1.
Abkhazia
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Abkhazia is a partially recognised state on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus Mountains, south of Russia and northwest of Georgia proper. It covers 8,660 square kilometres and has a population of around 240,000, the separatist Abkhazian polity, formally the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny, is recognised only by Russia and a small number of other countries. The status of Abkhazia is an issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict. The region enjoyed autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s, despite the 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remained unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, the Abkhazians call their homeland Аҧсны, popularly etymologised as a land/country of the soul, yet literally meaning a country of mortals. It possibly first appeared in the century in an Armenian text as Psin. The state is designated as the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny. The Russian Абхазия is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი, in Mingrelian, Abkhazia is known as აბჟუა or სააფხაზო. Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis and this kingdom was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Egrisi, known to Byzantine Roman sources as Lazica. Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the multitude of languages they spoke. Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi and Moschoi peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the shore of the Black Sea. Around the mid 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia for 20 years, Abkhazia, or Abasgia in classic sources, formerly part of Colchis and later of Egrisi until the late 690s, was a princedom under Byzantine authority. The country was mostly Christian, with the seat in Pityus. An Arab incursion into Abkhazia led by Marwan II, was repelled by Leon I jointly with his Egrisian and Kartlian allies in 736, after acquiring Egrisi via a dynastic union in the 780s the Kingdom of Abkhazia was established and became a dominant power in western Caucasus. During this period the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy, the western Georgian kingdom flourished between 850 and 950 when it annexed significant parts of central Georgia. In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire and Islam. Under Ottoman rule, the majority of Abkhaz elite converted to Islam, the principality retained a degree of autonomy
2.
Districts of Abkhazia
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In Soviet times, the Abkhazian ASSR was divided into six raions named after their respective capitals. The Georgian government, which claims Abkhazia as an Autonomous region, Districts are led by the Head of the Administration, who is simultaneously Mayor of the Districts capital, except in the case of Sukhumi. The Head of the Administration is appointed by the President following consultations with the District Assembly, according to the popular belief the seven stripes of the Abkhazian flag correspond to the seven historical regions of the country, the seventh one being Pskhu-Aibga
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Capital (political)
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A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government. In some jurisdictions, including countries, the different branches of government are located in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. The word capital derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, in several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, subnational capitals are known as administrative centres. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent, historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Changan, Ancient Cusco, Madrid, Paris, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e. g. Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Ancient Babylon, Moscow, Belgrade, Paris, and Peking. A capital city that is also the economic, cultural. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal, traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e. g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its city, as occurred at Babylon. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such, for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, are located in or near them. In Canada, there is a capital, while the ten provinces. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia all have capital cities, for example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Australia, the capital cities is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin. Abu Dhabi is the city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent countries, such as the United Kingdom or the Kingdom of Denmark, the national capitals of Germany and Russia, the Stadtstaat of Berlin and the Federal City of Moscow, are also constituent states of both countries in their own right
5.
Ochamchire
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Ochamchire or Ochamchira is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia. And a centre of the eponymous district, according to the 1978 population census, Ochamchire had 18,700 residents. After the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict of 1992-93, Ochamchire experienced a significant population decline due to ethnic cleansing of Georgians, most of the internally displaced persons who were affected by the conflict have yet to return to the city. Ochamchire lies along the bank of the Ghalidzga River at an elevation of 5 metres above sea level. The city is located 53 kilometres southeast of Sukhumi capital city, ochamchires climate is humid subtropical, with mild winters and hot summers. The average annual temperature is 13.6 degrees Celsius, januarys average temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius while the average temperature in July is 23 degrees Celsius. According to Itar Tass, in 2009, Russia planned to construct a new base for its Black Sea Fleet in Ochamchire. The former Georgian Soviet footballer Vitaly Daraselia was from Ochamchire, Ochamchire is twinned with the following cites, Kostroma, Russia Bendery, Transnistria Georgian State Encyclopedia
6.
Administrative divisions of Georgia (country)
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The subdivisions of Georgia are autonomous republics, regions, and municipalities. Georgia a unitary state, whose borders are defined by the law as corresponding to the situation of 21 December 1991 and it includes two autonomous republics, those of Adjara and Abkhazia, the latter being outside Georgias effective control. The former, Soviet-era autonomous entity of South Ossetia, also not currently under Georgias de facto jurisdiction, has no final defined constitutional status in Georgias territorial arrangement. The territory of Georgia is currently subdivided into a total of 76 municipalities—12 self-governing cities, including the capital of Tbilisi. Tbilisi itself is divided into ten districts, the two autonomous republics, Abkhazia and Adjara, were established during the Soviet regime and are recognized by the modern Constitution of Georgia adopted in 1995. Georgia considers Abkhazia as its autonomous republic, whose government sits in exile in Tbilisi, abkhazias territory, in the Kodori Valley, which had been under Georgias control prior to the Russo–Georgian War of 2008, is de jure the self-governing community of Azhara. Abkhazias secessionist government divides the territory into seven districts. South Ossetia enjoyed the status of an autonomous oblast in the Soviet era, after the military conflicts in 1991–1992 and 2008, Georgia considers the former Autonomous Oblast of South Ossetia an occupied territory. Its status is not constitutionally defined by Georgia, but there is a Provisional Administration of South Ossetia sitting in exile in Tbilisi. The territory which had been under Georgias control prior to the Russo–Georgian War of 2008, was organized into four municipalities, South Ossetias secessionist government divides the entitys territory into four districts. The laws of Georgia include a notion that the final subdivision, regions were established by Presidential decrees from 1994 to 1996, on a provisional basis until the secessionist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are resolved. They roughly correspond to the principal historical and geographical areas of Georgia. According to the Georgian law, a municipality is a settlement or a group of settlement with defined borders, there are two types of municipalities—self-governing cities,12 in total, and self-governing communities,64 in total. The current municipalities were established from 2006 to 2014, most of the municipalities recapitulate the boundaries and names of earlier subdivisions, known as raioni. List of cities and towns in Georgia ISO 3166-2 codes for regions and autonomous republics of Georgia
7.
Tkvarcheli District
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Tkvarcheli District is a district of the Republic of Abkhazia. It has no equivalent Georgian district, as it was formed in 1995 from parts of Ochamchira District and Gali District, centered on its eponymous capital. The population of the district was 14,477 at the time of the 2003 census, by the 2011 census, it had increased to 16,012. Of note is Bedia Cathedral located within the district, at the time of the 2011 census, the population of the district was 16,012. The company was criticised for neglecting environmental requirements, construction of a new cement plant is planned now, its output to be used for the Olympic construction projects in Sochi. Valeri Kharchilava was reappointed as Administration Head on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections, on 27 March 2003, Kharchilava announced at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers that he wanted to resign. On 31 March 2003, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Daur Arshba was appointed the new Administration Head, on 22 March 2005, newly elected President Sergei Bagapsh dismissed Daur Arshba and appointed Timur Gogua in his stead. On 23 February 2007, before the elections, President Bagapsh temporarily prolonged Timur Goguas tenure as Head of the District Administration. After Gogua was re-elected to the District Assembly, he was permanently re-appointed on 21 March, following the election of Raul Khajimba as President, he on 3 November appointed Aida Chachkhalia as District Head in Argunias stead. The districts main settlements are, Tkvarcheli
8.
