Abkhazia is a disputed region in the Caucasus along the eastern shores of the Black Sea, bordering southern Russia and western Georgia. The territory has declared independence from Georgia since 1991, as the Republic of Abkhazia, while Georgia continues to consider it an autonomous republic within the nation. Its independence is only recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, the Palestinian Authority, and fellow largely unrecognized breakaway states South Ossetia and Transnistria. The frozen conflict came to international attention in the summer of 2008, when Russia and Georgia came to blows over  South Ossetia. 

Statistics: The area of Abkhazia is 8,432 km², (5,239 mi²) -- for comparison, Puerto Rico has an area of 8,870 km².The capital of Abkhazia is Sukhumi, a beachside city of approximately 43,700. According to a 2003 census, Abkhazia as a whole is home to 216,000 people. For comparison, Barbados has a population of 256,000. The predominant religion of Abkhazia is Orthodox Christianity, although there are also large numbers of Armenian Apostolic Christians and Sunni Muslims. The official languages are Abkhaz and Russian, while Armenian, Georgia, and Mingrelian are also spoken.

History: In the 6th century BC, Milesian Greeks erected maritime settlements along the coastline of the Black Sea, in what was the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis. One of these settlements, Dioscurias, is the antedecessor to today's Sukhumi. After the downfall of the Roman Empire, Lazic tribes gained control over the region, but not for long before the Byzantine Empire dominated in the 6th century AD. The Byzantines erected Sebastopolis, and referred to the area as "Abasgia." An Abgasian dynasty was established, and as Abgasia grew in strength, it in turn grew in size. From 850-950 Abgasia had taken the entirety of modern-day western Georgia.

In 1008, Abkhazia and Georgia were united as a single feudal state. Unfortunately, repeated invasions of Georgia by Mongol tribes and Timur's warriors throughout the 12th through 15th centuries split the kingdom of Georgia back into several independent states; one of which was the Principality of Abkhazia, which was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire in the 1570s. At this time, much of eastern Georgia and the south Caucasus was under the Safavid Persian Empire, dividing it both literally and figuratively from western Georgia and Abkhazia.

The 19th century, beginning with the Russo-Turkish war of 1806-1812, and the subsequent Russian rule saw a major shift in demographics for Abkhazia. Many Abkhaz emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, and those who remained were essentially forced to convert to Orthodox Christianity. Large numbers of Armenians, Georgians, and Russians subsequently took advantage of the abandoned lands.

Political tensions began to rise between Abkhazia and Georgia in the beginning of the 20th century, and after the failed Russian Revolution of 1905, many Abkhaz pledged their loyalty to Russian rule, while the majority of Georgians felt otherwise. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Abkhazia became an autonomous region within the briefly independent Republic of Georgia. Then, following the Soviet invasion of Georgia in 1921, Abkhazia became incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Abkhazian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). It was a 'treaty republic' associated with, but not part of, the Georgian SSR.  In 1931, Stalin (himself Georgian) decreed Abkhazia an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, and made Georgian the official language of Abkhazia. His treatment of the Abkhaz only made the ethnic divisions worse. Over the next decades, protests took place to convince Moscow to transfer Abkhazia from the Georgian SSR to the Russian, and though this did not occur, the USSR made concessions such as allowing the establishment of the Abkhazian State University, and starting Abkhaz-language television stations.

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Abkhazians feared that an independent Georgia would lead to a loss of autonomy. Small-scale violent ethnic conflicts broke out, leading to civilian casualties. In 1992, after Georgia declared independence and re-adopted the 1921 constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, Abkhazia felt that their autonomy was ultimately usurped. On Jul 23rd, 1992, Abkhazia proclaimed independence from Georgia, leading to one the most violent conflictsof any of the post-Soviet breakaway states.

Conflict: The War of Abkhazia, waged by the Abkhaz separatists against Georgian government officials, lasted from August 14th, 1992 until September 27th, 1993. As in other post-Soviet breakaway conflicts, the separatists were heavily supported by the Russian Federation, despite its claim of neutrality. According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as UN resolution GA/10708,  a massive campaign of ethnic cleansing against Abkhazia's ethnic Georgian population took place. Approximately 13,000-20,000 Georgians and 3,000 Abkhaz were killed in the war, over 250,000 Georgians were displaced or left as refugees, and around 2,000 are missing. Both Georgia and Abkhazia were left devestated physically and financially by the conflict, and it resulted in the de facto independence of Abkhazia.

Since then, tensions have continued. In May 1998, another violent conflict broke out between Abkhazia and Georgia, when Abkhaz troops entered Georgian villages during the parliamentary elections. Hundreds more were killed in the violence, and tens of thousands of Georgians were left as refugees. 

The hostilities subsided until August 2008, when war broke out between Georgia and Russia over the status of South Ossetia. Over 9,000 Russian troops entered Abkhazia in order to reinforce Russian peacekeepers and expel Georgian troops. Russia  recognized Abkhazia's independence on August 26th, 2008, and will be erecting a military base there in 2009. Over 80% of Abkhazians have been granted Russian passports, While Moscow did not previously support Abkhazia's independence, after the official recognition of Kosovo in 2008, Russia declared that it set a precedent for the nation to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia. As for the UN, the organization believes that independence may only be settled by official referendum under international observation and in accordance to international law.

The Present: Today, Abkhazia's economy is closely tied to Russia's, and uses the Russian ruble. Tourism is a lucrative industry, despite the violent conflicts of the past two decades. In 2006, Abkhazian authorities estimated that over 1.5 million tourists visited to see the shores of the Black Sea. Russian investment in Abkhazia, and Abkhazia's exports of tea, tobacco, wine, and fruits have led to a reasonable stable economy, although as in all breakaway states, there is mass corruption. The European Union has invested over 20 million dollars in humanitarian aid projects. Sergei Bagapsh has served as president of Abkhazia since 2005, leading the Government of the Republic of Abkhazia -- not to be confused with the pro-Georgian Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, in exile in Tblisi.

Image courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons.