Abkhazia

Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a <a href="/facts/List_of_states_with_limited_recognition/CgR9Rny1">partially recognised state</a> in the <a href="/facts/South_Caucasus/MQaTkhRJ">South Caucasus</a>, on the eastern coast of the <a href="/facts/Black_Sea/M0rLKvge">Black Sea</a>, at the intersection of <a href="/facts/Eastern_Europe/f5CDGzNA">Eastern Europe</a> and <a href="/facts/West_Asia/xXM15vIz">West Asia</a>. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is <a href="/facts/Sukhumi/5Qv22rds">Sukhumi</a>.
The political status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the <a href="/facts/Abkhazia_conflict/hVeD8Rg4">Abkhazia conflict</a> and <a href="/facts/Georgia%25E2%2580%2593Russia_relations/9GXdt7vL">Georgia–Russia relations</a>. Abkhazia has been <a href="/facts/International_recognition_of_Abkhazia_and_South_Ossetia/05SJGtGr">recognised as an independent state</a> only by 5 states: <a href="/facts/Russia/jfkCwyxn">Russia</a>, <a href="/facts/Venezuela/eX1qnkln">Venezuela</a>, <a href="/facts/Nicaragua/PsyPGXxm">Nicaragua</a>, <a href="/facts/Nauru/ndT45vaC">Nauru</a>, and <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a>. <a href="/facts/Georgia_(country)/ccBF8bBE">Georgia</a> and other countries consider Abkhazia as a Georgia's sovereign territory. Lacking effective control over the Abkhazian territory, Georgia maintains an Abkhaz <a href="/facts/Government_of_the_Autonomous_Republic_of_Abkhazia/NaBpc6D6">government-in-exile</a>.
The region <a href="/facts/Abkhaz_Autonomous_Soviet_Socialist_Republic/PH5eT7w5">had autonomy</a> within <a href="/facts/Georgian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic/VNelk0xf">Soviet Georgia</a> at the time when the <a href="/facts/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union/Fyn5jw3n">Soviet Union began to disintegrate</a> in the late 1980s. Simmering ethnic tensions between the <a href="/facts/Abkhazians/3ngWmBap">Abkhaz</a>—the region's <a href="/facts/Titular_nation/TyUvWFFc">titular ethnicity</a>—and <a href="/facts/Georgians/dq2Sd3Cw">Georgians</a>—the largest single ethnic group at that time—culminated in the <a href="/facts/War_in_Abkhazia_(1992%25E2%2580%25931993)/98An59Ix">1992–1993 War in Abkhazia</a>, which resulted in Georgia's loss of control over most of Abkhazia and the <a href="/facts/Ethnic_cleansing_of_Georgians_in_Abkhazia/LnIvaQra">ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia</a>. Despite a <a href="/facts/Agreement_on_a_Cease-fire_and_Separation_of_Forces/zvAhSxez">1994 ceasefire agreement</a> and years of negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a <a href="/facts/United_Nations_Observer_Mission_in_Georgia/5Ql76LGA">United Nations Observer Mission</a> and a Russian-led <a href="/facts/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States/DqccXsyS">Commonwealth of Independent States</a> peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought <a href="/facts/Russo-Georgian_War/mbQ1VVjM">a war</a> against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. On 23 October 2008, the <a href="/facts/Parliament_of_Georgia/TXkA0ljN">Parliament of Georgia</a> declared Abkhazia a <a href="/facts/Russian-occupied_territories_in_Georgia/zu0rVt7V">Russian-occupied territory</a>, a position shared by most United Nations member states.

Abkhazia open-in-new

Abkhazia