Battle of the Kodori Valley
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The Battle of the Kodori Valley was a military operation during the Russo-Georgian War in the Upper Kodori Valley of Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia. It was the part of Abkhazia, which was under Georgian control before this military conflict. On 9 August 2008, the Abkhaz military, with support by Russian forces, after three days, the Georgian military left the Upper Kodori Valley. Russia sent naval vessels to blockade Georgias Black Sea coast, according to the Russian navy, a group of ships from Russias Black Sea Fleet, including the flagship Moskva missile cruiser, arrived on 10 August 2008 near the Georgian border. The source in the Russian Navys headquarters claimed, that the purpose of the Black Sea Fleet vessels presence in this region is to aid to refugees. On 10 August 2008, the Georgian government said, that 6,000 Russian troops had rolled into South Ossetia from the neighbouring Russian province of North Ossetia and 4,000 more landed in Abkhazia. On the morning of 9 August 2008, the Abkhaz de facto deputy defense minister requested, UNOMIG then withdrew all 15 observers from the Upper Kodori Valley. The Abkhaz de facto authorities announced a decision, taken by president Bagapsh, on the afternoon, UNOMIG reported aerial bombardments of Georgian villages in the Upper Kodori Valley. On 10 August, the president of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh and he gave both Georgian civilians and armed personnel an ultimatum to leave the Upper Kodori Valley. He also said, that the government of Abkhazia had requested Russia to take measures to strengthen the Abkhaz maritime border, Bagapsh said, that his decision to start a military operation against the Upper Kodori Valley was approved by the parliament. A second front against Georgia was opened, in a separate report by Interfax news agency, Sergei Bagapsh said, that its aviation is currently conducting an operation in the upper part of the Kodori gorge of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia. Shamba also said, Today was only the part of the operation by heavy artillery supported by aviation. Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili was quoted by the Itar-Tass agency as saying that Georgia had defeated all attacks on the part of the Kodori gorge. On 10 August Abkhaz warplanes and artillery continued to pound Georgian positions for a day in a row. Bagapsh said, Abkhazia was acting independently, the separatist authorities of Abkhazia announced a full military mobilisation. The president of Abkhazia said, that around 1,000 special Abkhaz troops were involved in operations against Georgian forces and they were attacking the Georgians using warplanes, multiple rocket launchers and artillery. The operation will enter the next phase as planned, and you will learn about that, he said, adding that he would create a humanitarian corridor, allowing residents to flee. On 11 August 2008, the Abkhaz defense minister, Mirab Kishmaria, told the Russian news agency Interfax, on 12 August 2008, Abkhaz authorities announced a military offensive against Georgian troops in the Kodori gorge
9.
Georgia (country)
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Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi, Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its 2016 population is about 3.72 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy, during the classical era, several independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century, a unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Thereafter the kingdom declined and eventually disintegrated under hegemony of various powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire. Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various treaties with Iran. Since the establishment of the modern Georgian republic in April 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil, the countrys Western orientation soon led to the worsening of relations with Russia, culminating in the brief Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. Georgia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and it contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia and a part of the international community consider the regions to be part of Georgias sovereign territory under Russian military occupation. Georgia probably stems from the Persian designation of the Georgians – gurğān, in the 11th and 12th centuries adapted via Syriac gurz-ān/gurz-iyān, starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. This term itself might have established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region. The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi, the medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, the name Sakartvelo consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i, specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, ancient Greeks and Romans referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians. Today the full, official name of the country is Georgia, before the 1995 constitution came into force the countrys name was the Republic of Georgia. The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era, the proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. The earliest evidence of wine to date has found in Georgia. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, the classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which was Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east
10.
Upper Abkhazia
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Upper Abkhazia is a term introduced in 2006, to denote the northeastern part of the disputed territory of Abkhazia, that had remained under Georgian control after the 1992-1993 War in Abkhazia. From September 2006 until August 2008 its main village, Chkhalta and this situation came to an end in the Battle of the Kodori Valley in August 2008, when Upper Abkhazia was conquered by the Russo-Abkhazia armies, which had already controlled the rest of Abkhazia. Geographically, Upper Abkhazia comprised the Upper Kodori Valley, the Chkhalta Ridge and it was populated by some 2,000 people, chiefly ethnic Georgians. The area underwent a rehabilitation program, including the reconstruction of infrastructure. On August 12,2008, during the 2008 South Ossetia war, Kodori Valley Sadzen Abkhazia says it controls most of Kodori Valley Detailed History of Upper Abkhazia
11.
Sergei Bagapsh
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Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh was the second President of the Republic of Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and was elected as President in 2005. He was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election and he died on 29 May 2011, at the age of 62, from complications of surgery. Sergei Bagapsh was born on 4 March 1949 at Sukhumi in the Georgian SSR, throughout most of his life, he had lived in Abkhazia. In his youth, Bagapsh was a member of the Georgian basketball team, Bagapsh graduated from the Georgian State University of Subtropical Agriculture in Sukhumi. During his studies he worked first, in a wine cooperative, in 1972, he fulfilled his military service, worked as the head of a sovkhoz following which he became instructor with the Abkhazian regional committee of the Komsomol. In 1978, Bagapsh became responsible for information in the committee of the Komsomols Georgian branch and in 1980. In 1982, Sergei Bagapsh became secretary general of the communist party in the Ochamchira district, after the fall of communism, Bagapsh became a businessman and the representative of the Abkhazian government in Moscow. From 1995 until 1997, Bagapsh was First Vice-Premier of Abkhazia, on 9 November 1995, Bagapsh was seriously wounded in an attack. Sergei Bagapsh was appointed to the office of Prime Minister of Abkhazia on 29 April 1997, the Georgian-Abkhazian tensions during Bagapshs term in office came to a height in May 1998, when the Tbilisi-based government deployed forces along the Abkhaz-Georgian border. From 2000 until 2004, Sergei Bagapsh was the director of the Abkhazian state-owned power company Chernomorenergo. During the same period, he began to emerge as an opposition candidate in the lead-up to the 2004 presidential election. In early 2004, he one of three leaders of the newly founded opposition party, United Abkhazia. In the elections, Bagapsh and his opponent, Raul Khadjimba. The Abkhaz Electoral Commission originally declared Khadjimba to be the winner, with Bagapsh a distant second, the court then reversed its decision when Khadjimbas supporters stormed the court building. At one point, Bagapsh and his supporters threatened to hold their own inauguration on 6 December 2004, however, in early December, Bagapsh and Khadjimba reached an agreement to run together on a national unity ticket. New elections were held on 12 January 2005, with this ticket easily winning, under the agreement, Bagapsh ran for president and Khadjimba ran for vice-president. Bagapsh was nominated on 27 October by United Abkhazia, with Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab of Aitaira as his Vice Presidential candidate, on 18 November, Bagapsh received the additional support of the Communist Party of Abkhazia
12.
Abkhazian presidential election, 2005
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Presidential elections were held in the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia on 12 January 2005. On 5 December 2004 Bagapsh and Khadjimba agreed to new elections. In these elections they would run on a joint ticket, with Khadjimba as vice presidential candidate, on 17 December, Sergei Bagapsh was officially nominated by an initiative group. In the early morning of 23 December an explosion occurred in the centre of Sukhumi, later that day, Iakub Lakoba, who had come fifth and last in the first election, was nominated by an initiative group. Bagapsh and Lakoba were officially registered as candidates by the Central Election Commission on 28 December, Bagapsh and Khajimba garnered 91. 54% of the vote, making a second round unnecessary. On 2 June 2005, United Abkhazia suspended the membership of Sergei Bagapsh, as required by the Abkhazian constitution since he had become President
13.
Daur Tarba
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Daur Tarba is the current Minister for Agriculture of Abkhazia. In the past, he has also been Chairman of United Abkhazia at a time when it was the party, Vice Premier. After the election of Sergei Bagapsh as president of Abkhazia, Tarba was appointed head of the State Committee for State Property, on 3 April 2007 Tarba was appointed head of the Ochamchira District. After the re-election of Sergei Bagapsh, Tarba was appointed Vice Premier on 24 February 2010, however, on 25 February 2011, Tarba announced that he was resigning, without specifying his reasons. His resignation was approved by President Bagapsh on 4 March, on 30 March, he was succeeded by Minister for Taxes and Levies Vakhtang Pipia. The political council accepted his resignation and appointed Aleksei Tania as acting Chairman, on 24 August 2016, Tarba was appointed Agriculture Minister in the cabinet of new Prime Minister Beslan Bartsits, succeeding Timur Eshba
14.
