The Georgian Press on the Position of the Georgian Population of Abkhazia During the Georgian-Abkhazian War (1992–1993), by Daur Achugba

Achugba, Daur T. 
Аҧсуаҭҵаара / Abkhaz Studies, no. 4, (2006), pp. 119–130.
Abkhaz Institute of Humanitarian Research Named after D.I. Gulia, Academy of Sciences of Abkhazia

From the very first days of the war, a segment of the Georgian population of Abkhazia, who had been diligently preparing for this moment, took up arms and stood alongside their compatriots from beyond the Ingur River in the fight against the Abkhaz "separatists". The first armed units formed from the local Georgian population were established even before the State Council of Georgia's troops entered Abkhazia, in the cities of Sukhum and Gagra. The Sukhum mechanised battalion, led by the notorious Soso Akhalaia, was stationed in the area of the Sukhum tourist base named after the XV Congress of the Komsomol (now the "Aitar" tourist hotel). According to Boris Kakubava, one of the leaders of the Georgian extremists in Abkhazia, a headquarters of the "Mkhedrioni" (The Mkhedrioni, founded by Jaba Ioseliani, was a Georgian nationalist terrorist organisation that existed from 1989 to 1995. ―Ed.) also operated in the republic's capital, which from the very first days organised an armed detachment and engaged in combat operations. He writes about this: "We decided that since what was bound to happen had happened, we should not lose the initiative: urgently enter Sukhum, surround the building of the Council of Ministers, and arrest the separatists. I, with a detachment of 45 Sukhum 'Mkhedrioni' members, was supposed to attack from Chanba Street, and the Abkhaz battalion, already positioned at the Red Bridge. We were expecting reinforcements from Lominadze and Akhalaia."[1]

Georgian detachments from Gagra also actively engaged in combat operations, supporting the landing of a naval assault in the settlement of Gantiadi (now Tsandrypsh). According to Revaz Bekhashvili, a correspondent for the newspaper Sakartvelo Respublika, the capture of the north-western part of Abkhazia with the help of the local Georgian population began as follows: "On 15 August, at 4 p.m., a naval assault was landed on the coast of Gantiadi settlement... The battle with local separatists (about 100 people in Gantiadi and a group at the traffic police post in Leselidze) lasted about two hours... After liberating Gantiadi and Leselidze from the separatist bands, amidst loud cheers from the local population, battalion reservist Giorgi Gobronidze hoisted the tricolour flag of the Republic of Georgia over the traffic police post. The operation was led by Major Barbakadze."[2]

In many parts of Abkhazia, especially in the cities of Sukhum, Ochamchira, Gagra, and the settlement of Gulripsh, the Georgian population greeted the State Council's troops with shouts of "Chvenbi moviden" ("Our own have come"), "Gaumarjos Sakartvelos!" ("Long live Georgia!"). Women and children showered tanks with flowers. From the very first days, posts were urgently set up on the central highway from the Ingur River to the Basla River, on the eastern outskirts of Sukhum, and from 18 August up to the Gumista River; and in the northwest from the Psou River to the northern part of the Bzyb settlement in the Gagra district. In addition, Georgian settlers in the Ochamchira district blocked all exits from Abkhaz villages and the town of Tquarchal, thereby cutting off the densely populated Abkhaz ethnic enclaves of Abzhyua Abkhazia from the outside world. The posts set up by the Georgians engaged in looting, beatings, and killings of non-Georgian citizens, especially Abkhazians.

Georgians in Abkhazia welcoming the Georgian invading soldiers with flowers. 14 August 1992. Full Video

+ Georgian Brutality and Local Support | 'Mobilizing in Uncertainty', by Anastasia Shesterinina

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+ Lord David Ennals: Georgian troops guilty of atrocities - November 1992

+ Some Chapters from the UNPO’s Abkhazia Report in 1992

Gradually, Georgian armed groups "protecting" their villages from "separatists" merged into the military units and police structures of Georgia. On 27 August 1992, the newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika joyfully informed its readers that "in Abkhazia, volunteers are actively enlisting in Georgian armed formations. Up to two thousand residents of the Gal, Gulripsh, Sukhum, and Gagra districts have expressed such a desire; four battalions have already been formed." In addition, the Georgian authorities distributed a large quantity of small arms to those Georgian civilians who, under the guise of "patriots", increased the number of criminal elements. According to the editor-in-chief of Sakartvelos Respublika, Konstantin Gurgenidze, and the correspondent of the same newspaper, Adam Ivanidze, in the first days of the war, up to 30,000 automatic weapons were distributed in Sukhum alone.[3]

