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Abkhazia

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Asian Countries;
Countries


                                     Аҧсны
           აფხაზეთი
           Apsny / Apkhazeti
           Abkhazia
           Location of Abkhazia
           Location of Abkhazia
           Location of Abkhazia (dark green, circled)
           within Georgia (lighter green)
                                        Area
            -  Total         8,600 km²
                             3,320  sq mi
            -  Water ( %)    negligible
                                     Population
            -  2006 estimate 157,000-190,000 ( International Crisis Group)
                             177,000 (Encyclopædia Britannica)
            -  2003 census   216,000 (disputed)
            -  Density       29 /km²
                              /sq mi
               Time zone     MSK ( UTC+3)


   Government of the Abkhazian Republic


                  Flag of Abkhazia Coat of arms of Abkhazia
                        Flag             Coat of arms

   Anthem
   Aiaaira
   Capital Sukhumi
   43°00′N, 40°59′E
   Official languages Abkhaz, Russian^1
   Government
    -  President Sergei Bagapsh
    -  Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab
   De facto independence from Georgia
    -  Declared 23 July 1992
    -  Recognition none
   Currency Russian ruble ( RUB)
   ^1 Russian has co-official status and widespread use by government and
   other institutions.

   Government of the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic


         Flag of Georgia (country) Coat of arms of Georgia (country)
                    Flag                      Coat of arms

   Capital Sokhumi
   Official languages Abkhaz, Georgian
   Government
    -  Chairman,
   Cabinet of Ministers
   Malkhaz Akishbaia
    -  Chairman, Supreme Council Temur Mzhavia
   Autonomous republic of Georgia
    -  Georgian independence
   from the Soviet Union

                                                                  Declared
                                                                Recognised

   9 April 1991
   25 December 1991
   Currency Georgian lari ( GEL)

   Abkhazia IPA: /æbˈkeɪʒə/ or /æbˈkɑziə/ ( Abkhaz: Аҧсны Apsny, Georgian:
   აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti, or Abkhazeti, Russian: Абха́зия Abhazia) is a de
   facto independent republic located on the eastern coast of the Black
   Sea, bordering the Russian Federation to the north, and within the
   internationally recognised borders of Georgia. Abkhazia’s independence
   is not recognized by any international organization or country and it
   is regarded as an autonomous republic of Georgia ( Georgian: აფხაზეთის
   ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა, Abkhaz: Аҧснытәи Автономтәи Республика), with
   Sukhumi as its capital.

   A secessionist movement of Abkhaz ethnic minority in the region led to
   the declaration of independence from Georgia in 1992 and the
   Georgian-Abkhaz armed conflict from 1992 to 1993 which resulted in the
   Georgian military defeat and the mass exodus of ethnic Georgian
   population from Abkhazia. In spite of the 1994 ceasefire accord and the
   ongoing UN-monitored CIS peacekeeping operation, the sovereignty
   dispute has not yet been resolved and the region remains divided
   between the two rival authorities, with over 83 percent of its
   territory controlled by the Russian-backed Sukhumi-based separatist
   government and about 17 percent governed by the representatives of the
   de jure Government of Abkhazia, the only body internationally
   recognized as a legal authority of Abkhazia, located in the Kodori
   Valley, part of Georgian-controlled Upper Abkhazia.

Political status

   The international organizations such as United Nations ( 28 Security
   Council Resolutions), EC, OSCE, NATO, WTO, Council of the European
   Union, CIS as well as most sovereign states recognize Abkhazia as an
   integral part of Georgia and support its territorial integrity
   according to the principles of the international law. The United
   Nations is urging both sides to settle the dispute through diplomatic
   dialogue and ratifying the final status of Abkhazia in the Georgian
   Constitution. However, the Abkhaz de-facto government and the majority
   of current Abkhazia's population (excluding ethnic Georgians who still
   populate the Gali District and the Kodori Gorge) consider Abkhazia a
   sovereign country, even though not recognized by any party in the
   world. In 2005, the Georgian government offered Abkhazia high degree of
   autonomy and possible federal structure within borders and jurisdiction
   of Georgia.