United Abkhazia
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United Abkhazia is a political party in Abkhazia. United Abkhazia was founded on March 25,2004 as a socio-political movement, bagapsh won the elections by a small margin, but new elections were held because of a dispute over the results with runner up, former Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba. Bagapsh and Khadjimba agreed to run together on a national unity ticket, in 2008, United Abkhazia signed a cooperation agreement with Russian party United Russia. On 27 January 2009, almost five years after its foundation, daur Tarba, who had headed the Ochamchira district before, became the new chairman, Alkhas Kardava First Deputy Chairman and Zurab Kajaia Deputy Chairman. United Abkhazia held its fourth congress on 27 January 2012, which was attended by 359 delegates, the political council accepted his resignation and appointed Aleksei Tania as acting Chairman. The following day, Tamaz Khashba, Spartak Kapba and Aleksandr Tsyshba, Chairmen of the Tquarchal, on 27 January 2016, United Abkhazia held its sixth congress, which was attended by 375 delegates. It elected MP and former Prime Minister Sergei Shamba as its Chairman, as well as MP Robert Yaylyan, jurist Viktor Vasiliev and it was said in the sidelines of the congress that Tarba had stepped down so as to make room for his long-time friend Shamba. On 8 July, United Abkhazia signed a agreement with South Ossetian party United Ossetia. Khishba subsequently resigned as party branch head
15.
2014 Abkhazian political crisis
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The Abkhazian Revolution took place in 2014, when President Aleksandr Ankvab resigned after hundreds of demonstrators stormed his office. The uprising was attributed to anger with Ankvab over his perceived liberal policy toward ethnic Georgians in Abkhazia. Although Abkhazia seceded from Georgia in 2008, the Ankvab administration allowed ethnic Georgians to register as voters, the revolution led to an early presidential election being called in August 2014. Opposition leader Raul Khajimba was elected president with a majority of the vote. In May 2011, Sergei Bagapsh died in office, leading to the 2011 presidential election, Alexander Ankvab won with 54. 9% of the votes. In late April 2014, the opposition submitted a 5 May ultimatum to President Ankvab to dismiss the government, may 27, In the centre of Sukhumi 10,000 supporters of the Abkhaz opposition gathered. On the same day, President Aleksandr Ankvabs headquarters in Sukhumi were stormed by opposition groups led by Raul Khadjimba, the opposition claimed that the protests were sparked by poverty, but the main point of contention was President Ankvabs liberal policy towards ethnic Georgians in the Gali region. The opposition said these policies could endanger Abkhazias ethnic Abkhazian identity, georgia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to act in response to the political unrest in Abkhazia. May 28, During the night, Russias Deputy Security Council Secretary Rashid Nurgaliyev met with Ankvab, who described the events as a coup attempt. ”It was also reported that Ankvab met with Putin’s aide Vladislav Surkov. On May 28 Surkov also met opposition leaders Raul Khajimba, Sergei Shamba, Akhra Bzhaniya. On May 30 media reported that Ankvab moved to Russian Federation military base in Gudauta due to security concerns, may 31, The Abkhaz parliament appointed speaker of the parliament Valeri Bganba as an acting President. It also decided to hold a presidential election on August 24. The resolution said that the document was adopted in connection with Alexander Ankvabs inability to exercise the powers, President Ankvab slammed parliament for urging him to step down and for a vote of no confidence in the Cabinet. June 1, Ankvab resigned with the goal of preserving stability in the country, demonstrators started celebrating in the streets of Sukhumi. Acting President Valeri Bgangba stated that his task now would be to hold a successful early presidential election. Ankvab stated that he run in the election. June 3, Acting President Valeri Bgangba stated that his task now would be to hold a successful early presidential election. Ankvab stated that he run in the election
16.
Valeri Bganba
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Valeri Bganba is the current Speaker of the Peoples Assembly of Abkhazia. He was elected as speaker on 3 April 2012, Bganba became acting President on 1 June 2014, following the resignation of Alexander Ankvab as a result of the 2014 Abkhazian political crisis. On 25 September 2014 he was replaced by Raul Khajimba, the winner of the elections on 24 August. Valeri Bganba was born on 26 August 1953 in the village of Bzyb in Gagra District, between 1971 and 1976 he attended the Kuban Agriculture Institute. In 1991, Valeri Bganba was elected to Abkhazias Supreme Soviet, in 1998, and again in 2001, he was elected Chairman of the Gagra District Assembly. In December 2002 Bganba was appointed Governor of the Gagra District, succeeding Grigori Enik, on 25 May 2006, Bganba was released from office by President Sergei Bagapsh upon his own request, and succeeded by Astamur Ketsba. In March 2007, Bganba once more became a member of the Peoples Assembly of Abkhazia when in the election he won a second round victory in constituency no.9. In the March 2012 elections, he was one of five deputies to retain their seat. During the first session of the 5th convocation of the Peoples Assembly on 3 April, Bganba was elected Speaker, bganbas predecessor as Speaker Nugzar Ashuba had failed to get re-elected
17.
Raul Khajimba
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Raul Khajimba is the current President of Abkhazia, having been elected in 2014 after the May Revolution. He was also Chairman of the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia from 2010 -2015, Khajimba previously held the offices of Vice President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister. He unsuccessfully ran for President in 2004,2009 and 2011, Raul Khajimba was born on 21 March 1958 in Tkvarcheli, where he went to school and worked as a mechanic at the power station. From 1976 until 1978, he served in the Soviet Air Defence Forces, from 1979 until 1984, he graduated from the Law Faculty of the Abkhazian State University. From 1985 until 1986 Khajimba studied at the KGB school in Minsk, during the 1992–1993 war with Georgia, Khajimba was the head of the military intelligence and counterintelligence operation on the eastern front. For his work, he was awarded the Order of Leon, from 1996 until 1998, Khajimba headed the anti-smuggling division of the State Customs Committee. In 1998, he became its Deputy Chairman, after a bomb attack on 13 December 1999 in Sukhumi targeting government officials, President Ardzinba dismissed Astamur Tarba as Security Service Chairman and appointed Khajimba in his stead. On 18 June 2001, he additionally became First Vice Premier, on 1 November he was succeeded as Head of the State Security Service by Interior Minister Zurab Agumava. On 16 May 2002, Khajimba was appointed Defence Minister, replacing Vladimir Mikanba, in the evening of 7 April 2003, Prime Minister Gennadi Gagulia filed for resignation. Early in the morning of day, nine prisoners had escaped. President Ardzinba initially refused to accept Gagulias resignation, but was forced to agree on 8 April, on 22 April 2003, Raul Khajimba was appointed the new Prime Minister. He remained Prime Minister until October 2004, as then-President Vladislav Ardzinba was seriously ill and did not appear in public during his term, Khajimba acted as a de facto head of state in his absence. In this role, he met a number of leaders, including Igor Ivanov. He has been an opponent of reunification with Georgia. Khadjimba was tipped as the favourite to win the October 2004 presidential elections, both men campaigned on his behalf and dedicated significant resources to assisting the Khadjimba campaign. However, opposition candidate Sergei Bagapsh polled more votes on election day, after the election, both Bagapsh and Khadjimba claimed victory, with Khadjimba alleging that electoral fraud in the pro-Bagapsh Gali region had been responsible for Bagapshs win. In December 2004, Khadjimba and Bagapsh came to an agreement which would see the run as part of a national unity ticket in repeat elections. As part of deal, the position of vice-president was given expanded powers covering defence
18.
