republic. Georgian army defeated another Bolshevik rebellion in

8192-589: The Georgian language. This was part of the wider Soviet educational reform launched in all SSRs in 1938. The teaching of Abkhaz language was preserved in the new reorganized Abkhaz schools as a mandatory subject by the decision of the Georgian Communist Party . In the Terror of 1937–38 , the ruling elite was purged of Abkhaz and by 1952 over 80% of the 228 top party and government officials and enterprise managers were ethnic Georgians; there remained 34 Abkhaz, 7 Russians and 3 Armenians in these positions. Georgian Communist Party leader Kandid Charkviani supported

8320-405: The Georgian royal Bagrationi dynasty , as well as the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church . Pyotr Bagration , one of the descendants of the abolished house of Bagrationi, later joined the Russian army and became a prominent general in the Napoleonic wars. On 22 December 1800, Tsar Paul I of Russia , at the alleged request of the Georgian King George XII , signed the proclamation on

8448-402: The Georgianization of Abkhazia. Peasant households from the rest of the Georgian SSR were resettled to Abkhazia, which included the organised settlement of ethnic Georgians. About 9,000 peasant households were settled in the underpopulated areas of Abkhazia between 1947 and 1952 and left to fend for themselves. The policy of repression was eased after Stalin's death and Beria's execution, and

8576-432: The Iberians in 888 , restoring the monarchy abolished three centuries prior. In Western Georgia, the Kingdom of Abkhazia benefited from the weakening of Byzantium in the region to unify various tribes and become one of the most powerful states of the Caucasus in the 8th century. In the 9th-10th centuries, Abkhazia grew its influence through several military campaigns and came to control much of Iberia and competing with

8704-430: The Kodori Gorge was brought back under the control of the central government in Tbilisi . Sporadic acts of violence continued throughout the postwar years. Despite the peacekeeping status of the Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia, Georgian officials routinely claimed that Russian peacekeepers were inciting violence by supplying Abkhaz rebels with arms and financial support. Russian support of Abkhazia became pronounced when

8832-438: The Leninist tradition of the right of nations to self-determination, which they asserted was violated when Abkhazia's sovereignty was curtailed in 1931. In June 1988, a manifesto defending Abkhaz distinctiveness (known as the Abkhaz Letter ) was sent to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . The Georgian–Abkhaz dispute turned violent on 16 July 1989 in Sukhumi. Numerous Georgians were killed or injured when they tried to enroll in

8960-421: The Ottomans advanced into the Caucasian territories of the crumbling Russian Empire, Georgia declared independence on 26 May 1918. The Menshevik Social Democratic Party of Georgia won the parliamentary election and its leader, Noe Zhordania , became prime minister. Despite the Soviet takeover, Zhordania was recognized as the legitimate head of the Georgian Government by France, UK, Belgium, and Poland through

9088-422: The Red Army entered Tbilisi and established a government of workers' and peasants' soviets with Filipp Makharadze as acting head of state. Georgia was incorporated into what would soon become the Soviet Union . Soviet rule was firmly established only after local insurrections were defeated. Georgia would remain an unindustrialized periphery of the USSR until the first five-year plan (1928–1932), when it became

9216-470: The Russian military base was located. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported the ethnic-based violence against Georgians in Gudauta. The Abkhaz were relatively unarmed at the time and the Georgian troops were able to march into the capital Sukhumi with relatively little resistance and subsequently engaged in ethnically based pillage, looting, assault, and murder. The Abkhaz military defeat

9344-588: The Russian positions, leading to a further split in the Abkhaz elite, mainly along religious divisions. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), Russian forces had to evacuate Abkhazia and Prince Hamud-Bey Sharvashidze-Chachba (Mikhail), who ruled from 1822 to 1864, seemingly switched to the Ottomans. Later on, the Russian presence strengthened and the highlanders of Western Caucasia were finally subjugated by Russia in 1864. The autonomy of Abkhazia, which had functioned as

