Recently, large pro-Russian rallies took place in the city of Sukhumi, in Abkhazia. Officials of Abkhazia have also offered Abkhazian territory for the full military control of Russia so that the territory can remain secure and free of Georgian aggression and hostility. Where or what is Abkhazia one might ask?
Abkhazia is among those distant and remote Caucasian regions that westerners know little or nothing about, but where occasionally some important confrontations happen.
In fact, it’s a region second only to the Middle East where the possibly of a large scale or even world war might occur.
Situated in the northwest corner of what was formerly Georgia with the Black Sea to the southwest and the Caucasus mountains and Russia to the northeast, Abkhazia was known as a prime holiday destination. Abkhazia was considered a paradise during USSR days, with a scenic tropical landscape, palm trees and a warm sea. It had 500 industrial and machine manufacturing, enterprises. Over 100,000 tons of tangerines, oranges and lemons were produced each year. It has also been an important tea and tobacco growing area.
Now railroads and highways are in a state of disrepair, the timber industry has disappeared, citrus and tea production is negligible, and many plantations have been abandoned and overgrown with weeds. There also are the shells of seaside hotels and spa facilities which resemble bombed out buildings. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, all seaside real estate was declared the republic's property.
The majority of hotels and vacation resorts are leased by Russian companies and organizations on preferential terms. The former paradise is now desperate for international recognition and striving for independence or integration with Russia as an alternative option.
Once part of the Greek and Roman empires in ancient days, Abkhazia adopted Christianity in the sixth century. With the rise of the Ottoman empire 500 years later, Islam gained great influence. Ethnic Abkhazians have close historical, linguistic and cultural ties with the peoples of the Russian North Caucasus.
Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian empire in 1810 as a protectorate and formally annexed in 1864. Much later, Joseph Stalin made Abkhazia a province of Georgia. Abkhazia declared its independence in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A small and bloody war followed due to the objection of Georgian authorities. In August 1992, Georgian troops entered Abkhazia to finish off supporters of separatist leader Zviad Gamsakhurdia who were defending their position in the eastern portion of Abkhazia.
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