Vladislav Ardzinba
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Vladislav Ardzinba was the first de facto President of Abkhazia. A noted specialist in Hittitology, he was a member of the first parliament to be elected democratically in the Soviet Union in 1989, vladislav Ardzinba was born in the village of Lower Eshera, Sukhumi District, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union. After graduating from the Historical Department of the Sukhumi Pedagogical Institute, from there, he was involved closely with national issues, including Abkhazia, and quickly emerged as one of the most active proponents of the Abkhaz secessionist cause. He was a member of the first parliament to be elected democratically in the Soviet Union in 1989, on 4 December 1990, Ardzinba was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Abkhazia. Ardzinba, a charismatic but excitable figure popular among the Abkhaz was believed by Georgians to have helped to instigate the violence of July 1989. In mid-1991, he negotiated and accepted the Georgian concession on the reform of the law that granted the Abkhaz wide over-representation in the Supreme Soviet. However, Ardzinba created the Abkhazian National Guard that was mono-ethnically Abkhaz, as the Georgian-Abkhaz tensions rose, Ardzinbas rhetoric mounted, as he claimed in late July 1992 that Abkhazia is strong enough to fight Georgia. In August 1992, a Georgian military force ousted Ardzinba and his group from Sukhumi and they took shelter in Gudauta, a home to the Soviet-era Russian military base. Ardzinba benefited from his contacts with the Russian hardliner circles and military leaders to garner support in the war against the Georgian government. He won the first direct polls on 3 October 1999, without an opponent and was re-elected as president of Abkhazia and he installed an autocratic regime and remained politically untouchable until his health seriously deteriorated in 2003. He once stated that independence from Georgia is not negotiable, and he has tried to align the state with Russia, whose political and economic support was essential to the republic. As a leader of the Abkhaz side he met the two successive Russian presidents, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, as well as a President of Georgia, Ardzinba aroused some further criticism from the international community after issuing a decree banning Jehovahs Witnesses in 1995. During the last years of his presidency Ardzinba faced criticism for failing to bring stability to Abkhazia and his increasingly low public profile. He had not appeared in public since 2002, as a result, the role of governing the state had been increasingly left to Prime Minister Raul Khajimba. He had been in poor health and underwent treatment in Moscow for some time. There were also calls for him to be impeached, however, although the Abkhaz Constitution allows for impeachment, the process would likely have not been completed before the end of his term, so no serious steps were taken to bring it about. He was unable to run for a term due to constitutional restrictions. He was replaced by the winner of the election of 12 January 2005
19.
Alexander Ankvab
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Aleksandr Ankvab is an Abkhaz politician and businessman who was President of Abkhazia from May 29,2011, until his resignation on June 1,2014. Under President Sergei Bagapsh, he served as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2010. Ankvab was appointed acting President of Abkhazia after President Bagapsh underwent an operation on May 21,2011, following the operation, Bagapsh died on May 29,2011 and Ankvab served as Acting President until winning election in his own right later in 2011. Ankvab survived six attempts on his life from 2005 to 2012, last time as a president on February 22,2012, when his convoy was ambushed in Abkhazia, killing two of his guards. On May 27,2014, Ankvabs headquarters in Sukhumi were stormed by opposition groups led by Raul Khadjimba, the Abkhaz parliament declared Ankvab unable to exercise his presidential powers on May 31,2014, and Ankvab resigned on June 1,2014. He was elected to the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet in 1991 and he was appointed interior minister of Abkhazias separatist government during the 1992–1993 conflict with the Georgian central government. Following the Abkhaz victory, he moved to Moscow in 1994, Ankvab returned to Abkhazian politics in 2000, setting up the movement Aitaira in opposition to the government of President Vladislav Ardzinba. In 2004 he announced that he would run for president, but was disqualified as ineligible on the grounds that he could not speak Abkhaz and had lived in Abkhazia for too short a time, Ankvab decided to support Bagapsh instead and was crucial to the latters electoral success. His appointment as minister was widely predicted. Ankvab was Sergei Bagapshs Vice Presidential candidate in the 12 December 2009 presidential election, as required by law, Ankvab was therefore officially suspended from his post on 11 November, his duties to be carried out by First Vice Premier Leonid Lakerbaia. Bagapsh and Ankvab won the election, and they were sworn in on 12 February 2010, the following day, Ankvab was succeeded as Prime Minister by Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba. After Bagapshs unexpected death after surgery, Ankvab became an acting president. He was nominated for presidency by a group for a snap presidential elections held in the region on August 26,2011. Ankvab accused Shamba of resorting to black PR, while Shambas campaign team issued a statement calling on the office to investigate Ankvabs war-time activities. According to the preliminary results Ankvab garnered up to 55% of votes, defeating Shamba and ex-vice president, the last assassination attempt killed two of Ankvabs security guards, he himself was injured in the two previous attacks. Only after the February 2012 assassination attempt arrests were made, former Interior Minister Almasbei Kchach was one of two suspects who subsequently committed suicide. One man was indicted and arrested for the July 2007 attack. One of the issues that sparked the rebellion was Ankvabs relatively liberal citizenship policy
20.
Abkhazians
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Abkhazians or the Abkhaz are a Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the emigration from the Caucasus in the late 19th century known as muhajirism, many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine. The Abkhaz is closely related to Circassian. Classical sources speak of several tribes dwelling in the region, but their exact identity, there are also three subgroups of the Abkhaz people. The Bzyb reside in the Bzyb River region, and speak their own dialect, the Abzhui live in the Kodori River region, and also speak their own dialect, which the Abkhaz literary language is based upon. Finally, there is the Zamurzakan who reside in the southeast of Abkhazia, some scholars deem the ancient Heniochi tribe the progenitors of the Abkhaz. This warlike people came into contact with Ancient Greeks through the colonies of Dioskourias and Pitiuntas, in the Roman period, the Abasgoi are mentioned as inhabiting the region. These Abasgoi were described by Procopius as warlike, worshippers of three deities, under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Lazica, the Abkhazian view is that the Apsilae and Abasgoi are ancestors of the Abkhaz–Adyghe group of peoples, while the Georgian view is that those were Kartvelians. When the Achba dynasty established the Kingdom of Abkhazia in the 780s and freed themselves from the Byzantine hegemony, the local nobility, clergy and educated class used Georgian as a language of literacy and culture. Georgian would remain the second language for many Abkhaz until Russian replaced it in the early 20th century. From the early 11th to the 15th century, Abkhazia was a part of the all-Georgian monarchy, towards the end of the 17th century, the region became a theatre of widespread slave trade and piracy. These views were described as ethnocentric and having little historical support and they served as intellectual support to the Stalin-era assimilation policy and had a profound influence on the Georgian nationalism in the 1980s. The Russian conquest of Abkhazia from the 1810s to the 1860s was accompanied by a massive expulsion of Muslim Abkhaz to the Ottoman Empire, as a result, the Abkhaz diaspora is currently estimated to measure at least twice the number of Abkhaz that reside in Abkhazia. The largest part of the diaspora now lives in Turkey, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 500,000, with groups in Syria. In recent years, some of these have emigrated to the West, principally to Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, the status of Abkhazia was downgraded in 1931 when it became an Autonomous SSR within the Georgian SSR. Under Joseph Stalin, a forcible collectivization was introduced and the native communist elite purged, the influx of Armenians, Russians and Georgians into the growing agricultural and tourism sectors was also encouraged, and Abkhaz schools were briefly closed. By 1989, the number of Abkhaz was about 93,000, the number of Armenians and Russians grew substantially as well. The 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia left the Abkhaz an ethnic plurality of ca. 45%, with Russians, Armenians, Georgians, Greeks, the 2003 census established the total number of Abkhaz in Abkhazia at 94,606
21.
Georgians
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The Georgians or Kartvelians are a nation and ethnic group who constitute a majority of the population in Georgia. Large Georgian communities are present throughout Russia, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Ukraine, United States. Georgians arose from the ancient Colchian and Iberian civilizations, there are also small Georgian Catholic and Muslim communities in Tbilisi and Adjara, as well as a significant number of irreligious Georgians. By the early 11th century they formed a unified Kingdom of Georgia and inaugurated the Georgian Golden Age and this lasted until being weakened by Mongol invasions, as well as internal divisions following the death of George V the Brilliant, the last of the great kings of Georgia. To ensure Georgias survival, in 1783 Heraclius II of Georgia forged an alliance with the Russian Empire, the Russo-Georgian alliance, however, backfired as Russia was unwilling to fulfill the terms of the treaty, proceeding to annex the troubled kingdom in 1801. Georgians briefly reasserted their independence from Russia under the First Georgian Republic from 1918-1921, Georgians call themselves Kartvelebi, their land Sakartvelo, and their language Kartuli. According to The Georgian Chronicles, the ancestor of the Kartvelian people was Kartlos, however, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, the latter being one of the proto-Georgian tribes that emerged as a dominant group in ancient times. Ancient Greeks and Romans referred to western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians, the term Georgians is derived from the country of Georgia. Starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic. This term itself might have established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region. Scholars usually refer to them as Proto-Kartvelian tribes, the Georgian people in antiquity have been known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Colchians and Iberians. East Georgian tribes of Tibarenians-Iberians formed their kingdom in 7th century BCE, however, western Georgian tribes established the first Georgian state of Colchis before the foundation of the Iberian Kingdom in the east. According to the scholars of Georgia, the formations of these two early Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia, resulted in the consolidation and uniformity of the Georgian nation. The ancient Jewish chronicle by Josephus mentions Georgians as Iberes who were also called Thobel, diauehi in Assyrian sources and Taochi in Greek lived in the northeastern part of Anatolia, a region that was part of Georgia. This ancient tribe is considered by scholars as ancestors of the Georgians. Modern Georgians still refer to this region, which now belongs to present-day Turkey, as Tao-Klarjeti, some people there still speak the Georgian language. Colchians in the ancient western Georgian Kingdom of Colchis were another proto-Georgian tribed and they are first mentioned in the Assyrian annals of Tiglath-Pileser I and in the annals of Urartian king Sarduri II, and are also included western Georgian tribe of the Meskhetians. Iberians, also known as Tiberians or Tiberanians, lived in the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia, both Colchians and Iberians played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the modern Georgian nation
22.