Numerous publications in the Georgian press, both in Abkhazia and Georgia, eloquently testify to the voluntary participation of local Georgians in combat operations against the Republic of Abkhazia. Georgian newspapers, magazines, radio, and television shamelessly persuaded their compatriots that Georgians were fighting against "invaders" who intended to "take away" their native land. For example, the chairman of the Demographic Society of the Sukhum district, Elguja Gvichiani, reported in the district newspaper Shroma in September 1992 that the Georgian population of the district actively joined the war on the side of the State Council of Georgia. For instance, residents of the villages of Kamany and Amazara created a detachment consisting of more than 100 people, and they are fighting against the "invaders".[4]

Georgy Murgulia, a teacher at the Kelasur Secondary School in the Sukhum district, urged his fellow villagers at a village meeting, speaking on behalf of the educators, that Georgians had never brought harm to the Abkhaz "who came to Georgian land." "The highlanders who arrived two or three centuries ago from the North Caucasus," assured Georgy Murgulia, "are not being expelled from our land; we are not taking anything away from them." However, at the end of this demagogic speech, he revealed his true chauvinistic stance and declared: "To tell the truth, we have allowed the Abkhaz, Georgianised Abkhaz, Turks, Adyghes, Chechens, and others—big and small, all of them together, who could fit into the Tbilisi stadium—to get on top of us. Now they want to completely expel us from here.... There is no place in Abkhazia for Abkhaz separatists and their supporters."[5]

No less aggressive was Mzekala Kopaliani, another teacher from the same school. She earnestly convinced her fellow villagers that "Russians and North Caucasian aliens want to take away from us the world-famous Black Sea resorts of Georgia..., but as long as at least one Georgian is alive, we will not yield our land to anyone."[6]

Speaking about the active participation of residents from the village of Shroma in the Sukhum district in the war, correspondent Svetlana Karchava of the newspaper Aphazetis Khma brazenly deceived Georgian readers, claiming that Georgians from Shroma were so steadfast in defending their village because they are indigenous inhabitants. "This land," asserted the journalist, "was given to the Georgians by the Almighty Himself."[7]

High-ranking officials of the so-called Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia did not hide their hatred towards the Abkhaz either. In this regard, the leader of the Georgian ultra-radicals, T. Nadareishvili, stood out particularly. He did not overlook those Georgians who, for various reasons, left Abkhazia, including those who consciously avoided fighting against their neighbours. Speaking on Georgian television on 17 January 1993, T[amaz] Nadareishvili called on all Georgians aged 18 to 50 who had left Abkhazia to return to Sukhum to form a special Sukhum regiment. At the same time, he asked the government of Georgia and the leaders of the cities and districts where Georgians from Abkhazia were dispersed to immediately send them back.[8]

An article by the editor-in-chief of Aphazetis Khma, Tamaz Chochia, titled "Let's Unite into a Single Fist," was particularly aggressive towards the Abkhaz. In it, he stated: "The enemy is in Gudauta; he is the enemy of all Georgians—those here and those there, both 'Zviadists' and 'Shevardnadze supporters,' Mingrelians and Kakhetians. He is an enemy to all, a merciless enemy, and if we are truly at war with him, then we must treat the enemy as an enemy."[9] Moreover, the Georgian journalist, who lived and worked in Abkhazia, unequivocally raised the issue of the inadmissibility of Georgians and Abkhaz living together in Abkhazia: "Even now, we must realise that if the war in Abkhazia does not end with our victory, if we do not defeat the Abkhaz nationalists and bring them to their knees, then Georgians should not live here."[10]

Metropolitan David of Tskhum-Abkhazia, a representative of the Georgian Church, also displayed aggressiveness towards the Abkhaz people and their statehood. At a mass rally in Sukhum, he declared his readiness to personally participate in military actions for the territorial integrity of Georgia. "I am ready to take up arms and lead my flock," proclaimed "Saint David," "to fight against those who encroach on the territorial integrity of Georgia."[11]

