Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 10,15 (click to see context) from:
After the [[UsefulNotes/OctoberRevolution February Revolution]], Abkhazia became a part of independent Georgia, which was soon absorbed into the Soviet Union. From 1921 to 1931, Abkhazia actually had the status as a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR), making it administratively on par with Georgia itself, but since UsefulNotes/JosephStalin was ethnically Georgian, he eventually decided to downgrade its status to that of an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), an autonomous ethnic enclave within the Georgian SSR. He gave Georgian SSR the go-ahead to conduct forceful Georgianization of Abkhazia, a decision that would come back to bite everyone's ass in the future.
When the Soviet Union started disintegrating in the late 1980s, there was a fear in Abkhazia that Georgia's independence would lead them to lose their autonomy. In 1991, Georgia declared independence under Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who managed to placate the Abkhazians through power-sharing agreement. However, Gamsakhurdia was later toppled in a coup, and another Georgian leader, Eduard Shevardnadze, who was less-inclined to Abkhazian autonomy, became president. An all-out civil war broke out soon after, involving the Georgians under Shevardnadze, Georgian rebels under Gamsakhurdia, ethnic Abkhazians under Vladislav Ardzinba and ethnic Ossetians under Torez Kulumbegov, the latter two of whom decided that they want their own countries.
After two years of war, Georgia managed to crush Gamsakhurdia's faction, but was unable to rein in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which declared independence. Georgians, who make up as much as a half of Abkhazia's pre-war population of 520,000, were expelled. Russian troops were sent to patrol as peacekeepers, under an arrangement similar to the one resolving the Ossetian conflict. Georgia managed to retain the eastern Kodori Valley until 2008, when the Abkhazians occupied it while the Georgians were busy fighting the Russians over South Ossetia. Georgia has since designated Abkhazia as a Russian-occupied territory.
When the Soviet Union started disintegrating in the late 1980s, there was a fear in Abkhazia that Georgia's independence would lead them to lose their autonomy. In 1991, Georgia declared independence under Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who managed to placate the Abkhazians through power-sharing agreement. However, Gamsakhurdia was later toppled in a coup, and another Georgian leader, Eduard Shevardnadze, who was less-inclined to Abkhazian autonomy, became president. An all-out civil war broke out soon after, involving the Georgians under Shevardnadze, Georgian rebels under Gamsakhurdia, ethnic Abkhazians under Vladislav Ardzinba and ethnic Ossetians under Torez Kulumbegov, the latter two of whom decided that they want their own countries.
After two years of war, Georgia managed to crush Gamsakhurdia's faction, but was unable to rein in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which declared independence. Georgians, who make up as much as a half of Abkhazia's pre-war population of 520,000, were expelled. Russian troops were sent to patrol as peacekeepers, under an arrangement similar to the one resolving the Ossetian conflict. Georgia managed to retain the eastern Kodori Valley until 2008, when the Abkhazians occupied it while the Georgians were busy fighting the Russians over South Ossetia. Georgia has since designated Abkhazia as a Russian-occupied territory.
to:
After the [[UsefulNotes/OctoberRevolution February Revolution]], Abkhazia became a part of independent Georgia, which was soon absorbed into the Soviet Union. From 1921 to 1931, Abkhazia actually had the status as a Soviet Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR), making it administratively on par with Georgia itself, but since UsefulNotes/JosephStalin was ethnically Georgian, he eventually decided to downgrade its status to that of an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), an autonomous ethnic enclave within the Georgian SSR. He gave the Georgian SSR the go-ahead to conduct forceful Georgianization of Abkhazia, a decision that would come back to bite everyone's ass in the future.
When the Soviet Union started disintegrating in the late 1980s, there was a fear in Abkhazia that Georgia's independence would lead them to lose their autonomy. In 1991, Georgia declared independence under Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who managed to placate the Abkhazians through a power-sharing agreement. However, Gamsakhurdia was later toppled in a coup, and another Georgian leader, Eduard Shevardnadze, who was less-inclined to Abkhazian autonomy, became president. An all-out civil war broke out soon after, involving the Georgians under Shevardnadze, Georgian rebels under Gamsakhurdia, ethnic Abkhazians under VladislavArdzinba Ardzinba, and ethnic Ossetians under Torez Kulumbegov, the latter two of whom decided that they want wanted their own countries.
After two years of war, Georgia managed to crush Gamsakhurdia's faction, but was unable to rein in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which declared independence. Georgians, whomake made up as much as a half of Abkhazia's pre-war population of 520,000, were expelled. Russian troops were sent to patrol as peacekeepers, under an arrangement similar to the one resolving the Ossetian conflict. Georgia managed to retain the eastern Kodori Valley until 2008, when the Abkhazians occupied it while the Georgians were busy fighting the Russians over South Ossetia. Georgia has since designated Abkhazia as a Russian-occupied territory.
