Portal:Abkhazia
The Abkhazia Portal
 |
 |
| |
Abkhazia (/æbˈkɑːziə/ (
listen) or /æbˈkeɪziə/), also known as Apkhazeti, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognized state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which views the region as an autonomous republic. It lies on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital is Sukhumi.
The status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict and Georgia–Russia relations. The polity is recognised as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria, and Vanuatu. While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian government and most United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally part of Georgia, with Georgia maintaining an official government-in-exile.
The region had autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s. Simmering ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz—the region's titular ethnicity—and Georgians—the largest single ethnic group at that time—culminated in the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia, which resulted in Georgia's loss of control over most of Abkhazia and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia.
Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought a war against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, a position reflected by most United Nations member states.
Refresh
Selected article -
Selected image
Selected biography -
List of selected biographies
|
|---|
General images
Bagrat III of Georgia; of the House of Bagrationi (from History of Abkhazia)
The border bridge over the Enguri river (from Abkhazia–Georgia border)
Map of Sukhumi district (Abkhazia), 1890s (from History of Abkhazia)
Map of modern Abkhazia (from History of Abkhazia)
Map of Abkhazia, with Georgia to the east (from Abkhazia–Georgia border)
Abkhaz delegation in Tbilisi, 1918 (from History of Abkhazia)
Bridge over the Enguri river border (from Abkhazia–Georgia border)
Map showing the situation in Georgia at the end of 1993. Abkhaz forces were in control of all of the former Abkhaz ASSR, except the Kodori Gorge which remained in Georgian hands until the 2008 war with Russia. (from Abkhazia–Georgia border)
Nestor Lakoba, an Abkhaz Bolshevik leader who de facto controlled Abkhazia from 1921 until his murder in 1936 (from History of Abkhazia)
One of the dolmens from Eshera (now at the Sukhumi Museum) (from History of Abkhazia)
Kingdom of Imereti in the 16th century (from History of Abkhazia)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Did you know?
- ...that the Voronya Cave in the Arabika Massif is currently the world's deepest cave and that its complete depth has not yet been established?
- ...that Lavrentiy Beria, the feared head of the Soviet NKVD, was born in the village of Merkheuli and that he went to school in Sukhumi?
- ...that during the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, Abkhazia witnessed a very similar political crisis following the 2004 presidential election, which lasted twice as long?
- ...that there is a tiny community of Afro-Abkhazians, descendent from slaves bought centuries ago from the Turks?
Topics
Subcategories
Related portals
Things to do
 |
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
|
- –When a task is completed, please remove it from the list.
WikiProjects
- WikiProject Abkhazia – a project to improve all articles related to Abkhazia.
- WikiProject Limited recognition – a project that seeks to improve coverage of entities with limited international recognition.