   Meanwhile the Russian State Duma is urging to take into consideration
   the appeal made by Abkhaz de facto authorities which calls for
   recognition of its independence, while Russian state media produce
   numerous materials in support of the separatist regime. During the
   Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, Russian authorities and military supplied
   logistical and military aid to the separatist side. Today, Russia still
   maintains a strong political and military influence over the separatist
   rule in Abkhazia. Additionally, the Russian Orthodox Church recently
   published translations of the Gospels in Abkhazian, which drew protests
   from the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church as a violation of
   Orthodox Church canon law, constituting a meddling in the internal
   affairs of another Orthodox church and annexation of Georgian Orthodox
   property in Abkhazia.

   On October 18, 2006, the Abkhaz de facto parliament passed a
   resolution, calling upon Russia, international organizations, and the
   rest of the international community to recognize Abkhaz independence on
   the basis that Abkhazia possesses all the properties of an independent
   state. However, international organizations have confirmed their
   support for Georgian territorial integrity and outlined the basic
   principles of conflict resolution which calls for immediate return of
   all expelled ethnic Georgian refugees (approximately 250,000) and
   involvement of International Police to monitor the safety of all ethnic
   groups living in Abkhazia. About 60,000 Georgian refugees have
   spontaneously returned to Abkhazia's Gali district since 1994, but tens
   of thousands were displaced again when fighting resumed in the Gali
   district in 1998. Nevertheless from 40,000 to 60,000 refugees have
   returned to Gali district since 1998, including persons commuting daily
   across the ceasefire line and those migrating seasonally in accordance
   with agricultural cycles. In the Georgian-populated areas in Gali
   district, where local authorities are almost exclusively made up of
   ethnic Abkhaz, human right situation remains precarious. The United
   Nations and other international organizations have been fruitlessly
   urging the Abkhaz de facto authorities "to refrain from adopting
   measures incompatible with the right to return and with international
   human rights standards, such as discriminatory legislation… [and] to
   cooperate in the establishment of a permanent international human
   rights office in Gali and to admit United Nations civilian police
   without further delay."

   Georgia accuses the Abkhaz secessionists of having conducted a
   deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing, a claim supported by the OSCE
   and many Western governments. The UN Security Council has, however,
   avoided use of the term "ethnic cleansing", but has affirmed "the
   unacceptability of the demographic changes resulting from the conflict"

Geography and climate

   Abkhazia covers an area of about 8,600 km² at the western end of
   Georgia. The Caucasus Mountains to the north and the northeast divide
   Abkhazia from the Russian Federation. To the east and southeast,
   Abkhazia is bounded by the Georgian region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti;
   and on the south and southwest by the Black Sea.

   Abkhazia is extremely mountainous. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range
   runs along the region's northern border, with its spurs – the Gagra,
   Bziphi, and Kodori ranges – dividing the area into a number of deep,
   well-watered valleys. The highest peaks of Abkhazia are in the
   northeast and east and several exceed 4,000 meters (13,120 feet) above
   sea level. The landscapes of Abkhazia range from coastal forests and
   citrus plantations, to eternal snows and glaciers to the north of the
   region. Although Abkhazia's complex topographic setting have spared
   most of the territory from significant human development, its
   cultivated fertile lands produce tea, tobacco, wine and fruits, a
   mainstay of local agricultural sector.

   Abkhazia is richly irrigated by small rivers originating in the
   Caucasus Mountains. Chief of these are: Kodori, Bzyb, Ghalidzga, and
   Gumista. The Psou River separates the region from Russia, and the
   Inguri serves as a boundary between Abkhazia and Georgia proper. There
   are several periglacial and crater lakes in mountainous Abkhazia. Lake
   Ritsa is the most important of them.
   A beach in Abkhazia
   A beach in Abkhazia

   Because of Abkhazia's proximity to the Black Sea and the shield of the
   Caucasus Mountains, the region's climate is very mild. The coastal
   areas of the republic have a subtropical climate, where the average
   annual temperature in most regions is around 15 degrees Celsius. The
   climate at higher elevations varies from maritime mountainous to cold
   and summerless. Abkhazia receives high amounts of precipitation, but
   its unique micro-climate (transitional from subtropical to mountain)
   along most of its coast causes lower levels of humidity. The annual
   precipitation vacillates from 1,100-1,500 mm (43-59 inches) along the
   coast to 1,700-3,500 mm (67-138 in.) in the higher mountainous areas.
   The mountains of Abkhazia receive significant amounts of snow.