When the Soviet Union started disintegrating in the late 1980s, there was a fear in Abkhazia that Georgia's independence would lead them to lose their autonomy. In 1991, Georgia declared independence under Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who managed to placate the Abkhazians through a power-sharing agreement. However, Gamsakhurdia was later toppled in a coup, and another Georgian leader, Eduard Shevardnadze, who was less-inclined to Abkhazian autonomy, became president. An all-out civil war broke out soon after, involving the Georgians under Shevardnadze, Georgian rebels under Gamsakhurdia, ethnic Abkhazians under Vladislav
After two years of war, Georgia managed to crush Gamsakhurdia's faction, but was unable to rein in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which declared independence. Georgians, who
Changed line(s) 20 (click to see context) from:
->The flag's red canton is taken from the historical flag of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. It features an open right hand which has been a symbol of the Abkhazian nation since a very long time. The seven stars above the hand correspond to the seven regions that make up the country. Meanwhile, the green and white stripes symbolize the harmonious relation between the nation's Christian and Muslim population.
to:
->The flag's red canton is taken from the historical flag of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. It features an open right hand which has been a symbol of the Abkhazian nation since a very long time.time ago. The seven stars above the hand correspond to the seven regions that make up the country. Meanwhile, the green and white stripes symbolize the harmonious relation relations between the nation's Christian and Muslim population.populations.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 4,5 (click to see context) from:
The Abkhaz are one of the myriad indigenous ethnic groups who have been living in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus since millennia ago. They were the people referred to in Roman sources as the "Abasgoi". Their language is classified as part of the Northwest Caucasian family, making it a relative of Circassian and the now-extinct Ubykh (which had the reputation as the language with the largest inventory of consonants in the world, at over eighty).
to:
The Abkhaz Abkhazians are one of the myriad indigenous ethnic groups who have been living in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus since millennia ago. They were the people referred to in Roman sources as the "Abasgoi". Their language is classified as part of the Northwest Caucasian family, making it a relative of Circassian and the now-extinct Ubykh (which had the reputation as the language with the largest inventory of consonants in the world, at over eighty).
Changed line(s) 8,9 (click to see context) from:
By the 16th century, Georgia had been broken into several states, and Abkhazia was among them. Following the arrival of the Ottoman Turks, the ethnic Abkhaz converted to Islam in droves. However, most of the Muslim Abkhaz were later expelled by UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia when they conquered the region in the 19th century. It's believed that there are hundreds of thousands of Abkhazian descendants living in UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} today, a larger population compared to the Republic of Abkhazia, although they have long been assimilated into the Turkish majority. In the aftermath of the expulsion, Abkhazia was resettled by Russia's (Christian) ethnic groups, such as the Georgians, Armenians, and the Russians themselves, leaving the Abkhaz a minority in their own land.
to:
By the 16th century, Georgia had been broken into several states, and Abkhazia was among them. Following the arrival of the Ottoman Turks, the ethnic Abkhaz Abkhazians converted to Islam in droves. However, most of the Muslim Abkhaz Abkhazians were later expelled by UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia when they conquered the region in the 19th century. It's believed that there are hundreds of thousands of Abkhazian descendants living in UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} today, a larger population compared to the Republic of Abkhazia, although they have long been assimilated into the Turkish majority. In the aftermath of the expulsion, Abkhazia was resettled by Russia's (Christian) ethnic groups, such as the Georgians, Armenians, and the Russians themselves, leaving the Abkhaz Abkhazians a minority in their own land.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 6,7 (click to see context) from:
In the ancient era, Abkhazia was part of Lazica, an ancient kingdom of the Mingrelians (ethnic cousins of the Georgians). It was conquered by the Romans, then the Byzantines, before the Georgians stepped in and decided to cut its ties with the Greeks. It subsequently became the center of the Kingdom of Abkhazia, which, despite its name, was actually a Georgian state. In the early 11th century, King Bagrat III of Abkhazia mounted a major expansion into the neighboring Kingdom of the Iberians, forming the Kingdom of Georgia.