9472-598: The Soviet Union in April 1991. For much of the subsequent decade , the country endured economic crises, political instability , and secessionist wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia . Following the peaceful Rose Revolution in 2003, Georgia strongly pursued a pro-Western foreign policy, introducing a series of democratic and economic reforms aimed at integration into the European Union and NATO . This Western orientation led to worsening relations with Russia , culminating in

9600-408: The Soviet Union, contributing to the nation's consolidation. 1978 Georgian demonstrations saw the return of mass anti-Soviet protests, but this time government backed down. Throughout the remainder of the Soviet period, Georgia's economy continued to grow and experience significant improvement, though it increasingly exhibited blatant corruption and alienation of the government from the people. With

9728-563: The UNM and GD governments. In 2014 there were numerous protests and hunger strikes related to working conditions in the mines. There are two public schools, a library, and a small police station in Kazreti. Latitude 41.379963, longitude 44.410007, elevation 699 meters. This Georgia location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Georgia (country) Georgia ( Georgian : საქართველო , romanized : sakartvelo , IPA: [sakʰartʰʷelo] )

9856-704: The anti-Moscow Chechen secessionists. They sided with the Abkhaz separatists to fight against the Georgian government. Russian military did not impede the crossing of the Russia-Georgia border by the North Caucasian militants into Abkhazia. In the case of Basayev, it has been suggested that when he and the members of his battalion came to Abkhazia, they received training by the Russian Army (though others dispute this), presenting another possible motive. on September 25, 1992, Russian Supreme Council (parliament) passed

9984-542: The autonomous republic. The first secretary of the communist party in Abkhazia was also ethnically Abkhaz. All of this was despite the fact that Abkhazians made up only 17.8% of the region’s population, while Georgians were 45.7% and other ethnicities (Greeks, Russians, Armenians, etc.) — 36,5%. As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at the end of the 1980s, ethnic tensions grew between the Abkhaz and Georgians over Georgia's moves towards independence. Many Abkhaz opposed this, fearing that an independent Georgia would lead to

10112-492: The beginning of perestroika in 1986, the Georgian Soviet leadership proved so incapable of handling the changes that most Georgians, including rank and file communists, concluded that the only way forward was a break from the existing Soviet system. Starting in 1988, mass protests erupted in Georgia in favor of independence, led by Georgian nationalists such as Merab Kostava and Zviad Gamsakhurdia . The following year,

10240-480: The beginning of the 19th century, while the Russians and Ottomans were vying for control of the region, the rulers of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide. The first attempt to enter into relations with Russia was made by Prince Kelesh-Bey in 1803, shortly after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire in 1801. However, pro-Ottoman sympathy in Abkhazia prevailed for

10368-616: The conduct of Georgian foreign affairs. Despite its commitment to defend Georgia, Russia rendered no assistance when the Iranians invaded in 1795, capturing and sacking Tbilisi and massacring its inhabitants. Although Russia initiated a punitive campaign against Persia in 1796, the Russian Imperial authorities subsequently violated key promises of the Georgievsk Treaty and in 1801 proceeded to annex eastern Georgia, while abolishing

10496-601: The construction of a fort in Sukhumi, accompanied by a conversion of the rulers of Abkhazia and many other Abkhaz to Islam . Nonetheless, conflicts between the Abkhaz and Turks persisted. The spread of Islam in Abkhazia was first evidenced by the Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi in 1641. Despite this, the Islamization was more evident in the higher levels of society rather than the general population. In his work, Çelebi also wrote that

10624-446: The core central Georgian region of Kartli , recorded from the 9th century, and in extended usage referring to the entire medieval Kingdom of Georgia prior to the 13th century. The Georgian circumfix sa -X- o is a standard geographic construction designating 'the area where X dwell', where X is an ethnonym . The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi ( ქართველები , i.e. 'Kartvelians'), first attested in

10752-632: The country is named საქართველო ( Sakartvelo ) and Қырҭтәыла ( Kərttʷʼəla ) respectively. Prior to the adoption of the Constitution in 1995 and following the dissolution of the USSR , the country was commonly called the "Republic of Georgia" and occasionally it still is. Several languages continue to use the Russian variant of the country's name, Gruzia , which the Georgian authorities have sought to replace through diplomatic campaigns. Since 2006, Israel, Japan, and South Korea legally changed their appellation of