Armenians
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Armenians are an ethnic group native to the Armenian Highlands. Armenians constitute the population of Armenia and the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. There is a diaspora of around 5 million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry living outside of modern Armenia. The largest Armenian populations today exist in Russia, the United States, France, Georgia, Iran, Germany, Ukraine, Lebanon, Brazil and Syria. With the exceptions of Iran and the former Soviet states, the present-day Armenian diaspora was formed mainly as a result of the Armenian Genocide, most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a non-Chalcedonian church, which is also the worlds oldest national church. Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus death, due to the efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew, in the early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity as a state religion. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, historically, the name Armenian has come to internationally designate this group of people. It was first used by neighbouring countries of ancient Armenia, the earliest attestations of the exonym Armenia date around the 6th century BC. In his trilingual Behistun Inscription dated to 517 BC, Darius I the Great of Persia refers to Urashtu as Armina (in Old Persian, Armina and Harminuya. In Greek, Αρμένιοι Armenians is attested from about the same time, xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC. He relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians and it is also further postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. Movses Khorenatsi, the important early medieval Armenian historian, wrote that the word Armenian originated from the name Armenak or Aram, the Armenian Highland lies in the highlands surrounding Mount Ararat, the highest peak of the region. In the Bronze Age, several states flourished in the area of Greater Armenia, including the Hittite Empire, Mitanni, soon after Hayasa-Azzi were Arme-Shupria, the Nairi and the Kingdom of Urartu, who successively established their sovereignty over the Armenian Highland. Each of the nations and tribes participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people. Under Ashurbanipal, the Assyrian empire reached the Caucasus Mountains, yerevan, the modern capital of Armenia, was founded in 782 BC by king Argishti I. T. Gamkrelidze and V. Ivanov proposed the Indo-European homeland around the Armenian Highland, eric P. Hamp in his 2012 Indo-European family tree, groups the Armenian language along with Greek and Ancient Macedonian in the Pontic Indo-European subgroup. In Hamps view the homeland of this subgroup is the northeast coast of the Black Sea and he assumes that they migrated from there southeast through the Caucasus with the Armenians remaining after Batumi while the pre-Greeks proceeded westwards along the southern coast of the Black Sea. However, fresh genetics studies explain Armenian diversity by several mixtures of Eurasian populations that occurred between ~3,000 and ~2,000 b. c
23.
Russians
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Russians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. The majority of Russians inhabit the state of Russia, while notable minorities exist in Ukraine, Kazakhstan. A large Russian diaspora exists all over the world, with numbers in the United States, Germany, Israel. Russians are the most numerous group in Europe. They are predominantly Orthodox Christians by religion, the Russian language is official in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and also spoken as a secondary language in many former Soviet states. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians. One is русские, which most often means ethnic Russians, another is россияне, which means citizens of Russia. The former word refers to ethnic Russians, regardless of what country they live in, under certain circumstances this term may or may not extend to denote members of other Russian-speaking ethnic groups from Russia, or from the former Soviet Union. The latter word refers to all people holding citizenship of Russia, regardless of their ethnicity, translations into other languages often do not distinguish these two groups. The name of the Russians derives from the Rus people, the name Rus would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden, Ruotsi and Rootsi. According to other theories the name Rus is derived from Proto-Slavic *roud-s-ь, the modern Russians formed from two groups of East Slavic tribes, Northern and Southern. The tribes involved included the Krivichs, Ilmen Slavs, Radimichs, Vyatiches, genetic studies show that modern Russians do not differ significantly from Belarusians and Ukrainians. Some ethnographers, like Zelenin, affirm that Russians are more similar to Belarusians, such Uralic peoples included the Merya and the Muromians. Outside archaeological remains, little is known about the predecessors to Russians in general prior to 859 AD when the Primary Chronicle starts its records and it is thought that by 600 AD, the Slavs had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches. Later, both Belarusians and South Russians formed on this ethnic linguistic ground, the same Slavic ethnic population also settled the present-day Tver Oblast and the region of Beloozero. With the Uralic substratum, they formed the tribes of the Krivichs, in 2010, the worlds Russian population was 129 million people of which 86% were in Russia,11. 5% in the CIS and Baltic countries, with a further 2. 5% living in other countries. Roughly 111 million ethnic Russians live in Russia, 80% of whom live in the European part of Russia, ethnic Russians historically migrated throughout the area of former Russian Empire and Soviet Union, sometimes encouraged to re-settle in borderlands by the Tsarist and later Soviet government. On some occasions ethnic Russian communities, such as Lipovans who settled in the Danube delta or Doukhobors in Canada, after the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War starting in 1917, many Russians were forced to leave their homeland fleeing the Bolshevik regime, and millions became refugees
24.
Ukrainians
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Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is by total population the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term Ukrainians to all its citizens, also among historical names of the people of Ukraine Rusyns, Cossacks, etc. can be found. According to some definitions, a descriptive name for the inhabitants of Ukraine is Ukrainian or Ukrainian people. Belarusians and Russians are considered among the bloodline of Ukrainians, while Rusyns are another closely related group, the ethnonym Ukrainians became widely accepted only in the 20th century after their territory obtained distinctive statehood in 1917. People of these territories were usually called Rus or Rusyns, the Ukrainian language appeared in the 14th – 16th centuries, but at that time, it was mostly known as Ruthenian, like its brothers. In the 16th – 17th centuries, with the establishment of the Zaporizhian Sich, however, the ethnonym Ukrainians and the linguonym Ukrainian were used only occasionally, and the people of Ukraine usually continued to call themselves and their language Ruthenian. This official name did not spread widely among the peasantry constituted the majority of the population. Ukrainian peasants still referred to their country as Ukraine and to themselves, in areas outside the control of the Russian/Soviet state until the mid-20th century, Ukrainians were known by their pre-existing names for much longer. The modern name derives from Ukrayina, a name first documented in 1187. Several scientific theories attempt to explain the etymology of the term, according to some new alternative Ukrainian historians such as Hryhoriy Pivtorak, Vitaly Sklyarenko and other scholars, translate the term u-kraine as in-land, home-land or our-country. The name in this context derives from the word u-kraina in the sense of domestic region, in the last few centuries the population of Ukraine experienced periods of Polonization and Russification, but preserved a common culture and a sense of common identity. Most ethnic Ukrainians live in Ukraine, where make up over three-quarters of the population. The inhabitants of the Kuban, for example, have vacillated among three identities, Ukrainian, Russian, and Cossack, approximately 800,000 people of Ukrainian ancestry live in the Russian Far East in an area known historically as Green Ukraine. According to some assumptions, an estimated number of almost 2.1 million people of Ukrainian origin live in North America. Large numbers of Ukrainians live in Brazil, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Poland, Argentina, Belarus, Portugal, there are also Ukrainian diasporas in the UK, Australia, Germany, Latvia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ireland, Sweden and the former Yugoslavia. Today, large ethnic Ukrainian minorities reside in Russia, Canada, Ukrainians have one of the largest diasporas in the world. The East Slavs emerged from the undifferentiated early Slavs with the Slavic migrations in the 6th and 7th centuries CE, the East Slavs were united in the Kievan Rus during the 9th to 13th centuries. East Slavic tribes cited as proto-Ukrainian include the Volhynians, Derevlianians, Polianians, and Siverianians and the less significant Ulychians, Tivertsians, the Gothic historian Jordanes and 6th-century Byzantine authors named two groups that lived in the south-east of Europe, Sclavins and Antes
25.