to:
In the ancient era, Abkhazia was part of Lazica, an ancient kingdom of the Mingrelians (ethnic cousins of the Georgians). It was conquered by the Romans, then the Byzantines, before the Georgians stepped in and decided to cut its ties with the Greeks. It subsequently became the center of the Kingdom of Abkhazia, which, despite its name, was actually a Georgian state. In the early 11th century, King Bagrat III of Abkhazia, through politics and wars of conquest, united Abkhazia mounted a major expansion into with the neighboring Kingdom of the Iberians, forming the Kingdom of Georgia.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2,18 (click to see context) from:
'''Abkhazia''' ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} and UsefulNotes/{{Syria}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
For instance, the Abkhazians and their language belong to a different, though as old, Caucasian tribe than the Georgians; while the Georgian language is part of the Kartvelian group, the Abkhaz language belongs to the Northwest Caucasian group, making it related to the Circassian languages, and both are equally unintelligible to each other. The Abkhaz also gave their name to a kingdom which existed around 200 years before its eventual union with other Kartvelian kingdoms; while prescribing actual demographic situation of that kingdom today is politically-motivated due to the conflicts mentioned below, most agree that the Abkhaz had a majority, although Georgian was the state language, primarily because the Caucasian tribes wanted to distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire as far away as possible by discarding Greek, and Georgian, being the most dominant of the Caucasian tribes, was the obvious choice. However, came the 15th century, and the rising Ottoman Empire had begun to infiltrate and subjugate the Caucasus, providing the Caucasian tribes with the choice of converting to Islam in exchange for a lower tax. Most of them converted, with the significant exception of the Georgians, who remained Eastern Orthodox. Bottomline: the Abkhazians ''are'' indigenous to the area, although they (like other Caucasian groups) were a minority compared to the Georgians, who are of different faith than themselves.
This created an interesting history when the Russians came over to say hello.
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained, with a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSR in the face of Georgia's seccession, with the Abkhazians wanting to separate into an entirely new SSR while the Georgians wanted otherwise. Georgia, under Eduard Shevardnadze, began a campaign of nationalization, which did not do well with the Abkhazians' leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, who was a hardliner and wanted to secure his nation for good.
Then all hell broke loose.
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very amoral way.
So, Abkhazia drafted up a constitution and officially declared their sovereignty, but no one was going to recognize them, not even Russia, who was given the goodwill to set up peacekeeping forces to enforce order. However, about 15 years later, Abkhazia managed to build up a chance when Georgia was thrown yet into another war in keeping a breakaway state, this time South Ossetia and this time directly against Russia itself. After the war, Russia recognized Abkhazia, and allowed them to take up the enclaves previously administered by Georgia, and received rubles as currency, passport, and other benefits, essentially making them Russian citizens in all but name. Georgia tried to make up for their earlier nationalist regimes by discussing possible autonomy incentives for their two breakaway states, to no avail. But Abkhazia still felt that doing all these to Georgia aren't enough, because six years afterward (2014), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazian_Revolution a revolution]] happened that effectively disenfranchised what remaining Georgians who stay.
[[BeneathTheEarth It has the world's deepest cave]], and also the second deepest: Krubera Cave, having an estimated depth of over ''2,000 meters'' below. [[SceneryPorn And]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6taHy88Rlg/UURLMy8cTWI/AAAAAAAAGsg/WfkBVeQP3FY/s1600/3.jpg it's]] [[http://www.georgianjournal.ge/images/georgianews/2015/July/Discover/krubera2.jpg quite]] [[http://gorillacool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Krubera-Cave-12.jpg marvelous]] [[https://travelpluss.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dog-letter14.jpg to see]].
For instance, the Abkhazians and their language belong to a different, though as old, Caucasian tribe than the Georgians; while the Georgian language is part of the Kartvelian group, the Abkhaz language belongs to the Northwest Caucasian group, making it related to the Circassian languages, and both are equally unintelligible to each other. The Abkhaz also gave their name to a kingdom which existed around 200 years before its eventual union with other Kartvelian kingdoms; while prescribing actual demographic situation of that kingdom today is politically-motivated due to the conflicts mentioned below, most agree that the Abkhaz had a majority, although Georgian was the state language, primarily because the Caucasian tribes wanted to distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire as far away as possible by discarding Greek, and Georgian, being the most dominant of the Caucasian tribes, was the obvious choice. However, came the 15th century, and the rising Ottoman Empire had begun to infiltrate and subjugate the Caucasus, providing the Caucasian tribes with the choice of converting to Islam in exchange for a lower tax. Most of them converted, with the significant exception of the Georgians, who remained Eastern Orthodox. Bottomline: the Abkhazians ''are'' indigenous to the area, although they (like other Caucasian groups) were a minority compared to the Georgians, who are of different faith than themselves.
This created an interesting history when the Russians came over to say hello.
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained, with a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSR in the face of Georgia's seccession, with the Abkhazians wanting to separate into an entirely new SSR while the Georgians wanted otherwise. Georgia, under Eduard Shevardnadze, began a campaign of nationalization, which did not do well with the Abkhazians' leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, who was a hardliner and wanted to secure his nation for good.
Then all hell broke loose.
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very amoral way.
