Translator’s note:

This chapter was first published as a separate brochure: S. Lakoba, Aslanbey: On the Question of Political Confrontation in Abkhazia in the First Third of the Nineteenth Century (Sukhum, 1999). It was subsequently incorporated into the present volume: Abkhazia after Two Empires. Nineteenth–Twenty-First Centuries: Essays (Abkhaziia posle dvukh imperii. XIX–XXI vv.), pp. 17-16. Slavic Research Centre, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 2004 (Slavic Eurasian Studies, No. 5).

Lakoba, Stanislav. ‘Abkhazia and the Abkhazians: A Brief Historical Survey.’ In Abkhazia after Two Empires. Nineteenth–Twenty-First Centuries: Essays (Abkhaziia posle dvukh imperii. XIX–XXI vv.), pp. 9–16. Slavic Eurasian Studies, No. 5. Sapporo: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2004.

Translator’s note:
This chapter was co-authored by Stanislav Lakoba (1953-2025) and the distinguished Caucasus archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Oleg Bgazhba (1941-2024).

Originally published in 2005, A Brief History of the Abkhazian Orthodox Church by Hieromonk Dorofey (Dbar), Candidate of Theological Sciences (now Archimandrite), offers a comprehensive overview of the Church’s development from apostolic times to the early twenty-first century. This English translation has been prepared by AbkhazWorld to make this important theological and historical study accessible to a wider readership.

Achugba, Temur A. “On the ‘Uprising’ and Deportation of the Abkhaz in 1877.” In Apsuattsara (Abkhaz Studies): Archaeology. History. Ethnology. Academy of Sciences of Abkhazia, D. I. Gulia Abkhazian Institute for Humanitarian Research. Sukhum: AbIGI, 2016, pp. 86–92.

In 1877, Abkhazia witnessed the final and most extensive stage of the mass expulsion of the Abkhaz to the Ottoman Empire. As a result, to the regions of historical Abkhazia previously emptied of their indigenous population, Sadz and Pskhu in 1864, Dal and Tsabal in 1867, were now added Guma, with the town of Sukhum, all coastal settlements, and the majority of the foothill villages. The ancient land of the Abkhaz was effectively laid waste.

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 documentary sources, the article analyses the intersection of imperial strategy, Ottoman intervention, and local resistance in Abkhazia.

Particular attention is given to the military course of operations in the Sukhum Military District, the role of muhajir detachments, the shifting loyalties of regional militias, and the humanitarian consequences of the conflict. The study further evaluates the aftermath of the uprising, including mass deportations, the designation of the Abkhaz as a “guilty population”, and the imposition of restrictive administrative measures that reshaped the demographic and political landscape of Abkhazia.

Written in a measured scholarly register, this article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the Caucasian dimension of the war and its lasting impact on Abkhaz society.

Translated by AbkhazWorld