Greeks
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The Greeks or Hellenes are an ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, Turkey, Sicily, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, other countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world, many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of ancient Greek colonization. The cultural centers of the Greeks have included Athens, Thessalonica, Alexandria, Smyrna, most ethnic Greeks live nowadays within the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. The Greek genocide and population exchange between Greece and Turkey nearly ended the three millennia-old Greek presence in Asia Minor, other longstanding Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and southern Russia and Ukraine and in the Greek diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Greeks speak the Greek language, which forms its own unique branch within the Indo-European family of languages, the Hellenic. They are part of a group of ethnicities, described by Anthony D. Smith as an archetypal diaspora people. Both migrations occur at incisive periods, the Mycenaean at the transition to the Late Bronze Age, the Mycenaeans quickly penetrated the Aegean Sea and, by the 15th century BC, had reached Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus and the shores of Asia Minor. Around 1200 BC, the Dorians, another Greek-speaking people, followed from Epirus, the Dorian invasion was followed by a poorly attested period of migrations, appropriately called the Greek Dark Ages, but by 800 BC the landscape of Archaic and Classical Greece was discernible. The Greeks of classical antiquity idealized their Mycenaean ancestors and the Mycenaean period as an era of heroes, closeness of the gods. The Homeric Epics were especially and generally accepted as part of the Greek past, as part of the Mycenaean heritage that survived, the names of the gods and goddesses of Mycenaean Greece became major figures of the Olympian Pantheon of later antiquity. The ethnogenesis of the Greek nation is linked to the development of Pan-Hellenism in the 8th century BC, the works of Homer and Hesiod were written in the 8th century BC, becoming the basis of the national religion, ethos, history and mythology. The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was established in this period, the classical period of Greek civilization covers a time spanning from the early 5th century BC to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC. It is so named because it set the standards by which Greek civilization would be judged in later eras, the Peloponnesian War, the large scale civil war between the two most powerful Greek city-states Athens and Sparta and their allies, left both greatly weakened. Many Greeks settled in Hellenistic cities like Alexandria, Antioch and Seleucia, two thousand years later, there are still communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, like the Kalash, who claim to be descended from Greek settlers. The Hellenistic civilization was the period of Greek civilization, the beginnings of which are usually placed at Alexanders death. This Hellenistic age, so called because it saw the partial Hellenization of many non-Greek cultures and this age saw the Greeks move towards larger cities and a reduction in the importance of the city-state. These larger cities were parts of the still larger Kingdoms of the Diadochi, Greeks, however, remained aware of their past, chiefly through the study of the works of Homer and the classical authors. An important factor in maintaining Greek identity was contact with barbarian peoples and this led to a strong desire among Greeks to organize the transmission of the Hellenic paideia to the next generation
26.
Ilori
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Ilori is a village in the Ochamchira District of Abkhazia, Georgia, located on the coast of the Black Sea. The elevation of the village is 10 meters above sea level, the location was first mentioned in the 11th century, AD. During the Middle Ages, Ilori became a part of the Principality of Odishi, Ilori is also the site of Elyr-nykha – one of the seven shrines of the Abkhaz traditional religion
27.
Subdivisions of Abkhazia
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In Soviet times, the Abkhazian ASSR was divided into six raions named after their respective capitals. The Georgian government, which claims Abkhazia as an Autonomous region, Districts are led by the Head of the Administration, who is simultaneously Mayor of the Districts capital, except in the case of Sukhumi. The Head of the Administration is appointed by the President following consultations with the District Assembly, according to the popular belief the seven stripes of the Abkhazian flag correspond to the seven historical regions of the country, the seventh one being Pskhu-Aibga
28.
Gali District, Abkhazia
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Gali district is a district of Abkhazia. Its capital is Gali, the town by the same name, Gali district was populated almost entirely by Mingrelians, a Georgian regional subdivision, in the pre-war Abkhazia. The majority of Georgians fled the following the inter-ethnic clashes in 1993–1994. Gali district is now the district of Abkhazia with ethnic Georgians constituting clear majority. Together with the Kodori Valley, Gali district is one of the two real troublespots while the situation is relatively peaceful in the rest of Abkhazia and it was a battlefield of the 1998 escalation of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. In the second half of the 17th century, the Shervashidze princes of Abkhazia succeeded in conquering the territories up the Inguri River including the Gali district, with the dissolution of the Principality of Abkhazia c. 1700, the district between the Galidzga to the Inguri came to be ruled by a branch of the Shervashidze family whose one member, Murzakan, gave to his new fiefdom the name Samurzakano. The upper class of this new principality was composed chiefly of the Georgian-speaking Abkhaz nobility, in contrast to the rest of Abkhazia largely Islamized under the Ottoman Empire, Samurzakano remained adherent to the Georgian Orthodox Christianity. Eventually the princedom came under the Mingrelian possession, but retained a degree of autonomy even after the expanding Imperial Russia established its protectorate over Mingrelia in 1804, in 1840, however, Russia outrightly annexed Samurzakano. In the 1860s–70s, the Abkhaz revolts and the persecution of Muslim population at the hands of Russian authorities forced many Abkhaz to become Muhajirs to the Ottoman possessions. The Orthodox Christian population of Samurzakano remained relatively unaffected though, the decline in Abkhaz population left Mingrelian a dominant culture in the area. Furthermore, some Georgian peasants from the bank of the Inguri River also emigrated to the right bank into Abkhazia where weaker practices of serfdom prevailed. This group was made up chiefly by the Mingrelians with a minority of Abkhaz, 38% and 35% of the districts population identified themselves as Mingrelian and Georgian respectively during the first Soviet census of 1926, with another 26% identifying themselves as Abkhaz. The latter group in Gali district declined greatly so that they formed only a few percent of its population, as the Soviet censuses carried out after 1926 didnt distinguish Georgians and Mingrelians as separate nationalities they together constituted the overwhelming majority in the district. Under Joseph Stalin, from 1944/5 to 1953, Abkhaz schools were closed, since then, some 40, 000–60,000 Georgians have sporadically returned to the Gali district, but the process was significantly thwarted by the outbreak of hostilities in May 1998. In response to the attempt by the Georgian guerrillas to recover the area, despite the criticism from opposition, Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia, refused to deploy troops against Abkhazia. A ceasefire was negotiated on May 20,1998, the hostilities resulted in hundreds of casualties on both sides and displaced an additional 30,000 –40,000 Georgians. Although many families came back, the clashes left some 1,500 homes and infrastructure, including some that had been recently rehabilitated with international funding
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Gagra District
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Gagra District is a district of Abkhazia. It corresponds to the Georgian district by the same name, in medieval times, it was known as the southern part of Sadzen. It is located in the part of Abkhazia, and the river Psou serves as a border with Krasnodar Krai of Russia. Its capital is Gagra, the town by the same name, ethnic Armenians now constitute a plurality in the district. Grigori Enik was reappointed as Administration Head on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections, in December 2002, Enik was appointed Head of the State Customs Committee, he was succeeded by Valeri Bganba. On 25 May 2006, Bganba was released from office by President Bagapsh upon his own request, in turn, after the election of Alexander Ankvab, on 6 September 2011 Ketsba was dismissed upon his own request and temporarily replaced by his deputy Teimuraz Kapba. On 15 November, Grigori Enik, who had headed the Presidential Administration, was appointed Acting Head of Gagra District. On 28 May 2012, Enik was permanently appointed, following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, he dismissed Enik and replaced him with MP Beslan Bartsits on 22 October. Bartsits was confirmed in his post the following year, on 16 May 2016, Bartsits became Head of the Presidential Administration. That same day, Gagra Forestry Director Zaur Bganba was appointed acting District Head, Bganba was confirmed in his post on 2 June
30.