10880-582: The country to variants of the English Georgia . In 2020, Lithuania became the first country in the world to adopt Sakartvelas in all official communications. The oldest traces of archaic humans in what is now Georgia date from approximately 1.8 million years ago in the form of the Dmanisi hominins , a subspecies of Homo erectus representing the oldest-known fossils of hominins in Eurasia . Buffered by

11008-456: The elections to Sergei Bagapsh . The tense situation in the republic led to the cancellation of the election results by the Supreme Court. After that, a deal was struck between former rivals to run jointly, with Bagapsh as a presidential candidate and Khajimba as a vice-presidential candidate. They received more than 90% of the votes in the new election. In July 2006, Georgian forces launched

11136-505: The elimination of their autonomy, and argued instead for the establishment of Abkhazia as a separate Soviet republic in its own right. With the onset of perestroika , the agenda of Abkhaz nationalists became more radical and exclusive. In 1988, they began to ask for the reinstatement of Abkhazia's former status of Union Republic , as the submission of Abkhazia to another Union Republic was not considered to give enough guarantees of their development. They justified their request by referring to

11264-529: The empire. The principality of Guria was abolished and incorporated into the Empire in 1829, while Svaneti was gradually annexed in 1858. Mingrelia , although a Russian protectorate since 1803, was not absorbed until 1867. Russian rule offered the Georgians security from external threats, but it was also often heavy-handed and insensitive. By the late 19th century, discontent with the Russian authorities grew into

11392-632: The entire Caucasus, though Christian rulers of Iberia sought to rebel at times, leading to devastating wars in the 5–6th centuries, most famously under the rule of King Vakhtang Gorgasali who expanded Iberia to its largest historical extent by capturing all of western Georgia and building a new capital in Tbilisi . In 580, the Sasanian Empire abolished the Kingdom of Iberia, leading to the disintegration of its constituent territories into various feudal regions by

11520-484: The ethnic non-Georgian population) took part in the referendum and voted by an overwhelming majority (98.6%) to preserve the Union. Most ethnic non-Georgians in Abkhazia later boycotted a 31 March referendum on Georgia's independence , which was supported by a huge majority of Georgia's population. Within weeks, Georgia declared independence on 9 April 1991, under former Soviet dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia . Under Gamsakhurdia,

11648-489: The first female ruler of Georgia, is considered the most successful in Georgian history. Tamar was given the title "king of kings" and succeeded in neutralizing her opposition, while embarking on an energetic foreign policy aided by the downfall of the rival powers of the Seljuks and Byzantium. Supported by a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire that dominated

11776-457: The first use of fibers, possibly for clothing, more than 34,000 years ago, the first cases of viticulture ( 7th millennium BC ), and the first signs of gold mining ( 3rd millennium BC ). The Kura-Araxes , Trialeti , and Colchian cultures coincided with the development of proto-Kartvelian tribes that may have come from Anatolia during the expansion of the Hittite Empire , including

11904-416: The immediate cessation of hostilities and its condemnation of the violation of the ceasefire by the Abkhaz side, fighting continued. After ten days of heavy fighting, Sukhumi was taken by Abkhazian forces on 27 September 1993. Shevardnadze narrowly escaped death, after vowing to stay in the city no matter what. He changed his mind, however, and decided to flee when separatist snipers fired on the hotel where he

12032-465: The incorporation of Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) within the Russian Empire, which was finalized by a decree on 8 January 1801, and confirmed by Tsar Alexander I on 12 September 1801. The Bagrationi royal family was deported from the kingdom. The Georgian envoy in Saint Petersburg reacted with a note of protest that was presented to the Russian vice-chancellor, Prince Kurakin. In May 1801, under

