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