So, Abkhazia drafted up a constitution and officially declared their sovereignty, but no one was going to recognize them, not even Russia, who was given the goodwill to set up peacekeeping forces to enforce order. However, about 15 years later, Abkhazia managed to build up a chance when Georgia was thrown yet into another war in keeping a breakaway state, this time South Ossetia and this time directly against Russia itself. After the war, Russia recognized Abkhazia, and allowed them to take up the enclaves previously administered by Georgia, and received rubles as currency, passport, and other benefits, essentially making them Russian citizens in all but name. Georgia tried to make up for their earlier nationalist regimes by discussing possible autonomy incentives for their two breakaway states, to no avail. But Abkhazia still felt that doing all these to Georgia aren't enough, because six years afterward (2014), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazian_Revolution a revolution]] happened that effectively disenfranchised what remaining Georgians who stay.
[[BeneathTheEarth It has the world's deepest cave]], and also the second deepest: Krubera Cave, having an estimated depth of over ''2,000 meters'' below. [[SceneryPorn And]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6taHy88Rlg/UURLMy8cTWI/AAAAAAAAGsg/WfkBVeQP3FY/s1600/3.jpg it's]] [[http://www.georgianjournal.ge/images/georgianews/2015/July/Discover/krubera2.jpg quite]] [[http://gorillacool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Krubera-Cave-12.jpg marvelous]] [[https://travelpluss.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dog-letter14.jpg to see]].
to:
'''Abkhazia''' ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic country located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most It is ''de facto'' an independent country, but only five members of the international community recognizes United Nations recognize it, with the region to be rest seeing it as a part territory of [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} and UsefulNotes/{{Syria}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaCaucasus Georgia]]. Together with UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state it is one of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving so-called "post-Soviet frozen conflict" zones.
The Abkhaz are one of theissue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians myriad indigenous ethnic groups who have as much history been living in UsefulNotes/TheCaucasus since millennia ago. They were the Caucasus people referred to in Roman sources as the Georgians have.
For instance, the Abkhazians and their language belong to a different, though as old, Caucasian tribe than the Georgians; while the Georgian"Abasgoi". Their language is classified as part of the Kartvelian group, the Abkhaz language belongs to the Northwest Caucasian group, family, making it related to the a relative of Circassian languages, and both are equally unintelligible to each other. The Abkhaz also gave their name to a kingdom which existed around 200 years before its eventual union with other Kartvelian kingdoms; while prescribing actual demographic situation of that kingdom today is politically-motivated due to the conflicts mentioned below, most agree that the Abkhaz had a majority, although Georgian was the state language, primarily because the Caucasian tribes wanted to distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire as far away as possible by discarding Greek, and Georgian, being the most dominant of the Caucasian tribes, was the obvious choice. However, came the 15th century, and the rising Ottoman Empire now-extinct Ubykh (which had begun to infiltrate and subjugate the Caucasus, providing reputation as the Caucasian tribes language with the choice largest inventory of converting to Islam in exchange for a lower tax. Most of them converted, with the significant exception of the Georgians, who remained Eastern Orthodox. Bottomline: the Abkhazians ''are'' indigenous to the area, although they (like other Caucasian groups) were a minority compared to the Georgians, who are of different faith than themselves.
This created an interesting history when the Russians came over to say hello.
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained, with a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSRconsonants in the face of Georgia's seccession, with the Abkhazians wanting to separate into an entirely new SSR while the Georgians wanted otherwise. Georgia, under Eduard Shevardnadze, began a campaign of nationalization, which did not do well with the Abkhazians' leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, who was a hardliner and wanted to secure his nation for good.
Then all hell broke loose.
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very amoral way.world, at over eighty).
So, In the ancient era, Abkhazia drafted up a constitution was part of Lazica, an ancient kingdom of the Mingrelians (ethnic cousins of the Georgians). It was conquered by the Romans, then the Byzantines, before the Georgians stepped in and officially decided to cut its ties with the Greeks. It subsequently became the center of the Kingdom of Abkhazia, which, despite its name, was actually a Georgian state. In the early 11th century, King Bagrat III of Abkhazia mounted a major expansion into the neighboring Kingdom of the Iberians, forming the Kingdom of Georgia.
By the 16th century, Georgia had been broken into several states, and Abkhazia was among them. Following the arrival of the Ottoman Turks, the ethnic Abkhaz converted to Islam in droves. However, most of the Muslim Abkhaz were later expelled by UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia when they conquered the region in the 19th century. It's believed that there are hundreds of thousands of Abkhazian descendants living in UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} today, a larger population compared to the Republic of Abkhazia, although they have long been assimilated into the Turkish majority. In the aftermath of the expulsion, Abkhazia was resettled by Russia's (Christian) ethnic groups, such as the Georgians, Armenians, and the Russians themselves, leaving the Abkhaz a minority in their own land.
