Abkhazia
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Abkhazia, officially 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 Western 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 borders of the Sukhumi District of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1899 when Abkhazia was part of the Russian Empire.
Abkhaz and Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army, 19th century
Exhibition at the 2005 commemoration of the ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia, held on its 12th anniversary in Tbilisi.
Abkhazians carrying the republic's flags in a parade
Russo-Georgian War
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The 2008 Russo-Georgian War was a war between Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia against Georgia. The war took place in August following a diplomatic crisis between Russia and Georgia, both formerly constituent republics of the Soviet Union. The fighting took place in the strategically important South Caucasus region. It is regarded as the first European war of the 21st century.
U.S. President George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi, May 2005
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 2008 Bucharest Summit
Russian BMP-2 from the 58th Army in South Ossetia
Destroyed Georgian tank in Tskhinvali