Economy

   The economy of Abkhazia is heavily dependent on Russia and the Russian
   ruble is used for currency. Tourism is a key industry. Abkhaz de facto
   authorities claim that the organised tourists (mainly from Russia)
   numbered more than 100,000 in the last years (compared to about 200,000
   in the 1990 before the war) and estimate the total number of visitors
   in 2006 at 1-1.5 million. Although the CIS economic sanctions imposed
   against Abkhazia in 1994 are still formally in force and Russia has
   established a visa regime with Georgia, Russian tourists don’t need a
   visa to enter Abkhazia.

   One of the main sources of electricity of Abkhazia is Inguri
   hydroelectric power station situated on the border river of Inguri and
   operated jointly by Abkhaz and Georgians.

   A gabbro quarry near the Aigba village on the Psou river is scheduled
   to begin operations in September 2007. Furthermore, rubble quarries
   near the Skurcha village ( Ochamchira region) and on the Bzyb river
   will be opening in 2007 as well. It is planned to use its output in the
   Olympic construction projects in Sochi, as the city is one of the 2014
   Winter Olympics bidders.

   Abkhazia is also renowned for its agricultural produce, including tea,
   tobacco, wine and fruits (especially tangerines).

Demographics

   According to the Family Lists compiled in 1886 (published 1893 in
   Tbilisi) the Sukhumi District's population was 68,773, of which 30,640
   were Samurzaq'anoans, 28,323 Abkhaz, 3,558 Mingrelians, 2,149 Greeks,
   1,090 Armenians, 1,090 Russians and 608 Georgians (including Imeretians
   and Gurians). Samurzaq'ano is a present-day Gali region of Abkhazia.
   Most of the Samurzaq'anians must be thought to have been Mingrelians,
   and a minority Abkhaz.

   According to the 1917 agricultural census organized by the Russian
   Provisional Government, Georgians and Abkhaz composed 41.7% (54,760)
   and 30,4% (39,915) of the rural population of Abkhazia respectively. At
   that time Gagra and its vicinity weren't part of Abkhazia.

   The following table summarises the results of the censuses carried out
   in Abkhazia. The Russian, Armenian and Georgian population grew faster
   than Abkhaz one due to the large-scale migration.
       Year       Total  Georgians Abkhaz Russians Armenians Greeks
   1897 Census^1         25,640    58,697
   1926 Census   186,004 67,494    55,918 12,553   25,677    14,045
   1939 Census   311,885 91,967    56,197 60,201   49,705    34,621
   1959 Census   404,738 158,221   61,193 86,715   64,425    9,101
   1970 Census   486,959 199,596   77,276 92,889   74,850    13,114
   1979 Census   486,082 213,322   83,087 79,730   73,350    13,642
   1989 Census   525,061 239,872   93,267 74,913   76,541    14,664
   2003 Census^2 215,972 45,953    94,606 23,420   44,870    1,486
   ^1 - (by mother tongue). The population of the Sukhumi district
   (Abkhazia) was about 100,000 at that time. Greeks, Russians and
   Armenians composed 3.5%, 2% and 1.5% of the district's population.
   ^2 - Georgian authorities did not acknowledge the results of this
   census and consider it illegitimate. Several international sources also
   consider these figures unrealistically high. The International Crisis
   Group (2006) estimates Abkhazia's total population to be between
   157,000 and 190,000 (or between 180,000 and 220,000 as estimated by
   UNDP in 1998), while Encyclopædia Britannica puts it at 177,000 (2006
   est.). The State Department of Statistics of Georgia estimated, in
   2005, Abkhazia's population to be approximately 178,000. About 2,000
   people (predominantly ethnic Georgians) live in Georgia-controlled
   Upper Abkhazia.

History

Early history

   In the 9th–6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia became a
   part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis (Kolkha), which was
   absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Egrisi. Greek traders established
   ports along the Black Sea shoreline. One of those ports, Dioscurias,
   eventually developed into modern Sukhumi, Abkhazia's traditional
   capital.