12160-588: The kingdom no time for restoration, with both Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu Turkomans constantly raiding its southern provinces. The Kingdom of Georgia collapsed into anarchy by 1466 and fragmented into three independent kingdoms and five semi-independent principalities . Neighboring large empires subsequently exploited the internal division of the weakened country, and beginning in the 16th century, various Ottoman and Iranian forces subjugated western and eastern regions of Georgia, respectively. This pushed local Georgian rulers to seek closer ties with Russia. In 1649,

12288-520: The land'). These centuries-old explanations for the word Georgia / Georgians are now mostly rejected by the scholarly community, who point to the Persian word gurğ / gurğān ( گرگ , ' wolf ' ) as the likely root of the word. Under this hypothesis, the same Persian root was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. The native name is Sakartvelo ( საქართველო ; 'land of Kartvelians '), derived from

12416-460: The language of literacy and culture. The Kingdom of Abkhazia flourished between 850 and 950 AD, which ended by unification of Abkhazia and eastern Georgian states under a single Georgian monarchy ruled by King Bagrat III at the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century. During the reign of Queen Tamar , Georgian chronicles mention Otagho as the Eristavi of Abkhazia. He

12544-463: The majority Georgian populations, erupted into widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars. Supported by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia achieved de facto independence from Georgia, with Georgia retaining control only in small areas of the disputed territories. Eduard Shevardnadze (Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1991) was named as the head of Georgia's new government in March 1992 and

12672-567: The name Georgia is in Italian on the mappa mundi of Pietro Vesconte dated 1320. At the early stage of its appearance in the Latin world, the name was often spelled Jorgia . Lore-based theories were given by traveler Jacques de Vitry , who explained the name's origin by the popularity of St. George among Georgians, while Jean Chardin thought that Georgia came from the Greek γεωργός ('tiller of

12800-695: The nation's cultural and intellectual life. During World War II , Germany led an Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 with the aim of conquering all territory up to the Ural Mountains . As the initial operation stalled, the Axis launched the Fall Blau offensive in 1942 to take control of strategic Caucasian oil fields and munitions factories; ultimately, Axis troops were stopped before reaching Georgian borders. Over 700,000 Georgians—constituting about 20 percent of

12928-490: The nucleus of the modern Georgian state. In the early fourth century, Georgians officially adopted Christianity , which contributed to the unification into the Kingdom of Georgia . Georgia reached its Golden Age during the High Middle Ages under the reigns of King David IV and Queen Tamar . Beginning in the 15th century, the kingdom declined and disintegrated under pressure from various regional powers, including

13056-532: The oversight of General Carl Heinrich von Knorring, Imperial Russia transferred power in eastern Georgia to the government headed by General Ivan Petrovich Lazarev . The Georgian nobility did not accept the decree until 12 April 1802, when Knorring assembled the nobility at the Sioni Cathedral and forced them to take an oath on the Imperial Crown of Russia . Those who disagreed were temporarily arrested. In

13184-867: The population was Abkhaz . As the war progressed, confronted with hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians who were unwilling to leave their homes, the Abkhaz separatists implemented the process of ethnic cleansing in order to expel and eliminate the Georgian ethnic population in Abkhazia. About 5,000 were killed, 400 went missing and up to 250,000 ethnic Georgians were expelled from their homes. According to International Crisis Group , as of 2006 slightly over 200,000 Georgians remained displaced in Georgia proper. The campaign of ethnic cleansing also included Russians, Armenians, Greeks, moderate Abkhaz and other minor ethnic groups living in Abkhazia. More than 20,000 houses owned by ethnic Georgians were destroyed. Hundreds of schools, kindergartens, churches, hospitals, and historical monuments were pillaged and destroyed. Following

13312-468: The population—fought in the Red Army to repel the invaders and advance towards Berlin; an estimated 350,000 were killed. After Stalin's death , Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union and implemented a policy of de-Stalinization . Khrushchev's purges were met with riots in Tbilisi that had to be dispersed by military force. This violent turn of events that compromised Georgian loyalty to

13440-431: The prime minister backed by the 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, led by Joseph Cobsohn , a State Duma deputy and a popular singer, came to Abkhazia, campaigning for Khajimba. However, Khajimba lost