After the [[UsefulNotes/OctoberRevolution February Revolution]], Abkhazia became a part of independent Georgia, which was soon absorbed into the Soviet Union. From 1921 to 1931, Abkhazia actually had the status as a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR), making it administratively on par with Georgia itself, but since UsefulNotes/JosephStalin was ethnically Georgian, he eventually decided to downgrade its status to that of an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), an autonomous ethnic enclave within the Georgian SSR. He gave Georgian SSR the go-ahead to conduct forceful Georgianization of Abkhazia, a decision that would come back to bite everyone's ass in the future.
When the Soviet Union started disintegrating in the late 1980s, there was a fear in Abkhazia that Georgia's independence would lead them to lose their autonomy. In 1991, Georgia declaredtheir sovereignty, but no one was going to recognize them, not even Russia, independence under Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who was given the goodwill to set up peacekeeping forces to enforce order. However, about 15 years later, Abkhazia managed to build up a chance when Georgia placate the Abkhazians through power-sharing agreement. However, Gamsakhurdia was thrown yet into later toppled in a coup, and another Georgian leader, Eduard Shevardnadze, who was less-inclined to Abkhazian autonomy, became president. An all-out civil war in keeping a breakaway state, this time South Ossetia and this time directly against Russia itself. After broke out soon after, involving the war, Russia recognized Abkhazia, and allowed them to take up the enclaves previously administered by Georgia, and received rubles as currency, passport, and other benefits, essentially making them Russian citizens in all but name. Georgia tried to make up for their earlier nationalist regimes by discussing possible autonomy incentives for their two breakaway states, to no avail. But Abkhazia still felt that doing all these to Georgia aren't enough, because six years afterward (2014), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazian_Revolution a revolution]] happened that effectively disenfranchised what remaining Georgians under Shevardnadze, Georgian rebels under Gamsakhurdia, ethnic Abkhazians under Vladislav Ardzinba and ethnic Ossetians under Torez Kulumbegov, the latter two of whom decided that they want their own countries.
After two years of war, Georgia managed to crush Gamsakhurdia's faction, but was unable to rein in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which declared independence. Georgians, whostay.
[[BeneathTheEarth Itmake up as much as a half of Abkhazia's pre-war population of 520,000, were expelled. Russian troops were sent to patrol as peacekeepers, under an arrangement similar to the one resolving the Ossetian conflict. Georgia managed to retain the eastern Kodori Valley until 2008, when the Abkhazians occupied it while the Georgians were busy fighting the Russians over South Ossetia. Georgia has since designated Abkhazia as a Russian-occupied territory.
Fun fact: Abkhazia has the world's [[BeneathTheEarth deepest cave]],and also the second deepest: Krubera Cave, having an estimated depth of which measures over ''2,000 meters'' below. [[SceneryPorn And]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6taHy88Rlg/UURLMy8cTWI/AAAAAAAAGsg/WfkBVeQP3FY/s1600/3.jpg it's]] [[http://www.georgianjournal.ge/images/georgianews/2015/July/Discover/krubera2.jpg quite]] [[http://gorillacool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Krubera-Cave-12.jpg marvelous]] [[https://travelpluss.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dog-letter14.jpg to see]].2 kilometers in depth.
The Abkhaz are one of the
For instance, the Abkhazians and their language belong to a different, though as old, Caucasian tribe than the Georgians; while the Georgian
This created an interesting history when the Russians came over to say hello.
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained, with a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSR
Then all hell broke loose.
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very amoral way.
By the 16th century, Georgia had been broken into several states, and Abkhazia was among them. Following the arrival of the Ottoman Turks, the ethnic Abkhaz converted to Islam in droves. However, most of the Muslim Abkhaz were later expelled by UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia when they conquered the region in the 19th century. It's believed that there are hundreds of thousands of Abkhazian descendants living in UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} today, a larger population compared to the Republic of Abkhazia, although they have long been assimilated into the Turkish majority. In the aftermath of the expulsion, Abkhazia was resettled by Russia's (Christian) ethnic groups, such as the Georgians, Armenians, and the Russians themselves, leaving the Abkhaz a minority in their own land.
After the [[UsefulNotes/OctoberRevolution February Revolution]], Abkhazia became a part of independent Georgia, which was soon absorbed into the Soviet Union. From 1921 to 1931, Abkhazia actually had the status as a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR), making it administratively on par with Georgia itself, but since UsefulNotes/JosephStalin was ethnically Georgian, he eventually decided to downgrade its status to that of an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), an autonomous ethnic enclave within the Georgian SSR. He gave Georgian SSR the go-ahead to conduct forceful Georgianization of Abkhazia, a decision that would come back to bite everyone's ass in the future.