   The Roman Empire conquered Egrisi in the 1st century AD and ruled it
   until the 4th century, following which it regained a measure of
   independence, but remained within the Byzantine Empire's sphere of
   influence. Although the exact time when the population of Abkhazia was
   converted to Christianity is not determined, it is known that the
   Metropolitan of Pitius participated in the First Œcumenical Council in
   325 in Nicea. Abkhazia was made an autonomous principality of the
   Byzantine Empire in the 7th century — a status it retained until the
   9th century, when it was united with the province of Imereti and became
   known as the Abkhazian Kingdom. In 9th–10th centuries the Georgian
   kings tried to unify all the Georgian provinces and in 1001 King Bagrat
   III Bagrationi became the first king of the unified Georgian Kingdom.

   In the 16th century, after the break-up of the united Georgian Kingdom,
   the area was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, during this time some
   Abkhazians converted to Islam. The Ottomans were pushed out by the
   Georgians, who established an autonomous Principality of Abkhazia
   (abxazetis samtavro in Georgian), ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty
   (aka Sharvashidze, or Chachba).

Abkhazia within the Russian Empire and Soviet Union

   The expansion of the Russian Empire into the Caucasus region led to
   small-scale but regular conflicts between Russian colonists and the
   indigenous Caucasian tribes. Eventually the Caucasian War erupted,
   which ended with Russian conquest of the North and Western Caucasus.
   Various Georgian principalities were annexed to the empire between 1801
   and 1864. The Russians acquired possession of Abhkazia in a piecemeal
   fashion between 1829 and 1842; but their power was not firmly
   established until 1864, when they managed to abolish the local
   principality which was still under Shervashidze rule. Large numbers of
   Muslim Abkhazians — said to have constituted as much as 60% of the
   Abkhazian population, although contemporary census reports were not
   very trustworthy — emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and
   1878 together with other Muslim population of Caucasus in the process
   known as Muhajirism.

   Modern Abkhazian historians maintain that large areas of the region
   were left uninhabited, and that many Armenians, Georgians and Russians
   (all Christians) subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of
   the vacated territory. This version of events is strongly contested by
   some Georgian historians who argue that Georgian tribes (Mingrelians
   and Svans) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis
   kingdom. According to Georgian scholars, the Abkhaz are the descendants
   of North Caucasian tribes ( Adygey, Apsua), who migrated to Abkhazia
   from the north of the Caucasus Mountains and merged there with the
   existing Georgian population.
   Soviet Caucasus 1989 political divisions and subdivisons showing the
   Abkhazian ASSR (Abkhazskaya ASSR in Russian) of Georgian SSR
   Soviet Caucasus 1989 political divisions and subdivisons showing the
   Abkhazian ASSR (Abkhazskaya ASSR in Russian) of Georgian SSR

   The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of an independent
   Georgia (which included Abkhazia) in 1918. Georgia's Menshevik
   government had problems with the area through most of its existence
   despite a limited autonomy being granted to the region. In 1921, the
   Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived
   independence. Abkhazia was made a Soviet republic with the ambiguous
   status of Union Republic associated with the Georgian SSR, In 1931,
   Stalin made it an autonomous republic within Soviet Georgia. Despite
   its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong central rule from
   central Soviet authorities. Georgian became the official language.
   Purportedly, Lavrenty Beria encouraged Georgian migration to Abkhazia,
   and many took up the offer and resettled there. Russians also moved
   into Abkhazia in great numbers. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, Vazgen I
   and the Armenian church encouraged and funded the migration of
   Armenians to Abkhazia. Currently, Armenians are the largest minority
   group in Abkhazia.

   The repression of the Abkhaz was ended after Stalin's death and Beria's
   execution, and Abkhaz were given a greater role in the governance of
   the republic. As in most of the smaller autonomous republics, the
   Soviet government encouraged the development of culture and
   particularly of literature. Ethnic quotas were established for certain
   bureaucratic posts, giving the Abkhaz a degree of political power that
   was disproportionate to their minority status in the republic. This was
   interpreted by some as a "divide and rule" policy whereby local elites
   were given a share in power in exchange for support for the Soviet
   regime. In Abkhazia as elsewhere, it led to other ethnic groups - in
   this case, the Georgians - resenting what they saw as unfair
   discrimination, thereby stoking ethnic discord in the republic.