13568-412: The principal tribe of Abkhazian principality, Chách, spoke Mingrelian language , a subset of Kartvelian (Georgian) languages. Abkhazia sought protection from the Russian Empire in 1801 but was declared "an autonomous principality " by the Russians in 1810. Russia then annexed Abkhazia in 1864, and Abkhaz resistance was quashed as the Russians deported Muslim Abkhaz to Ottoman territories. In

13696-449: The process of ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion, the population of Abkhazia has been reduced to 216,000, from 525,000 in 1989. Pogroms against ethnic Georgians organized by Abkhaz leaders continued even after the end of war, as far as February 1995. Of about 250,000 Georgian refugees, some 60,000 subsequently returned to Abkhazia's Gali District between 1994 and 1998, but tens of thousands were displaced again when fighting resumed in

13824-507: The region. It remained part of Georgia after another Bolshevik revolt and a Turkish expedition were defeated in 1918. Russian general and a leader of White movement Anton Denikin laid claims on Abkhazia and captured Gagra , but Georgians counter-attacked in April 1919 and retook the city. Denikin's Volunteer Army was eventually defeated by the Red Army , and Bolshevik Russia signed an agreement with Georgia in May 1920, recognizing Abkhazia as

13952-467: The region; this also led to the establishment of several feudal states seeking independence from each other, such as the Emirate of Tbilisi and the Principality of Kakheti . Western Georgia remained mostly a Byzantine protectorate, especially following the Lazic War . The lack of a central government in Georgia allowed the rise of the Bagrationi dynasty in the early 9th century. Consolidating lands in

14080-474: The reigns of David IV (r. 1089–1125) and his great-granddaughter Tamar (r. 1184–1213) has been widely termed as the Georgian Golden Age . This early Georgian renaissance, which preceded its Western European analog, was characterized by impressive military victories, territorial expansion, and a cultural renaissance in architecture, literature, philosophy and the sciences. The Golden Age of Georgia left

14208-462: The situation was relatively calm in Abkhazia and a power-sharing agreement was soon reached between the Abkhaz and Georgian factions, granting to the Abkhaz a certain over-representation in the local legislature. Gamsakhurdia's rule was soon challenged by armed opposition groups, under the command of Tengiz Kitovani , that forced him to flee the country in a military coup in January 1992. Gamsakhurdia

14336-478: The southwestern region of Tao-Klarjeti , Prince Ashot I (813–830) used infighting between Arab governors to expand his influence to Iberia and was recognized as Presiding Prince of Iberia by both the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. Though Ashot's descendants formed competing princely lines, Adarnase IV managed to unify most Georgian lands (except for Kakheti and Abkhazia) and was crowned King of

14464-591: The summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Iranian army during the 1804–13 Russo-Persian War and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the Imperial territories. Russian suzerainty over eastern Georgia was officially finalized with Iran in 1813 following the Treaty of Gulistan . Following the annexation of eastern Georgia, the western Georgian kingdom of Imereti

14592-442: The supporters of the deposed Zviad Gamsakhurdia in the region of Mingrelia (Samegrelo). Only a small region of eastern Abkhazia, the upper Kodori gorge , remained under Georgian control (until 2008). During the war, gross human rights violations were reported on both sides (see Human Rights Watch report). Georgian troops have been accused of having committed looting and murders "for the purpose of terrorising, robbing and driving

14720-518: The synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church of Georgia-Imereti, by Order 2771, again prohibited teaching and the conduct of religious services in Georgian. Mass protests by the Georgian population of Abkhazia and Samurzakano followed, news of which reached the Russian emperor. On 3 September 1898 the Holy Synod issued Order 4880, which decreed that those parishes where the congregation

14848-425: The two countries faced a new common enemy, the rising Seljuk Empire in the 1060s. Following the decisive Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Constantinople started to retreat from eastern Anatolia and entrusted Georgia with its administration, placing Georgia at the forefront of Turkish in the 1080s. The Kingdom of Georgia reached its zenith in the 12th to early 13th centuries. This period during