When the Soviet Union started disintegrating in the late 1980s, there was a fear in Abkhazia that Georgia's independence would lead them to lose their autonomy. In 1991, Georgia declared
After two years of war, Georgia managed to crush Gamsakhurdia's faction, but was unable to rein in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which declared independence. Georgians, who
[[BeneathTheEarth It
Fun fact: Abkhazia has the world's [[BeneathTheEarth deepest cave]],
Changed line(s) 22,23 (click to see context) from:
->The flag's red canton is taken from the historical flag of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. It features an open right hand which has been a symbol of the Abkhazian nation since a very long time. The seven stars above the hand corresponds to the seven regions that make up the country. Meanwhile, the green and white stripes symbolize the harmonious relation between the nation's Christian and Muslim population.
----
----
to:
->The flag's red canton is taken from the historical flag of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. It features an open right hand which has been a symbol of the Abkhazian nation since a very long time. The seven stars above the hand corresponds correspond to the seven regions that make up the country. Meanwhile, the green and white stripes symbolize the harmonious relation between the nation's Christian and Muslim population.
--------
[[AC:Government]]
* Unitary presidential constitutional republic
** President: Aslan Bzhania
** Prime Minister: Alexander Ankvab
[[AC:Government]]
* Unitary presidential constitutional republic
** President: Aslan Bzhania
** Prime Minister: Alexander Ankvab
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} and UsefulNotes/{{Syria}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8,9 (click to see context) from:
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained with a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
to:
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained remained, with a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8,9 (click to see context) from:
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained as well as a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
to:
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained as well as with a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 8,9 (click to see context) from:
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
to:
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained) remained as well as a revival of pre-Christian paganism happening after their independence.) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
[[BeneathTheEarth It has the world's deepest cave]]: Krubera Cave, having an estimated depth of over ''2,000 meters'' below. [[SceneryPorn And]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6taHy88Rlg/UURLMy8cTWI/AAAAAAAAGsg/WfkBVeQP3FY/s1600/3.jpg it's]] [[http://www.georgianjournal.ge/images/georgianews/2015/July/Discover/krubera2.jpg quite]] [[http://gorillacool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Krubera-Cave-12.jpg marvelous]] [[https://travelpluss.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dog-letter14.jpg to see]].
to:
[[BeneathTheEarth It has the world's deepest cave]]: cave]], and also the second deepest: Krubera Cave, having an estimated depth of over ''2,000 meters'' below. [[SceneryPorn And]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6taHy88Rlg/UURLMy8cTWI/AAAAAAAAGsg/WfkBVeQP3FY/s1600/3.jpg it's]] [[http://www.georgianjournal.ge/images/georgianews/2015/July/Discover/krubera2.jpg quite]] [[http://gorillacool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Krubera-Cave-12.jpg marvelous]] [[https://travelpluss.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dog-letter14.jpg to see]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
to:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], UsefulNotes/{{Syria}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
to:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, UsefulNotes/RepublicOfArtsakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Fixed a typo
Changed line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) from:
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very unmoral way.
to:
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very unmoral amoral way.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosephStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSR in the face of Georgia's seccession, with the Abkhazians wanting to separate into an entirely new SSR while the Georgians wanted otherwise. Georgia, under Eduard Shevardnadze, began a campaign of nationalization, which did not do well with the Abkhazians' leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, who was a hardliner and wanted to secure his nation for good.
to:
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosephStalin [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSR in the face of Georgia's seccession, with the Abkhazians wanting to separate into an entirely new SSR while the Georgians wanted otherwise. Georgia, under Eduard Shevardnadze, began a campaign of nationalization, which did not do well with the Abkhazians' leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, who was a hardliner and wanted to secure his nation for good.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia}}, but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
to:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia}}, [[UsefulNotes/GeorgiaEurope Georgia]], but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, South Ossetia (which was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians have as much history in the Caucasus as the Georgians have.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia}}, but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, Nagorno-Karabakh (which is Armenian no matter how hard the Azeri government tries to disprove it), because...the Abkhazians do have a separate history from the Georgians.
to:
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia}}, but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, South Ossetia, UsefulNotes/SouthOssetia, and Transnistria, UsefulNotes/{{Transnistria}}, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, Nagorno-Karabakh South Ossetia (which is Armenian no matter how hard was made an independent entity very recently) and solving the Azeri government tries to disprove it), issue is indeed very controversial because...the Abkhazians do have a separate as much history from in the Georgians.
Caucasus as the Georgians have.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px_abkhazia_detail_map2.png]]
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia}}, but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, Nagorno-Karabakh (which is Armenian no matter how hard the Azeri government tries to disprove it), because...the Abkhazians do have a separate history from the Georgians.