The Abkhazian War

   As the Soviet Union began to disintegrate at the end of the 1980s,
   ethnic tensions grew between the Abkhaz and Georgians over Georgia's
   moves towards independence. Many Abkhaz opposed this, fearing that an
   independent Georgia would lead to the elimination of their autonomy,
   and argued instead for the establishment of Abkhazia as a separate
   Soviet republic in its own right. The dispute turned violent on 16 July
   1989 in Sukhumi. Sixteen Georgians are said to have been killed and
   another 137 injured when they tried to enroll in a Georgian University
   instead of an Abkhaz one. After several days of violence, Soviet troops
   restored order in the city and blamed rival nationalist paramilitaries
   for provoking confrontations.

   Georgia declared independence on 9 April 1991, under the rule of the
   former Soviet dissident Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Gamsakhurdia's rule became
   unpopular, and that December the Georgian National Guard, under the
   command of Tengiz Kitovani, laid siege to the offices of Gamsakhurdia's
   government in Tbilisi. After weeks of stalemate, he was forced to
   resign in January 1992. He was replaced as president by Eduard
   Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister and architect of the
   disintegration of the Soviet Union. Shevardnadze inherited a government
   dominated by hardline Georgian nationalists, and although he was not an
   ethnic nationalist, he did little to avoid being seen as supporting the
   government figures and powerful coup leaders who were.

   On 21 February 1992, Georgia's ruling Military Council announced that
   it was abolishing the Soviet-era constitution and restoring the 1921
   Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Many Abkhaz
   interpreted this as an abolition of their autonomous status. In
   response, on 23 July 1992, the Abkhazia government effectively declared
   secession from Georgia, although this gesture went unrecognised by any
   other country. The Georgian government accused Gamsakhurdia supporters
   of kidnapping Georgia's interior minister and holding him captive in
   Abkhazia. The Georgian government dispatched 3,000 troops to the
   region, ostensibly to restore order. Heavy fighting between Georgian
   forces and Abkhazian militia broke out in and around Sukhumi. The
   Abkhazian authorities rejected the government's claims, claiming that
   it was merely a pretext for an invasion. After about a week's fighting
   and many casualties on both sides, Georgian government forces managed
   to take control of most of Abkhazia, and closed down the regional
   parliament.

   The Abkhazians' military defeat was met with a hostile response by the
   self-styled Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, an
   umbrella group uniting a number of pro-Russian movements in the North
   Caucasus (( Chechens, Cossacks, Ossetians and others)), Russian
   military units. Hundreds of volunteer paramilitaries from Russia
   (including the then little known Shamil Basayev) joined forces with the
   Abkhazian separatists to fight the Georgian government forces. Regular
   Russian forces also reportedly sided with the secessionsts. In
   September, the Abkhaz and Russian paramilitaries mounted a major
   offensive against Gagra after breaking a cease-fire, which drove the
   Georgian forces out of large swathes of the republic. Shevardnadze's
   government accused Russia of giving covert military support to the
   rebels with the aim of "detaching from Georgia its native territory and
   the Georgia-Russian frontier land". The year 1992 ended with the rebels
   in control of much of Abkhazia northwest of Sukhumi.

   The conflict remained stalemated until July 1993, when the Abkhaz
   separatist militias launched an abortive attack on Georgian-held
   Sukhumi. The capital was surrounded and heavily shelled, with
   Shevardnadze himself trapped in the city.

   Although a truce was declared at the end of July, this collapsed after
   a renewed Abkhaz attack in mid-September. After ten days of heavy
   fighting, Sukhumi fell on 27 September 1993. Eduard Shevardnadze
   narrowly escaped death, having vowed to stay in the city no matter
   what, but he was eventually forced to flee when separatist snipers
   fired on the hotel where he was residing. Abkhaz, North Caucasian
   militants and their allies committed numerous atrocities against the
   remaining Georgian population of the city (these events are known as
   Sukhumi Massacre). The mass killings and destruction continued for two
   weeks, leaving thousands dead and missing.

