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Stalin’s National Question and Abkhazia

Stalin’s National Question and Ethnocultural Policy in Abkhazia (1930s–1950s), by Nuri Bagapsh

11 February, 2026

This article examines the ethnocultural policy of the Georgian SSR in Abkhazia during the 1930s–1950s through the prism of Stalin’s early theoretical formulations on the national question. Drawing upon Soviet...

The Russo–Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the Abkhazian Uprising

The Russo–Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the Abkhazian Uprising, by Giorgi Anchabadze

11 February, 2026

This study by Giorgi Z. Anchabadze examines the Abkhazian uprising of 1877 within the broader geopolitical framework of the Russo-Turkish War. Drawing upon Russian military records, contemporary press accounts, and...

The Abkhaz Principality in the Second Decade of the Nineteenth Century

The Abkhaz Principality in the Second Decade of the Nineteenth Century, by D. G. Tarba

10 February, 2026

This article examines the political structure and power dynamics of the Abkhaz Principality during the 1810s, analysing the limitations of Safarbey’s authority, internal elite divisions, and the competing pressures exerted...

Prince Keleshbey Chachba, who ruled Abkhazia at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Struggle for Power in Abkhazia Between the Sons of Keleshbey Chachba (1808–1810), by D. G. Tarba

10 February, 2026

This article examines the struggle for power in Abkhazia between 1808 and 1810 following the death of Prince Keleshbey Chachba, analysing dynastic rivalry, foreign intervention, and the geopolitical context through...

Abkhazian fighters block the road between Sukhum and Batumi. 19 December 1992.

The Patriotic War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), by Aslan Avidzba

09 February, 2026

Aslan F. AvidzbaDoctor of Historical SciencesProfessor, Department of History, Archaeology and Ethnology of Abkhazia On 25 August 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Abkhazia adopted the Declaration on State...

Concepts of Honour and Dignity in Traditional Abkhazian Culture

Ахьӡи-ахьымӡӷи ирыдҳәаалоу зҵаарақәак Аԥсуа традициаҭә культураҿы. - В.В. Аҩӡба

07 February, 2026

V. V. Achba., 'Ахьӡи-ахьымӡӷи ирыдҳәаалоу зҵаарақәак Аԥсуа традициаҭә культураҿы,' Aamtaq’a (Historical and Cultural Almanac), no. 1–2, Scientific Research Centre 'Abkhaz Encyclopaedia'; Abkhaz Historical Society, Sukhum:, 2024, pp. 186–191. Over the course...

Opinion

Analysis

The Ibero-Caucasian hypothesis and the historiography of Abkhazia, by Kevin Tuite

04 June, 2022

The Rise and Fall and Revival of the Ibero-Caucasian HypothesisHistoriographia Linguistica Vol. 35:1/2 (2008), pp. 23–82 Kevin Tuite Professor of Anthropology at the Université de Montréal 8. The Ibero-Caucasian hypothesis and the historiography of Abkhazia (pp.53-65)8.1 P’avle Ingoroq’va, Giorgi Merčule, and the...

Blog

Andrei Sakharov on the relationship between Abkhazia and Georgia

24 February, 2022

In 1989 at the start of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict the late Academician Andrei Sakharov in one of his last articles called Georgia a ‘mini-empire’ (Ogonёk 1989, 31). Later, describing the relationship between Abkhazia and Georgia, he wrote: "I tend to justify...

Analysis

Nationalism, politics, and the practice of archaeology in the Caucasus

Nationalism, politics, and the practice of archaeology in the Caucasus, by Philip Kohl and Gocha Tsetskhladze

26 April, 2020

Nationalism, politics, and the practice of archaeology, edited by Philip L. Kohl and Clare Fawcett Cambridge University Press 1995 Nationalism, politics, and the practice of archaeology in the Caucasus (Part III Eastern Europe and Eurasia) pp. 149-174 By Philip L. Kohl and Gocha R...

Conflict

Old Parliament Building, Sukhum

Abkhazia: a problem of identity and ownership, by George B. Hewitt - Central Asian Survey

21 October, 2008

Abkhazia: a problem of identity and ownership  History and Documents Central Asian Survey, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 267–323, 1993 by George B. Hewitt The Abkhazians living in Turkey have preserved very well the customs, language and dances  carried  there  from  Abkhazia  by  their ...