The Georgian propaganda machine, fabricating all sorts of falsehoods, further inflamed interethnic hostility. For example, after the expulsion of the invaders from the Gagra region, where the Georgian army suffered a crushing defeat, the Georgian media told the whole world that Abkhaz military forces had killed numerous Georgian civilians at the Gagra stadium, that Abkhaz and Chechens supposedly played football with a severed Georgian head, that "genocide of Georgians is taking place," and that "the oldest indigenous people of Abkhazia, the Georgians, have become refugees," and so on (Years later, Paata Zakareishvili confirmed that this claim, like many Georgian myths about the war, was a lie. See: 'Paata Zakareishvili: The story of Georgians' heads being used to play football in Gagra is a myth' —Ed.) The newspaper Aphazetis Khma on 5 February informed its readers that allegedly in the village of Kutol in the Ochamchira district, the Abkhaz had taken 800 Georgians hostage and threatened that if Georgian troops attempted to attack the village, they would cut off the heads of the Georgians and send them to the Georgian command.

Naturally, such disinformation was intended to prompt the Georgians of Abkhazia to become even more active in the war. However, these frightening reports also had negative effects for the Georgians themselves, as during intense combat operations, including military personnel, they fell into panic and fled. This was the case during the liberation of Gagra and during the March and September 1993 offensives on Sukhum.

+ Paata Zakareishvili: The story of Georgians' heads being used to play football in Gagra is a myth

+ Georgian-Abkhaz War | FBIS Reports (Aug-Oct. 1992)

+ Ruslan Khashig: "The Statements of Koba Kobaladze are Absolute Lies"

+ Tengiz Kitovani: "they [Russians] officially gave us the 108 tanks of the Akhaltsikhe Division"

The puppet government of the so-called Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia issued special decrees that forced the local population to serve in the occupiers' armed formations.[13] In the cities and districts of the occupied part of Abkhazia, all methods were used to conscript the male population. For example, a mobilisation department was created under the Sukhum military garrison, headed by the former general director of "Orgtekhnika," Aleksandr Mikadze, who had previously actively financed Georgian extremists in Abkhazia.

According to the newspaper Aphazetis Khma, the 23rd Sukhum Brigade under the command of G[eno] Adamia was primarily composed of residents from the city of Sukhum and surrounding villages.[14] For instance, the 1st Battalion of the 23rd Brigade was mainly staffed by residents of the villages of Upper Kelasuri, Bircha, Odishi, and Lindava in the Sukhum district, as reported by Aphazetis Khma on 14 August 1993. Earlier, the newspaper had noted that "the majority of those fighting with weapons in their hands are Sukhum residents and indigenous inhabitants of the nearby villages of Abkhazia."[15]

In this regard, district newspapers provide a wealth of information. For example, the newspaper Tskhum of the Sukhum district (the successor to the newspaper Shroma) on 23 April 1993 provides specific data on the participation of local residents in the struggle for the "territorial integrity" of Georgia. The publication speaks of the active involvement in the war of residents from the village of Upper Kelasuri and notes that 12 people from this village had already died: among them Tenguli Dzadzamia—deputy commander of the 2nd Battalion; Buthuza Mataradze; Murman Rekhviashvili; Gennady Kopaliani; Shota Kopaliani; Yuri Omanidze—deputy commander of the 1st Battalion; Gurdzhi Kopaliani; Gia Shamugia—deputy commander of the 2nd Battalion; Murman Gugsani; Khvicha Tedorashvili; and Alesha Kopaliani. According to the same newspaper dated 30 April 1993, the majority of young people from the Michurin collective farm in the village of Akhalsheni actively participated in the war. On 28 May, Tskhum published an interview with the clerk of the Sukhum district administration, Kote Abuladze, which provided a more detailed picture of the participation of district residents in military operations against the Republic of Abkhazia. He particularly noted the activity of residents from the village of Shroma, among whom everyone capable of holding a weapon "defended the unity of Georgia." In the Gumista village council, all Georgians participated in the fighting, comprising 80% of the entire population.