   The Abkhaz forces quickly overran the rest of Abkhazia as the Georgian
   government faced a second threat: an uprising by the supporters of the
   deposed Zviad Gamsakhurdia in the region of Mingrelia (Samegrelo). In
   the chaotic aftermath of defeat almost all ethnic Georgians fled the
   region, escaping an ethnic cleansing initiated by the victors. Many
   thousands died — it is estimated that between 10,000-30,000 ethnic
   Georgians and 3,000 ethnic Abkhaz may have perished — and some 250,000
   people (mostly Georgians) were forced into exile.

   During the war, gross human rights violations were reported on the both
   sides (see Human Rights Watch report), and the ethnic cleansing
   committed by the Abkhaz forces and their allies is recognized by the
   Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summits in
   Budapest ( 1994), Lisbon ( 1996) and Istanbul ( 1999)

De jure Government of Abkhazia

   The de jure Government of Abkhazia is the only body internationally
   recognized as a legal authority of Abkhazia, which controls only the
   north-eastern part of Abkhazia and is located in Chkhalta, Upper
   Abkhazia. The de jure Government of Abkhazia, then the Council of
   Ministers of Abkhazia, left Abkhazia after the Russian-backed Abkhaz
   separatist forces and their allies stormed Sukhumi on September 27,
   1993 and expelled the majority of its Georgian residents and members of
   the Government. For about 13 years, the Government was known as the
   Government of Abkhazia in exile and was located in Tbilisi until the
   2006 Kodori crisis, which reinstalled the Government back within the
   administrative borders of Abkhazia. Malkhaz Akishbaia, a
   Western-educated Abkhaz politician was elected in April 2006 and is the
   current head of the de jure Government of Abkhazia. On September 27,
   2006 President Mikheil Saakashvili, Nino Burjanadze,
   Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II and others members of the
   central government visited Kodory Valley and officially changed the
   name and designated the area as "Upper Abkhazia". President Saakashvili
   addressed the nation during the opening of de jure Government
   headquarters in Chkhalta, Upper Abkhazia:

          "We are here – Upper Abkhazia, very close to Sokhumi - and we
          are not going to leave this place. We will return to Abkhazia
          very soon, but only through peaceful means." “...We have told
          every foreign ambassador in Georgia that Abkhazia and Tbilisi
          are not separate entities… From now on the protocol of each
          foreign diplomat [visiting Abkhazia], apart from trips to
          Sokhumi, will also include the route to Abkhazia’s
          administrative centre in the village of Chkhalta where the
          chairman of the Abkhaz government is Malkhaz Akishbaia."

Politics

   There are approximately 300,000 Georgian IDPs from Abkhazia
   There are approximately 300,000 Georgian IDPs from Abkhazia

   Much of the Politics in Abkhazia is dominated by the territorial
   dispute with Georgia, from which the territory seceded, and by the
   fight over the presidency in 2004/2005.

   On 3 October 2004 presidential elections were held in Abkhazia. In the
   elections, Russia evidently supported Raul Khajimba, the prime minister
   backed by seriously ailing outgoing separatist President Vladislav
   Ardzinba. Posters of Russia's President Vladimir Putin together with
   Khajimba, who like Putin had worked as a KGB official, were everywhere
   in Sukhumi. Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, lead
   by Joseph Kobzon, a deputy and a popular singer, came to Abkhazia
   campaigning for Khajimba.

   However Raul Khajimba lost the elections to Sergey Bagapsh. The tense
   situation in the republic led to the cancellation of the election
   results by the Supreme Court. After that the deal was struck between
   former rivals to run jointly — Bagapsh as a presidential candidate and
   Khajimba as a vice presidential candidate. They received more than 90%
   of the votes in the new election.

   The People's Assembly consisting of 35 elected members is vested with
   legislative powers. The last parliamentary elections were held on March
   4, 2007.

   About 250,000 ethnic Georgian residents of Abkhazia are restricted form
   entering the region by the Abkhazian separatist regime and cannot
   participate in the elections.