For instance, the Abkhazians and their language belong to a different, though as old, Caucasian tribe than the Georgians; while the Georgian language is part of the Kartvelian group, the Abkhaz language belongs to the Northwest Caucasian group, making it related to the Circassian languages, and both are equally unintelligible to each other. The Abkhaz also gave their name to a kingdom which existed around 200 years before its eventual union with other Kartvelian kingdoms; while prescribing actual demographic situation of that kingdom today is politically-motivated due to the conflicts mentioned below, most agree that the Abkhaz had a majority, although Georgian was the state language, primarily because the Caucasian tribes wanted to distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire as far away as possible by discarding Greek, and Georgian, being the most dominant of the Caucasian tribes, was the obvious choice. However, came the 15th century, and the rising Ottoman Empire had begun to infiltrate and subjugate the Caucasus, providing the Caucasian tribes with the choice of converting to Islam in exchange for a lower tax. Most of them converted, with the significant exception of the Georgians, who remained Eastern Orthodox. Bottomline: the Abkhazians ''are'' indigenous to the area, although they (like other Caucasian groups) were a minority compared to the Georgians, who are of different faith than themselves.
This created an interesting history when the Russians came over to say hello.
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosephStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSR in the face of Georgia's seccession, with the Abkhazians wanting to separate into an entirely new SSR while the Georgians wanted otherwise. Georgia, under Eduard Shevardnadze, began a campaign of nationalization, which did not do well with the Abkhazians' leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, who was a hardliner and wanted to secure his nation for good.
Then all hell broke loose.
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very unmoral way.
So, Abkhazia drafted up a constitution and officially declared their sovereignty, but no one was going to recognize them, not even Russia, who was given the goodwill to set up peacekeeping forces to enforce order. However, about 15 years later, Abkhazia managed to build up a chance when Georgia was thrown yet into another war in keeping a breakaway state, this time South Ossetia and this time directly against Russia itself. After the war, Russia recognized Abkhazia, and allowed them to take up the enclaves previously administered by Georgia, and received rubles as currency, passport, and other benefits, essentially making them Russian citizens in all but name. Georgia tried to make up for their earlier nationalist regimes by discussing possible autonomy incentives for their two breakaway states, to no avail. But Abkhazia still felt that doing all these to Georgia aren't enough, because six years afterward (2014), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazian_Revolution a revolution]] happened that effectively disenfranchised what remaining Georgians who stay.
[[BeneathTheEarth It has the world's deepest cave]]: Krubera Cave, having an estimated depth of over ''2,000 meters'' below. [[SceneryPorn And]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6taHy88Rlg/UURLMy8cTWI/AAAAAAAAGsg/WfkBVeQP3FY/s1600/3.jpg it's]] [[http://www.georgianjournal.ge/images/georgianews/2015/July/Discover/krubera2.jpg quite]] [[http://gorillacool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Krubera-Cave-12.jpg marvelous]] [[https://travelpluss.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dog-letter14.jpg to see]].
----
[[AC:The Abkhazian flag]]
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_abkhaziasvg.png
->The flag's red canton is taken from the historical flag of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. It features an open right hand which has been a symbol of the Abkhazian nation since a very long time. The seven stars above the hand corresponds to the seven regions that make up the country. Meanwhile, the green and white stripes symbolize the harmonious relation between the nation's Christian and Muslim population.
----
Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны́ ''Apsny'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთი ''Apkhazeti'', '''Russian:''' Абха́зия ''Abkhа́ziya''), officially the Republic of Abkhazia ('''Abkhaz:''' Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра ''Aphsny Axwynthkharra'', '''Georgian:''' აფხაზეთის დე ფაქტო რესპუბლიკა ''Apkhazetis de facto Resp'ublika'', '''Russian:''' Респу́блика Абха́зия ''Respublika Abkhа́ziya'') is a breakaway de-facto republic located at the eastern tip of the Black Sea and immediately to the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Most of the international community recognizes the region to be a part of UsefulNotes/{{Georgia}}, but UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, a few of its allies[[note]] UsefulNotes/{{Nauru}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}}[[/note]], plus fellow breakaway countries UsefulNotes/NagornoKarabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria, think otherwise. While this can be chalked up to yet another puppet state of Russia and that morality would dictate for Abkhazian and Russian authorities to give in to Georgia, the situation in Abkhazia is quite different than, say, Nagorno-Karabakh (which is Armenian no matter how hard the Azeri government tries to disprove it), because...the Abkhazians do have a separate history from the Georgians.