Gudauta District
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Gudauta District is a district of Abkhazia, Georgia’s breakaway republic. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district and its capital is Gudauta, the town by the same name. The population of the district was 34,869 at the time of the 2003 census, by the time of the 2011 Census, the population had increased to 36,775. Lev Shamba was reappointed as Administration Head on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections, on 16 June 2003, President Ardzinba assented to Shambas request for dismissal and replaced him with First Deputy Minister for Education Beslan Dbar. On 29 March 2005, newly elected President Sergei Bagapsh replaced Beslan Dbar as the Head of Gudautas Administration by Daur Vozba, during the February 2011 assembly elections, Daur Vozba failed to be re-elected by a margin of 92 votes. Sergei Bagapsh appointed Valeri Malia as his successor on 23 February, on 17 February, during its first session, the new Gudauta District assembly elected Roman Bazba its chairman, with 22 out of 29 votes, and Fyodor Sakania its Deputy Chairman. On 1 November 2011, Abkhazias Prosecutor General announced that he had initiated proceedings against former Administration Head Daur Vozba. Following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, on 23 September 2014 he replaced Malia as Administration Head with Ruslan Ladaria
31.
Gulripshi District
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Gulripshi District is a district of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s breakaway republics. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district and its capital is Gulripshi, the town by the same name. Upper Abkhazia was home to 1,956 of the districts 19,918 inhabitants, most of these fled before the battle and have not yet returned. Of note is the Dranda Cathedral sitting over a built by Justinian in 551. The medieval principality of Dal-Tsabal was centered in the district, abkhazias main airport, Sukhumi Dranda Airport, is also located in Gulripshi district. Adgur Kharazia was reappointed as Administration Head on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections, on 18 December 2002, President Ardzinba released Kharazia as Administration Head and appointed him as Minister for Agriculture and Food. On 16 June 2003, President Ardzinba appointed Tamaz Gogia as Administration Head, in the beginning of 2004, district officials stayed away from work in protest of what they perceived as rudeness from Gogia. In response, Gogia applied for resignation which President Ardzinba granted on 9 February, on 24 March 2005, newly elected President Sergei Bagapsh replaced Administration Head Aslan Baratelia with Mikhail Logua. In the 2011 Presidential election, Logua successfully ran for Vice President alongside Alexander Ankvab and he was succeeded on 14 December by Timur Eshba, who had previously been Deputy Head. Following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, on 23 September 2014 he replaced Eshba with Aslan Baratelia
32.
Sukhumi District
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Sukhumi district is a district of Abkhazia, Georgia’s breakaway republic. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian municipality and its capital is Sukhumi, the town by the same name, which is also the capital of entire Abkhazia. The population of the district is 11,531 according to the 2011 census, the city of Sukhumi is a separate administrative entity with more than 60,000 inhabitants. On 2 April 2003, President Ardzinba dismissed Lev Avidzba and appointed State Security Service Chairman Zurab Agumava as acting District Head, Agumava remained in this post until in 2006 he was appointed Military Prosecutor by Ardzinbas successor Sergei Bagapsh. On 21 February 2007, before the elections, President Bagapsh temporarily prolonged Vladimir Avidzba tenure as Head of the District Administration. After Avidzba was re-elected, he was permanently re-appointed on 21 March, on 12 June 2012, President Alexander Ankvab dismissed Avidzba for reaching the age of retirement, and awarded him with the order Akhdz-Apsha in the third degree for his long government service. On the same day, Ankvab appointed Head of the Education Department Zhuzhuna Bigvava as Avidzbas successor, following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, on 28 October 2014 he dismissed Bigvava and appointed Beslan Avidzba as acting Head of the Administration. Avidzba was permanently appointed after local elections were held, on 2 June 2016
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Sukhumi
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Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia which has controlled it since the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia, sukhumis history can be traced back to the 6th century BC, when it was settled by Greeks, who named it Dioscurias. During this time and the subsequent Roman period, much of the city disappeared under the Black Sea, the city was named Tskhumi when it became part of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. Contested by local princes, it part of the Ottoman Empire in the 1570s. Following a period of conflict during Russian Civil War, it part of the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union broke up in the early 1990s, the city suffered significant damage during the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict, the present-day population of 60,000 is only half of the population living there towards the end of Soviet rule. In Georgian, the city is known as სოხუმი or აყუ, in Megrelian as აყუჯიხა, the toponym Sokhumi derives from the Georgian word Tskhomi/Tskhumi, meaning beech. It is significant, that dia in several dialects of the Georgian language and among them in Megrelian means mother, in Abkhaz, the city is known as Аҟәа which according to native tradition signifies water. In the ancient Greek sources the city is referred to as Dioscurias, according to the antique traditions this name originates from the mythical Dioskouri, the twin brothers Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus. It was believed that the town had established by Castors and Polluxs coachmen. However the names of the town may simply be the Greek comprehension of the old Georgian word combination, the medieval Georgian sources knew the town as Tskhumi. Later, under the Ottoman control, the town was known in Turkish as Suhum-Kale, Tskhumi in turn is supposed to be derived from the Svan language word for hot, or the Georgian word for hornbeam tree. The ending -i in the above forms represents the Georgian nominative-suffix, the town was initially officially described in Russian as Сухум, until 16 August 1936 when this was changed to Сухуми. This remained so until 4 December 1992, when the Supreme Council of Abkhazia restored the original version, that was approved in Russia in autumn 2008, even though Сухуми is also still being used. In English, the most common today is Sukhumi, although Sokhumi is increasing in usage and has been adopted by sources including Encyclopædia Britannica, MSN Encarta, Esri. Sukhumi is located on a bay of the eastern coast of the Black Sea and serves as a port, rail junction. It is known for its beaches, sanatoriums, mineral-water spas, Sukhumi is also an important air link for Abkhazia as the Sukhumi Dranda Airport is located nearby the city. Sukhumi contains a number of small-to-medium size hotels serving chiefly the Russian tourists, Sukhumi botanical garden was established in 1840, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the Caucasus
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Gagra
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Gagra is a town in Abkhazia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular resort in Imperial Russian. It had a population of 26,636 in 1989, but this has fallen due to the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia and other demographic shifts during. Gagra is the centre of the district of the same name and it is located in the western part of Region of Abkhazia, and river Psou serves as a border with Krasnodar Kray of Russia. According to the Georgian scholars, Gagra is derived from Gakra meaning walnut in the Svan language, according to the Soviet sports tourism master Bondaryev, the name of the city originates from the local Gagaa clan. According to Professor V. Kvarchija, Gagra means ‘the holder of the coast’ in Abkhaz, the town was established as a Greek colony in the kingdom of Colchis, called Triglite, inhabited by Greeks and Colchians. Colchis came under the control of the kingdom of Pontus in the 1st century BC before being absorbed by the Roman Empire and its geographical position led the Romans to fortify the town, which was repeatedly attacked by Goths and other invaders. After the fall of Rome, its successor, the Byzantine Empire, took control of the town and it became a major trading settlement in which Genoan and Venetian merchants were prominent, trading in the towns main exports - wood, honey, wax and slaves. The name Gagra appeared for the first time on a map in 1308, on a map of the caucasus made by the Italian Pietro Visconti, in the 16th century, Gagra and the rest of western Georgia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The western merchants were expelled and the town entered a period of decline. By the 18th century the town had been reduced to more than a village surrounded by forests. Its fortunes were restored in the 19th century when the Russian Empire expanded into the region, the swamps were drained and the town was rebuilt around a new military hospital. Its population, however, was small, in 1866. The town suffered badly in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, when Turkish troops invaded, destroyed the town, Russia won the war, however, and rebuilt Gagra again. After the war, the town was discovered by Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg and he saw the potential of the regions subtropical climate and decided to build a high-class resort there. Having raised a sum of money from the government, he built himself a palace there. A park was laid out with trees and even parrots. Despite the expensive work, the resort was not initially a success, in the Russian Revolution of 1905, a local uprising produced a revolutionary government in the town, which founded a short-lived Republic of Gagra
