Konstantin Machavariani on Abkhazia, the Muhajirism, and the Fate of the Abkhaz (Moambe, 1895)

Originally published in the Georgian journal Moambe in 1895, this remarkable account by Konstantin Machavariani (Abu-kino), centred on his conversation with Murzakan Kodor-ipa, offers a contemporary perspective on Abkhazia, the Muhajirism, and the fate of the Abkhaz people. Originally written in Georgian, it has been translated into English by AbkhazWorld.

From My Diary
By Konstantin Machavariani (Abu-kino)

Published in Moambe, No. 9, 1895, pp.61-64

The cause of any people who forget their language and make no effort to preserve and develop it is a lost cause. Its future is death and extinction.

In Ochamchira, on the banks of the Galidzga River, Abu-kino met Murzakan Kodor-ipa, a friend from his youth.

Having heard that Murzakan had emigrated to Turkey, Abu-kino asked him to recount what he had experienced. After a long hesitation, Kodor-ipa began his story:

"Abkhazia lies on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, between the rivers Bzyb and Enguri. It covers an area of 7,269.55 square versts and is divided into four districts: Gudauta, Gumista, Kodori and Samurzakano.

Allow me one brief remark. Some believe that Samurzakano, which stretches from the Okhurei River to the Enguri, belongs to Mingrelia rather than Abkhazia. They are mistaken. Although the inhabitants of Samurzakano speak Mingrelian, they are, in fact, Abkhazians.

There is no need to cite countless documents to prove this. One need only examine the names and surnames of the indigenous inhabitants of the region to be convinced that they are genuine Abkhazians. Among them are the Emukhvaris, Shervashidzes, Marganias, Chkhotuas, Anchabadzes, Kvadzhs, Murzakans, Abzagus, Bazalas, Kvablukhos, Gedlachs, and many others.

This region is called Samurzakano because it was once the hereditary domain of Murzakan Shervashidze.

Today (1895), the total number of Abkhazians does not exceed fifty-two thousand. They now live only in three districts: Gudauta, Kodori and Samurzakano. Gumista has been left almost entirely deserted, its inhabitants having emigrated—some in 1867, others later. After the last war, virtually the whole of Abkhazia was emptied as its people departed for Turkey.

Even before a single shot had been fired, confusion and unrest had already spread throughout the country.

On 18 April, the twenty-two Cossacks stationed at the port of Gudauta, the only harbour between the Bzyb and Sukhum, were recalled to Sukhum. By this single order, the entire region was left without a single soldier, defenceless and exposed to marauders.

I must tell you that at the time Sukhum was garrisoned by the Third and Fourth Battalions, a regiment of Labin Cossacks, militia units and mountain artillery. Altogether, the force numbered no fewer than four thousand men. As I understood it, this was more than sufficient for General M. Kravchenko to meet the enemy honourably both at Gudauta and at Sukhum.

Instead, he withdrew his troops from Sukhum, moving them eight or nine versts away to the banks of the Machara River. Nor did he remain there. He retreated another thirty-five versts to Tsebelda.

Such unwarranted caution on the part of the commander was soon exploited by certain individuals, who spread rumours among the population that the Russians must already be in serious difficulty if they were abandoning their positions before the enemy had even appeared and retreating towards Georgia. If the enemy were to arrive, they said, the Russians would surely flee even farther."

"On 28 April, two armoured vessels approached the settlement of Gudauta. The whole of Upper Abkhazia gathered there. As I have already said, there was not a single soldier present. The people had neither weapons nor leaders. You may have heard that several years earlier the Abkhazians had been disarmed. What were they expected to do? How were they supposed to fight an enemy? With their bare hands? With their teeth?

It is easy enough to say: 'You should have fought. You should have died rather than surrender a single piece of your native land to the enemy.'

Yet the war had not even begun when Reshid Gech, a well-known prince of the Jikhs living beyond the Bzyb River, came to Sukhum and warned General Kravchenko:

'We have learned that the Hünkâr (the Sultan of Turkey —Ed.) is preparing to wage war against us. The first attacks will undoubtedly fall upon our Black Sea coast, above all upon Sukhum. Therefore, either return our weapons to us or provide us with troops to defend us from the enemy.'

Kravchenko did not believe him and dismissed the outraged prince empty-handed.

The war began, and once again, my dear Abu-kino, the old truth proved itself anew: the weak are always blamed by the strong.

Responsibility for the so-called uprising in Abkhazia was placed not upon the inept and helpless chief shepherd who abandoned his flock to the wolves, but upon the flock itself—the Abkhazians.

It was not General Kravchenko who was blamed, but the indigenous Abkhazians living between the Bzyb and Galidzga rivers, who were accused of having shamefully surrendered the Black Sea coast without shedding blood.

As a result, Abkhazia was divided into two parts: the 'guilty' and the 'innocent'. Those living between the Bzyb and Galidzga rivers were declared guilty, while those living between the Galidzga and Enguri were deemed innocent.

The latter retained hereditary rights to the lands they occupied and those allocated to them by government mediators. The former, however, were stripped of their hereditary rights. They were permitted only lifelong use of their plots as tenants and were denied the right either to lease them on a sharecropping basis or to sell them.

Our country is so rich and so desirable that people come here from every direction, seeking to establish themselves. There is no need to look far for proof. Just look at the lands once belonging to our Abkhazians and Circassians. Today Armenians, Czechs, Little Russians and others have settled here and prosper. Everyone is drawn to this land.

Many of these newcomers attempt, by both word and deed, to mislead the indigenous inhabitants into abandoning their homeland forever, so that they, or government officials, may settle in their place."