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Sukhumi[sookhOO´mE] Pronunciation Key, city (1989 pop. 121,406), capital of the Abkhazia, W Georgia, on the Black Sea. It is a port, a rail junction, and a major subtropical resort, whose sulfur baths have been frequented since Roman times. The city has several institutes affiliated with the Georgian Academy of Sciences. The Greek colony of Dioscurias was founded on the site of the city in the 6th cent. B.C. It was known as Sebastopolis under Rome and Byzantium. Russia acquired it in 1810 as the Turkish fortress of Sukhum-Kale. Sukhumi was the center of a guerrilla war between Georgian military units and Abkhazian irregulars in the early 1990s that led to de facto autonomy for the region. The Sukhumi Military Road crosses the Caucasus at the Klukhori Pass (9,235 ft/2,815 m) and continues SW to Sukhumi. It is c.120 mi (190 km) long.
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