14976-553: The vacated territory. Some Georgian historians assert that Georgian tribes ( Svans and Mingrelians ) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom . By official decision of the Russian authorities, the residents of Abkhazia and Samurzakano had to study and pray in Russian. After the mass deportation of 1878, Abkhazians were left in the minority, officially branded "guilty people", and had no leader capable of mounting serious opposition to Russification . On 17 March 1898,

15104-487: Was Mingrelian (i.e. Georgian), conduct both church services and church education in Georgian, while Abkhazian parishes use old Slavic . In the Sukhumi district, this order was carried out in only three of 42 parishes. Tedo Sakhokia demanded the Russian authorities introduce Abkhazian and Georgian languages in church services and education. The official response was a criminal case brought against Tedo Sakhokia and leaders of his "Georgian Party" active in Abkhazia. Following

15232-534: Was accompanied by violence. In the meantime, the Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba intensified his ties with hard-line Russian politicians and military elite and declared he was ready for a war with Georgia. To respond to this situation, Eduard Shevardnadze , new leader of Georgia, had interrupted his trip to Western Georgia, where the Georgian Civil War had been going on between his government and supporters of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia , ousted during

15360-449: Was annexed by Tsar Alexander I. The last Imeretian king and the last Georgian Bagrationi ruler, Solomon II , died in exile in 1815, after attempts to rally people against Russia and to enlist foreign support against the latter, had been in vain. From 1803 to 1878, as a result of numerous Russian wars now against Ottoman Turkey , several of Georgia's previously lost territories – such as Adjara – were recovered, and also incorporated into

15488-466: Was deposed by the Rose Revolution , after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili , Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze , former members and leaders of Shevardnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution,

15616-537: Was elected as head of state in that year's elections , later as president in 1995 . During the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) , roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians were expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian militants (including Chechens). Around 23,000 Georgians fled South Ossetia. By 1994, Georgia was facing a severe economic crisis, with bread rations and shortages of electricity, water and heat. In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won re-election in 2000)

15744-539: Was elected president in the first presidential election with 86.5% of the vote on a turnout of over 83%. Gamsakhurdia was soon deposed in a bloody coup d'état , from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. The coup was instigated by part of the National Guard and a paramilitary organization called " Mkhedrioni " ("horsemen"). The country then became embroiled in a bitter civil war , which lasted until December 1993. Simmering disputes within two regions of Georgia; Abkhazia and South Ossetia , between local separatists and

15872-537: Was in stalemate until July 1993, when Abkhaz separatist militias launched an abortive attack on Georgian-held Sukhumi. They surrounded and heavily shelled the capital, where Shevardnadze was trapped. The warring sides agreed to a Russian-brokered truce in Sochi at the end of July. But the ceasefire broke down again on 16 September 1993. Abkhaz forces, with armed support from outside Abkhazia, launched attacks on Sukhumi and Ochamchira. Notwithstanding UN Security Council's call for

16000-506: Was met with a hostile response by the self-styled Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus , an umbrella group uniting a number of movements in the North Caucasus , including elements of Circassians , Abazins , Chechens , Cossacks , Ossetians and hundreds of volunteer paramilitaries and mercenaries from Russia, including the then-little-known Shamil Basayev , later a leader of

16128-555: Was one of the first representatives of the House of Shervashidze (also known as Chachba) which went on to rule Abkhazia until the 19th century. In the 1240s, Mongols divided Georgia into eight military-administrative sectors ( tümens ). The territory of contemporary Abkhazia formed part of the tümen administered by Tsotne Dadiani . In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities,

16256-528: Was replaced by former Soviet Georgian leader and Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze , who became the country's head of state. 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, although

16384-466: Was staying. Abkhaz, North Caucasian militants, and their allies committed numerous atrocities against the city's remaining ethnic Georgians, in what has been dubbed the Sukhumi Massacre . The mass killings and destruction continued for two weeks, leaving thousands dead and missing. The Abkhaz forces quickly overran the rest of Abkhazia as the Georgian government faced a second threat; an uprising by

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