While emphasising the activity of the Georgian population in the anti-Abkhaz war, the district administration clerk also expressed dissatisfaction that the non-Georgian population "hardly supported" the Georgians. "True, among the non-Georgian population there are those who defend the Motherland, but they are very few," stressed K[ote] Abuladze.[16]

According to the head of the Sukhum district Department of Internal Affairs, Colonel Amiraan Argvliani, three battalions of the Georgian armed forces were formed from the district's residents, commanded by local "patriots" Dato Gvindzhilia, Zuri Mebonia, and Vakhtang Mukbaniani.[17]

Residents of Georgian nationality from the Gulripsh, Ochamchira, and other districts of Abkhazia were no less active in supporting the occupiers. For example, from the village of Tsagera in the Ochamchira district, according to Sakartvelos Respublika, 53 people had died in combat operations by early August 1993.[18] According to the same newspaper (dated 4 August 1993), over 90% of the local Georgian population in the Ochamchira district were fighting, and half of the men in the villages had been killed. Distressed by this, the authors of this information directly posed the questions: "Is this war needed only by the Ochamchirans? Whom do they intend to populate this territory with?"

The mass participation of the local Georgian population in combat operations is also evidenced by a statement from the Prime Minister of Georgia, T. Sigua, in early June 1993, in which he reported that out of 7,500 military personnel fighting against Abkhazia, 7,000 were locals—residents of Sukhum, Gagra, Gal, and Ochamchira.[19] Undoubtedly, the Georgian authorities concealed the real number of their troops, but even this figure is telling.

It should also be noted that local Georgians fighting on the side of the occupiers often displayed more activity than those who came from Georgia. The newspaper Iveria-Spektri on 25 August 1993, in an article titled "They Do Not Leave Their Positions," reported that during the disengagement of troops on the Gumista River, as provided by the Sochi Agreement of 27 July 1993, some Sukhum residents—defenders of the city—did not leave their positions; they were forcibly placed in vehicles and removed from the front line they occupied.

The Georgians of Abkhazia actively joined the struggle for the "territorial integrity" of Georgia not only within armed formations but also by bolstering police units, whose numbers significantly increased during the war. As is known, the Georgian personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Abkhazia, even before the start of the war, supporting former Minister of Internal Affairs G. Lominadze, refused to obey the authorities of the Republic of Abkhazia. Before the commencement of military actions, they declared a boycott and did not report to work, but as soon as the State Council's troops entered Abkhazia, Georgian police officers exhibited "labour enthusiasm." Besides the police, i.e., the former militia, a military police also operated in Abkhazia during the war. In September 1992, on the basis of the Sukhum motorised mechanised battalion of the 3rd Brigade, a military police battalion was created under the command of Soso Akhalaia. Two months later, the Department of Military Police of Abkhazia was established, and from February 1993, it was transformed into the Directorate of Military Police of Abkhazia. The structure of the Directorate included the military police of Sukhum, the Gulripsh and Gal battalions, as well as units of the Naval Police. Soso Akhalaia was appointed as the head of the Directorate of Military Police (a major general from 18 May 1993). The personnel were mainly staffed from the Georgian population of Abkhazia.[20]

The occupation authorities, with the help of the police, imposed "order" in their own way. Numerous facts, including those published at the time by the Georgian press, eloquently indicate that in the territory of Abkhazia controlled by Tbilisi, various serious crimes flourished, committed by both civilians and the military and police. These often had an ethnic character, meaning that citizens of non-Georgian nationality were deliberately "punished." The newspaper Aphazetis Khma on 3 September 1992 reported: "On 28 August, strangers, from his own yard on Dzerzhinsky Street, under threat of arms, hijacked a personal car ('VAZ-2106') belonging to Boris Mishin, state number D 8000 GG. On 31 August 1992, two Georgian guardsmen took away a 'VAZ-2106' (A 8326 AI) from Suren Gabrielyan on Bzyb Highway."[21]