International involvement

   The UN has played various roles during the conflict and peace process:
   a military role through its observer mission ( UNOMIG); dual diplomatic
   roles through the Security Council and the appointment of a Special
   Envoy, succeeded by a Special Representative to the Secretary-General;
   a humanitarian role ( UNHCR and UNOCHA); a development role ( UNDP); a
   human rights role ( UNCHR); and a low-key capacity and
   confidence-building role ( UNV). The UN’s position has been that there
   will be no forcible change in international borders. Any settlement
   must be freely negotiated and based on autonomy for Abkhazia
   legitimized by referendum under international observation once the
   multi-ethnic population has returned. According to Western
   interpretations the intervention did not contravene international law
   since Georgia, as a sovereign state, had the right to secure order on
   its territory and protect its territorial integrity.

   OSCE has increasingly engaged in dialogue with officials and civil
   society representatives in Abkhazia, especially from NGOs and the
   media, regarding human dimension standards and is considering a
   presence in Gali. OSCE expressed concern and condemnation over ethnic
   cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia during the 1994 Budapest Summit
   Decision and later at the Lisbon Summit Declaration in 1996.

   The USA rejects the unilateral secession of Abkhazia and urges its
   integration into Georgia as an autonomous unit. In 1998 the USA
   announced its readiness to allocate up to $15 million for
   rehabilitation of infrastructure in the Gali region if substantial
   progress is made in the peace process. USAID has already funded some
   humanitarian initiatives for Abkhazia. The USA has in recent years
   significantly increased its military support to the Georgian armed
   forces but has stated that it would not condone any moves towards peace
   enforcement in Abkhazia.

   On August 22, 2006, Senator Richard Lugar, then visiting Georgia's
   capital Tbilisi, joined the Georgian politicians in criticism of the
   Russian peacekeeping mission, stating that "the U.S. administration
   supports the Georgian government’s insistence on the withdrawal of
   Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zones in Abkhazia and the
   Tskhinvali district."

   On October 5, 2006, Javier Solana, the High Representative for the
   Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, ruled out the
   possibility of replacing the Russian peacekeepers with the EU force."
   However, the Georgian parliament is preparing for the vote in October
   of 2006 which will demand the complete withdrawal of Russian
   peacekeepers from Abkhazia. On October 10, 2006, EU South Caucasus
   envoy Peter Semneby noted that "Russia's actions in the Georgia spy row
   have damaged its credibility as a neutral peacekeeper in the EU's Black
   Sea neighbourhood."

   On October 13, 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a
   resolution, based on a Group of Friends of the Secretary-General draft,
   extending the UNOMIG mission until April 15, 2007. Acknowledging that
   the "new and tense situation" resulted, at least in part, from the
   Georgian special forces operation in the upper Kodori Valley, urged the
   country to ensure that no troops unauthorized by the Moscow ceasefire
   agreement were present in that area. It urged the leadership of the
   Abkhaz side to address seriously the need for a dignified, secure
   return of refugees and internally displaced persons and to reassure the
   local population in the Gali district that their residency rights and
   identity will be respected. The Georgian side is "once again urged to
   address seriously legitimate Abkhaz security concerns, to avoid steps
   which could be seen as threatening and to refrain from militant
   rhetoric and provocative actions, especially in upper Kodori Valley".
   Calling on both parties to follow up on dialogue initiatives, it
   further urged them to comply fully with all previous agreements
   regarding non-violence and confidence-building, in particular those
   concerning the separation of forces. Regarding the disputed role of the
   peacekeepers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the
   Council stressed the importance of close, effective cooperation between
   UNOMIG and that force and looked to all sides to continue to extend the
   necessary cooperation to them. At the same time, the document
   reaffirmed the "commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty,
   independence and territorial integrity of Georgia within its
   internationally recognized borders."

Gallery of Abkhazia

   Pitsunda Cathedral

   New Athos Railway Station

   New Athos monastery

   Ritsa lake

   Gagra

   Geg waterfall

   View of Sukhumi 1

   View of Sukhumi 2

   View from Pitsunda cape

   Sukhumi quay

   Sukhumi botanical garden front entrance

   Chanba Dramatic theatre in Sukhumi

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazia"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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