Architect Şebnem (Shabnam) Marshan from Turkey decided to stay in Abkhazia forever after spending two weeks here. As for what made her return to her historical homeland and how the life of a repatriate in the ‘Land of the Soul’ turned out, you can find out more here.

On New Year's Eve several years ago a studio of architecture and design was opened in the centre of the capital of Abkhazia. Large glass windows, bright curtains and unusual lighting attracted the attention of all passers-by.

The Ritsa National Park is located in the mountainous part of Abkhazia on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Range, between the Ghegha River and the Pshchitsa River. It was founded in 1996 on the basis of the Ritsa Nature Reserve, established in 1930.

The area of the reserve is 39,000 hectares. The difference in elevation is significant, from 100 m to 3,256 m above sea level (Mount Agepsta), which creates a rich range of environmental conditions for the growth of many plants and animals. The high-mountainous terrain and abundant precipitation help to create favourable conditions for many lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Lake Big Ritsa is a special pride of the national park but other lakes are on par with the big bro, e.g. Little Ritsa is charming, Blue Lake is astounding, there are several glacial lakes in the highlands. The largest of the waterfalls is in the Ghegh canyon, it falls down in a white 50-metre curtain from the wall of the Ghegh canyon.

The war of toponyms

The Georgian chauvinists resort to such absurd claims that they should simply be ashamed of themselves. They now maintain that South Ossetia does not exist. If they use the term at all, they put it in quotes and preface it with the words ‘so called’. They now call the area Shida Kartli [Inner Kartli] or Samachablo [Fiefdom of the Machabeli family].

Ruslan Berzek, a descendant of the last Ubykh prince Haji Berzek Kerantukh, was ordained a priest at the Elyr-shrine on Thursday 20 February. He it was who had to become the priest of the seventh Abkhazian sanctuary of Bytkha, which is located in the territory of modern Sochi.

For 12 years, Ruslan Berzek has been restoring not only his family-tree, but also the language, culture and traditional religion of the Ubykh people.

The World’s Hypocrisy About Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank
By Eli Lake | Bloomberg

The example of Russia is instructive. In 2020, Russia occupies Ukrainian territory in Crimea and Donbass. It occupies the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It occupies the Moldovan territory of Transnistria.

But Russia is really only paying a price for its occupation and annexation of Crimea, which has caused the U.S. and its European allies to sanction sectors of the Russian economy. Russia was initially sanctioned for its occupation of Georgian territory, but those sanctions were lifted in 2009 following a flimsy cease-fire agreement that Russian-backed separatists have since violated. The EU treats Transnistrian goods as if they were Moldovan. There are no restrictions on trade from the Georgian territory that Russia occupies.