The occupation authorities did not conceal the widespread looting and robbery. According to the commandant of Sukhum, General G. Gulua, on 6 September, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs detained three groups of looters who were robbing apartments and government institutions. A month after the invasion of the State Council's troops, the head of the Sukhum City Department of Internal Affairs, Colonel R. Rapava, described the emerging situation as follows: "The city is in a severe criminal situation; robberies, looting, car thefts, etc., continue. Last night alone, up to 200 citizen calls for help were recorded. A very large number of looters are among the guardsmen... A large number of volunteers arrived in the city to 'help,' among whom there are many criminals... There is practically no possibility of conducting investigations."[22] The same newspaper, in its editorial article, reported that in the capital of Abkhazia, homes and apartments of Abkhazians, Russians, Armenians, and Greeks were massively looted.[23]

As time passed, crime in the occupied part of Abkhazia reached new heights. In the newspaper Aphazetis Khma dated 11 March 1993, it was openly reported that "the number of serious crimes such as murders, armed robberies using automatic weapons, theft of personal and state property, and others, has not only not decreased but, on the contrary, has increased."

+ Alleged human rights violations during the conflict in Abkhazia | Amnesty International, 1993

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Local Georgians in military uniform significantly contributed to creating this unbearable criminal situation. For example, on the night of 21 to 22 January 1993, with the intent of robbery, a group of local Georgian militants on Bagrationi Street in Sukhum used automatic weapons to kill eight civilians, including three Abkhazians, three Russians, one Armenian, and one Georgian passer-by. Among the victims were women.²⁴

The newspaper Democratic Abkhazia on 2 June 1993 noted that recently the military police in Sukhum detained a group of six servicemen from the military commandant's office of the Sukhum garrison, who "specialised" in car thefts. All of them were natives of Abkhazia: five from Sukhum (Ruslan Goginava, his brother Hamlet Goginava, their relative Vladimir Goginava, Ramaz Nanava, and Roman Adonia) and Nodar Pakeliani from the village of Ordzhonikidze in the Gudauta district. During a search, they were found in possession of a "GAZ-24 Volga" car, two "VAZ-2106" cars, a "Moskvich," two engines, and other valuables.

Available materials indicate that the Georgian authorities handed Abkhazia and its population over to plunderers. In this regard, a report by the former head of the Georgian Information and Intelligence Service, Irakli Batiashvili, is noteworthy. Later, in the newspaper 7 Days, he wrote: "During the military operations in Abkhazia, the leadership in Tbilisi—the military command, the State Council—was thoroughly informed about the crimes committed by Georgian military personnel in Gagra, Sukhum, and other locations where fighting was taking place. They knew both the specific individuals involved and the crimes they were committing."²⁵ As they say, no further comment is necessary.

During the war in Abkhazia, the aggressors received support from the local Georgian population not only in manpower.

The majority of the Georgian intelligentsia joined the anti-Abkhaz campaign. Many writers, scientists, university professors and lecturers, journalists from print and electronic media, and actors unquestioningly—and often with pleasure—entered into the service of Georgia's petty imperialist chauvinistic ideology. Among them, the writers Geno and Rene Kalandia, Jano Janelidze, scientists T. Mibchuani, Z. Papaskiri, V. Zukhbaia, journalists A. Beurlava, T. Chochia, N. Dzhindzhua, actors D. Dzhayani, G. Kavtaradze, and others stood out. Leading the entire intellectual sphere of Abkhazia, as before the war, was the former Georgian parliamentary faction of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia, where the tone was set by the First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council, Tamaz Nadareishvili, who later, by order of Tbilisi, became the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the so-called Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia and Chairman of the "Defence Council of Abkhazia," along with Nugzar Mgaloblishvili, Gia Gvazava, Napoleon Meskhia, Akaki Gasviani, and others.

Analysing the position of the Georgians of Abkhazia during the hostilities, it should be noted that among the Georgian population there were also those who took a neutral stance, particularly many supporters of the former President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. However, as the war became brutal and protracted, neutrality under such conditions was regarded by the Georgian authorities as a betrayal of pan-Georgian interests, forcing some of these people to leave Abkhazia. Some went to Georgia, others to Russia and other countries near and far.