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Gudauta
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Gudauta is a town in Abkhazia and a centre of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea,37 km northwest to Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia. 43. 10199°N40. 6248°E /43.10199,40.6248 Gudauta used to be home to a Soviet Air Defence Forces base, Bombora airfield, the 171st Fighter Aviation Regiment was then transferred to Ugolnye Kopi, Chukotia Autonomous Okrug. The 529th Fighter Aviation Regiment, flew Su-27 Flankers from the base in the last years of the Cold War and this regiment was under the command of the 19th Army of the Air Defence Forces. Gudauta was a center of Abkhaz separatist resistance to Georgian government forces during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in 1992–1993, the unit was subordinated directly to the Russian General Staff. In 1999, its equipment includes 142 AIFV/APC, and 11 self- propelled artillery systems 2S9 Nona-S, the base has always been a significant factor in the Abkhaz conflict. The Georgian side and many Western independent observers claim the Gudauta base provided principal military support to Abkhaz rebels during the war in 1992–1993, in September 1995, Georgia had to legitimize Russian leases of three bases in the country and the Gudauta base among them. However, Abkhaz authorities block OSCE inspection visits and no date is set for withdrawal from the base, Georgia still alleges that it is used to offer military support to the Abkhaz secessionists. The Gudauta base remains one of the problems in complicated Russian-Georgian relations. Гәдоу-ҭа, Гәдоу is a mane of the river, ҭа is a locative suffix, Gudauta is twinned with the following city, Kineshma, Russia Media related to Gudauta at Wikimedia Commons
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New Athos
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New Athos or Akhali Atoni is a town in the Gudauta raion of Abkhazia, situated some 22 km from Sukhumi by the shores of the Black Sea. The town was known under the names Nikopol, Acheisos, Anakopia, Nikopia, Nikofia, Nikopsis, Absara. New Athos Cave is one of the tourist attractions of Abkhazia, /Georgia, a large ancient Greek port town of Anacopia was recorded there in the 3rd century. In the 5th century, Georgians built a fortress on the top of the Iverian Mountain. Anacopia was the capital of the Abkhazian princedom in the orbit of the Byzantine Empire, later, the capital was moved to Kutaisi. Located between the Black Sea and the Iverian Mountain, New Athos is 17 km far from Gudauta,22 from Sukhumi and 84 from the Russian borders at Vesyoloye, vitali Smyr was reappointed as Mayor on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections. On 8 May 2003, Smyr was appointed Minister for Agriculture, on 19 May, Feliks Dautia was appointed his successor. In 1874 Russian monks from the overcrowded Rossikon Monastery on Mount Athos arrived to the Caucasus in order to find a place for possible resettlement and they feared that the Ottoman Empire would oust the Russians from Athos after the outbreak of the impending Russo-Turkish War. They selected Psyrtskha, and the Neo-Byzantine New Athos Monastery, dedicated to St. Simon the Canaanite, was constructed there in the 1880s with funds provided by Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Eventually Russian monks were permitted to stay in the old Athos, in 1924, during the Soviet persecution of religion, the monastery was closed. It was later used as a facility, tourist base, hospital. Its return to the Orthodox Church began in 1994, after the end of the war, the scenic setting of the New Athos monastery by the sea has made it a popular destination with Russian tourists visiting Abkhazia. An older church of St. Simon the Canaanite, dated to the 9th-10th century and reconstructed in the 1880s, is located near the town, on the Psyrtskha stream. New Athos has a hydroelectric power station and artificial lake on the river Psyrtskha. The station was built by the monks of the monastery between 1892 and 1903 and repaired in 1922 and it remained broken for over forty years before being repaired again — it was re-opened on 4 June 2012. It produces an estimated 100 kW per hour for the monastery which still owns it, New Athos cave is a karst cave in the Iverian Mountain, few km far from the town. Since 1975 it is served by the New Athos Cave Railway
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Pitsunda
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Pitsunda or Bichvinta is a resort town in Gagra district of Abkhazia. The town was founded in the 5th century BC as Pityus or Pitiunt, the city was surrounded by a defensive wall, the castellum had a second line of defence built in mid-3rd century AD. Excavations guided by Andria Apakidze unearthed, in 1952, remains of three 4th-century churches and a bath with high-quality mosaic floors, the former Great Pityus harbour is now a mere lake within the town. The Goths attacked the city in 255 CE after taking the Bosporan fleet, the Roman garrison under the command of Successianus repelled the attack, however they returned in the next year, took the city and proceeded further to sack Trebizond. Saint John Chrysostom was being led towards Pityus by the soldiers, in execution of the decree of exile. Like Dioskurias, it remained under Roman control within the Georgian kingdom of Colchis until the 7th century, the city passed under Abasgian control and became one of the major political and religious centres of the kingdom of Egrisi. An archbishopric of Pitiunt was instituted in 541, in medieval Georgia, the towns name was spelled as Bichvinta. At the end of the 10th century, King Bagrat III of Georgia built there the Pitsunda Cathedral which survives to day and contains vestiges of wall-painting from the 13th. Bichvinta also served as the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Catholicate of Abkhazia until the late 16th century when Abkhazia came under the Ottoman hegemony within Georgia. In his 1911 article for the Catholic Encyclopedia, Sophrone Pétridès described Pityus as a titular see, in the late 13th century, the area housed a short-lived Genoese trade colony called Pezonda. Pitsunda was the resort of First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev. In October 1964 he happened to be vacationing in Pitsunda when he was deposed from power, in the end, the dam was built on the Inguri River instead, where the impact upon the coastline was assessed to be considerably less pronounced. On 7 February 2007, after appeals by inhabitants, the Peoples Assembly of Abkhazia resolved to give Pitsunda town-status. Parliamentarians expressed the hope that the decision would help Pitsunda develop as a resort, since becoming a town, the Mayor of Pitsunda is no longer appointed by the Governor of Gagra District but instead directly by the President of Abkhazia. On 29 January 2016, Pitsundas town-status was formally enshrined in Abkhazias constitution, in the 2011 assembly elections, Mayor Beslan Ardzinba and six other incumbent deputies of the Assembly stood for re-election. The winning candidates were Beslan Ardzinba, Badra Avidzba, Olga Grigorenko, Chengiz Bigvava, Georgi Zardania, Gennadi Cherkezia, Gennadi Mikanba, Damia Kokoskeria and Inessa Dzkuia. On 14 February, during the first session of the new convocation, Damir Kokoskeria was elected Chairman of the Assembly over Gennadi Cherkezia, following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, on 28 October 2014 he replaced Ardzinba as Mayor with Chingis Bigvava. Bigvava was not reappointed following the 2016 local elections
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Tkvarcheli
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Tkvarcheli is a town in Abkhazia, Georgia. It is situated on the river Ghalidzga and a railroad connects it with Ochamchire, coal mining, which began in the area in 1935, grew in importance during the Second World War, especially after the Donbass was lost during the Nazi invasion. Tkvarcheli was given town status on 9 April 1942 During the War in Abkhazia, Tkvarcheli withstood, through Russian humanitarian and military aid, since 1995, it is the centre of the newly formed Tkvarcheli District. On 27 September 2008, President Sergei Bagapsh awarded it the title of Hero City. Coal-mining has been the main industry ever since although now the Soviet mines are closed. Tamsaşs tax payments account for 75% of the Tkvarcheli districts budget however, construction of a new cement plant is planned now, its output to be used for the Olympic construction projects in Sochi. The towns population was 21,744 in 1989, the three main ethnic groups were Abkhaz, Russians and Georgians. At the time of the 2003 census, its population was 4,786, by the time of the 2011 census, it had increased to 5,013. Of these,66. 5% were Abkhaz,16. 0% Georgian,9. 7% Russian,1. 4% Mingrelian,1. 3% Ukrainian,1. 1% Armenian,0. 4% Greek and 0. 1% Svan