History

Lapinski: Abkhaz people are the last in the Caucasus who still put up resistance to the Muscovites

23 May, 2020

In June 1861, on the initiative of the Ubykhs, a 'mejlis' (parliament) was constituted not far from Sochi; it was known as 'The Great and Free Assembly'. The Ubykhs, the Circassian Shapsughs and Abadzekhs/Abzakhs, and the Abkhazian tribes of Ahchypsy...

Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus.

How nations united: Formation of the Confederation of Caucasian Peoples

28 February, 2020

Everyone who is somehow familiar with the history of the Patriotic War of the people of Abkhazia could not help but hear about the Assembly of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, which was soon renamed the Confederation. This is no...

Abkhazia Resettlement Construction 1941

Resettlement to Abkhazia

14 February, 2020

After most of Abkhazia’s indigenous Abkhazians were expelled to Ottoman lands firstly at the end of the Russian-Caucasian War (1864) and then following the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78), their vacated lands immediately started to attract colonisation from such diverse incomers as:...

Abkhazians who took part in the 1866 Lykhny uprising. Photo by D. I. Yermakov (1867)

Thirty years of "guilt" (1877-1907), by Stanislav Lakoba

14 March, 2013

Reflections on Abkhazia: [14 August] 1992-2012 Immediately after the Caucasian War (21 May 1864), in June 1864 the independent princedom of Abkhazia was abolished, and the sovereign prince Mikhail Shervashidze (Chachba) was subjected to political repression; in 1866, he died in...

Editors' Picks

Myrzakan (Samurzakan) Abkhazians (1880-90).

On the Political and Ethnic History of Myrzakan (Samurzakano) in the 19th Century, By Denis Gopia

19 January, 2024

Academy of Sciences of Abkhazia Abkhaz Institute of Humanitarian Research Named after D.I. Gulia, AbIGI 2022 Аҧсуаҭҵаара / Abkhaz Studies. No.12. Sukhum. 2022. pp. 99-111  The article is also available in PDF format in both Russian (original) and English.

Rewriting History? A Critique of Modern Georgian Historiography on Abkhazia

12 October, 2023

In the book "Ответ историкам из Тбилиси (документы и факты)" (English: "A Response to Historians from Tbilisi: Documents and Facts"), Abkhazian historian Stanislav Lakoba addresses critical issues surrounding Georgian-Abkhazian relations. Drawing from extensive research and documentation, Lakoba delves deep into...

Russian President Boris Yeltsin welcomes Georgian Governing Council leader Eduard Shevardnadze in Dagomys, Sochi. (June 24, 1992).

The Hand of Moscow and the Sterility of Geneva, by Izida Chania

03 October, 2023

On September 30th, Abkhazia marked its Victory Day in the Georgian-Abkhazian war. In 1993, Abkhazia's Armed Forces successfully repelled Georgian troops, asserting control over the country's territory up to the Abkhazian-Georgian border along the Ingur River. Reactions to this day...

The Exodus of Abkhazians During the 19th Century: Resistance, Uprisings, and Exile

18 April, 2023

Throughout the 19th century, the Russian-Caucasian War brought about significant changes in the geopolitical landscape of the region. The conflict between the Russian Empire and the native peoples of the Caucasus led to significant population displacements, including those of the...

General Giorgi Mazniev (Mazniashvili) with his son Ivan.

Georgian policy towards Abkhazia in the period 1918-1921, by Vadim Mukhanov

19 August, 2022

This article has been written in Russian and is translated into English. Vadim M. MukhanovHead of Caucasus Department of The Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO). Russia. In 1917, i.e. in the first revolutionary...

A Georgian armored vehicle drives down a road. July, 1993. Sukhum, Abkhazia

Abkhazia is Abkhazia, by Stanislav Lakoba

15 October, 2008

Stanislav Lakoba Minister of Security in Abkhazia, former speaker of Abkhazian ParliamentA Report At A London Conference On North Caucasus and Abkhazia 23th April, 1993Central Asian Survey, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 97–105, 1995 I had a different beginning for my report...

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