For instance, the Abkhazians and their language belong to a different, though as old, Caucasian tribe than the Georgians; while the Georgian language is part of the Kartvelian group, the Abkhaz language belongs to the Northwest Caucasian group, making it related to the Circassian languages, and both are equally unintelligible to each other. The Abkhaz also gave their name to a kingdom which existed around 200 years before its eventual union with other Kartvelian kingdoms; while prescribing actual demographic situation of that kingdom today is politically-motivated due to the conflicts mentioned below, most agree that the Abkhaz had a majority, although Georgian was the state language, primarily because the Caucasian tribes wanted to distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire as far away as possible by discarding Greek, and Georgian, being the most dominant of the Caucasian tribes, was the obvious choice. However, came the 15th century, and the rising Ottoman Empire had begun to infiltrate and subjugate the Caucasus, providing the Caucasian tribes with the choice of converting to Islam in exchange for a lower tax. Most of them converted, with the significant exception of the Georgians, who remained Eastern Orthodox. Bottomline: the Abkhazians ''are'' indigenous to the area, although they (like other Caucasian groups) were a minority compared to the Georgians, who are of different faith than themselves.
This created an interesting history when the Russians came over to say hello.
As you can see, the Russians had been waging war with the Caucasian peoples as part of their rivalry with the Ottoman Empire. Once they won, they promptly expelled a large percentage of the Caucasian peoples who were Muslim towards anywhere but their land as they began the incorporation of Caucasus into their territory. The few Christian Caucasians were spared, including the Georgians, though they didn't get spared from being annexed, either. In all cases, the Russians found out large swaths of unoccupied lands waiting for resettlement, and they soon populated them with their own, Georgians, Ukrainians, Belarusians...basically anyone who is not obviously Muslim. It eventually reached to the point that the remaining Abkhazians (who are now majority Christians, although a few Muslims remained) became an almost invisible minority. To compound this even further, Russification was prominent and the Abkhazians were banned from studying under their own language.
This went on all the way through the breakup of the Russian Empire in 1917, its subsequent restoration (and more annexations) as the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] in 1917-1921, and ''its'' dissolution. The Abkhazian region was treated as an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. [[ButtMonkey This did not ease the suffering of the Abkhazians at all]]. In fact, the Georgians decided to join the bullying, with Georgianization happening concurrently with the Russification, thanks to [[UsefulNotes/JosephStalin Stalin]] treating the SSR hands-offly (to be fair, he ''was'' an ethnic Georgian...). This ended when Stalin died and the Abkhazians finally were able to join their native language. However, 1990 came and there was a headache regarding the position of the ASSR in regard to the SSR in the face of Georgia's seccession, with the Abkhazians wanting to separate into an entirely new SSR while the Georgians wanted otherwise. Georgia, under Eduard Shevardnadze, began a campaign of nationalization, which did not do well with the Abkhazians' leader, Vladislav Ardzinba, who was a hardliner and wanted to secure his nation for good.
Then all hell broke loose.
Georgian troops moved into Abkhazia after accusations of kidnapping by Abkhazian militants, but then the Abkhazians returned with a vengeance alongside other Caucasian groups, militants, paramilitaries, including UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, and drove out the Georgian milita-er no, ''the whole Georgian population of Abkhazia''. The population had just become halved in a span of about three years, and now the Abkhazians finally fulfilled their hope of becoming a majority in their own country-in a very unmoral way.
So, Abkhazia drafted up a constitution and officially declared their sovereignty, but no one was going to recognize them, not even Russia, who was given the goodwill to set up peacekeeping forces to enforce order. However, about 15 years later, Abkhazia managed to build up a chance when Georgia was thrown yet into another war in keeping a breakaway state, this time South Ossetia and this time directly against Russia itself. After the war, Russia recognized Abkhazia, and allowed them to take up the enclaves previously administered by Georgia, and received rubles as currency, passport, and other benefits, essentially making them Russian citizens in all but name. Georgia tried to make up for their earlier nationalist regimes by discussing possible autonomy incentives for their two breakaway states, to no avail. But Abkhazia still felt that doing all these to Georgia aren't enough, because six years afterward (2014), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazian_Revolution a revolution]] happened that effectively disenfranchised what remaining Georgians who stay.
[[BeneathTheEarth It has the world's deepest cave]]: Krubera Cave, having an estimated depth of over ''2,000 meters'' below. [[SceneryPorn And]] [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6taHy88Rlg/UURLMy8cTWI/AAAAAAAAGsg/WfkBVeQP3FY/s1600/3.jpg it's]] [[http://www.georgianjournal.ge/images/georgianews/2015/July/Discover/krubera2.jpg quite]] [[http://gorillacool.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Krubera-Cave-12.jpg marvelous]] [[https://travelpluss.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/dog-letter14.jpg to see]].
----
[[AC:The Abkhazian flag]]
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_abkhaziasvg.png
->The flag's red canton is taken from the historical flag of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. It features an open right hand which has been a symbol of the Abkhazian nation since a very long time. The seven stars above the hand corresponds to the seven regions that make up the country. Meanwhile, the green and white stripes symbolize the harmonious relation between the nation's Christian and Muslim population.
----
