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Georgia Abkhazia
In the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic of Georgia, the
Abkhazian population, like the Ossetians a distinct ethnic group,
feared that the Georgians would eliminate their political
autonomy and destroy the Abkhaz as a cultural entity. On one
hand, a long history of ill will between the Abkhaz and the
Georgians was complicated by the minority status of the Abkhaz
within the autonomous republic and by periodic Georgianization
campaigns, first by the Soviet and later by the Georgian
government. On the other hand, the Georgian majority in Abkhazia
resented disproportionate distribution of political and
administrative positions to the Abkhaz. Beginning in 1978, Moscow
had sought to head off Abkhazian demands for independence by
allocating as much as 67 percent of party and government
positions to the Abkhaz, although, according to the 1989 census,
2.5 times as many Georgians as Abkhaz lived in Abkhazia.
Tensions in Abkhazia led to open warfare on a much larger
scale than in South Ossetia. In July 1992, the Abkhazian Supreme
Soviet voted to return to the 1925 constitution under which
Abkhazia was separate from Georgia. In August 1992, a force of
the Georgian National Guard was sent to the Abkhazian capital of
Sukhumi with orders to protect Georgian rail and road supply
lines, and to secure the border with Russia. When Abkhazian
authorities reacted to this transgression of their selfproclaimed sovereignty, hundreds were killed in fighting between
Abkhazian and Georgian forces, and large numbers of refugees fled
across the border into Russia or into other parts of Georgia. The
Abkhazian government was forced to flee Sukhumi.
For two centuries, the Abkhaz had viewed Russia as a
protector of their interests against the Georgians; accordingly,
the Georgian incursion of 1992 brought an Abkhazian plea for
Russia to intervene and settle the issue. An unknown number of
Russian military personnel and volunteers also fought on the side
of the Abkhaz, and Shevardnadze accused Yeltsin of intentionally
weakening Georgia's national security by supporting separatists.
After the failure of three cease-fires, in September 1993
Abkhazian forces besieged and captured Sukhumi and drove the
remaining Georgian forces out of Abkhazia. In the fall of 1993,
mediation efforts by the United Nations (UN) and Russia were
slowed by Georgia's struggle against Gamsakhurdia's forces in
Mingrelia, south of Abkhazia. In early 1994, a de facto ceasefire remained in place, with the Inguri River in northwest
Georgia serving as the dividing line. Separatist forces made
occasional forays into Georgian territory, however.
In September 1993, Gamsakhurdia took advantage of the
struggle in Abkhazia to return to Georgia and rally enthusiastic
but disorganized Mingrelians against the demoralized Georgian
army. Although Gamsakhurdia initially represented his return as a
rescue of Georgian forces, he actually included Abkhazian troops
in his new advance. Gamsakhurdia's forces took several towns in
western Georgia, adding urgency to an appeal by Shevardnadze for
Russian military assistance. In mid-October the addition of
Russian weapons, supply-line security, and technical assistance
turned the tide against Gamsakhurdia and brought a quick end to
hostilities on the Mingrelian front
(see Foreign
Relations
, this
ch.). His cause apparently lost, Gamsakhurdia committed suicide
in January 1994.
Data as of March 1994
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