With the deployment of the State Council of Georgia's troops into Abkhazia, naturally, there were people in the Gal district who supported the occupiers, including the head of the district administration, R. Tsatava, and his entourage. On the side of the State Council were O. Akishba, I. Morokhia, T. Chikhladze, G. Naramia, and other well-known figures in Samurzakano. From the very first days of the war, T. Shonia organised a "Mkhedrioni" group numbering 100 people, and D. Shonia's detachment comprised 60 individuals. B. Dzhobava formed a similar pro-Shevardnadze group. To secure the support of the majority of the population for the aggressors, the leaders of the district's "fifth column" did not hesitate to use any means. For example, the detachments of T. Shonia and B. Dzhobava brought the bodies of dead soldiers to the district centre at night and opened fire on them to convince local residents that Abkhazians had attacked them. They also blew up the district military enlistment office and blamed it on the Abkhazians. However, they failed to provoke the majority of the Gal residents.

There were also Gal residents who actively opposed the State Council's agenda: some provided humanitarian aid to the Abkhazians—there are numerous instances where Samurzakanians, under difficult conditions, delivered food supplies to the residents of the besieged town of Tquarchal and other settlements of Abzhyua Abkhazia cut off from the outside world; they also helped wounded Abkhaz prisoners. Others fought with weapons in hand for the restoration of Gamsakhurdia's authority in Georgia. According to the district newspaper Gal, an armed group of 200 people led by Badazgu operated in Samurzakano Abkhazia.

It is noteworthy that while in other regions of Abkhazia many Georgians who maintained a neutral position during the war left Abkhazia, in the Gal district the "neutrals" remained. Since they were in the majority, the Georgian authorities did not exacerbate relations with them.

Here, of course, the anti-Shevardnadze sentiments in neighbouring Megrelia played a significant role. But the neutrality of the majority of Samurzakanians is also explained by the fact that many residents of the Gal district are indigenous inhabitants, and the historical memory of their genetic affiliation to the Abkhaz ethnic group did not allow them to act against Abkhazia and its people.

During the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992–1993, not only in the Gal district but also in other regions of Abkhazia, some Georgians opposed (even fought —Ed.) the Georgian aggressors. Their numbers in each district and city of Abkhazia amounted to dozens. Among them are those awarded the medal "For Courage," holders of the "Order of Leon," and recipients of the title "Hero of Abkhazia."

But unfortunately, the majority of the Georgian population of Abkhazia, brought up under Georgia's petty imperialist, chauvinistic ideology, sided with the aggressors. Support for Georgia's colonial policy and its defeat in the war led to the mass exodus of Georgians from Abkhazia. Among the refugees, the overwhelming majority of men had actively participated in combat operations against the state of Abkhazia or had assisted the Georgian occupiers.

Notes

[1] Kakubava, B. "The War Did Not Start on 14 August." Newspaper 7 Days, 22–28 March 1996. (in Georgian).

[2] Bekhashvili, R. "The Caucasus Is Fighting Against Itself." Newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika, 27 August 1992. (in Georgian).

[3] Newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika, 4 August 1993. (in Georgian).

[4] Gvichiani, E. "We Are All Doing the Same Thing." Newspaper Shroma, 19 September 1992. (in Georgian).

[5] Newspaper Dzhiha, Organ of the 23rd Brigade of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia, 24 April 1993. (in Georgian).

[6] Ibid.

[7] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 23 April 1993. (in Georgian).

[8] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 28 January 1993. (in Georgian).

[9] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 5 June 1993. (in Georgian).

[10] Ibid.

[11] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 10 October 1992. (in Georgian).

[12] Ibid.

[13] Newspaper Tskhumi, 11 May 1993. (in Georgian).

[14 Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 5 February 1993. (in Georgian).

[15] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 17 January 1993. (in Georgian).

[16] Newspaper Tskhumi, 30 April 1993. (in Georgian).

]17] Ibid.

[18] Newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika, 5 August 1993. (in Georgian).

[19] Newspaper Democratic Abkhazia, 2 June 1993.

[20] Newspaper Sakartvelos Respublika, 3 June 1993. (in Georgian).

[21] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 3 September 1992. (in Georgian).

[22] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 15 September 1992. (in Georgian).

[23] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 19 November 1992. (in Georgian).

[24] Newspaper Aphazetis Khma, 5 February 1993. (in Georgian).

[25] Newspaper 7 Days, No. 12, 1996. (in Georgian).