Dear friends!

We have the honor to present to you brief information on Abkhazia - a country with a rich history.
Despite numerous wars, crises and revolutions which this unique country has experienced, it has managed to preserve its identity, freedom and independence.

Today Abkhazia is open for honest and long-term business cooperation in all directions.

ABOUT  ABKHAZIA

HISTORY

Abkhazia (. Abkh. Apsny, translated into Russian as a "country of soul"), the official name - the Republic of Abkhazia. It’s a Transcaucasian country located in the north-western part of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. It shares borders with Russia and Georgia. The statehood of Abkhazia makes around 1200 years.
Abkhazians are one of the most ancient nations of the Caucasus. The Abkhaz language belongs to the Northwest Caucasian language ​​group. Three thousand years BC, dolmen culture flourished on the territory of Abkhazia. Dolmen is a monumental ancient burial structure of the Bronze Age.

In the middle of the 1st millennium BC Abkhazia was a part of the Colchis kingdom, which is described in the writings of the ancient Greek historians Herodotus, Strabo and Xenophon. In the VI th century BC Greek settlers founded cities: Dioskuriada, Gyuenos, Eshera mound and Pitiunt on the coast of Abkhazia. Abkhaz settlements were then a part of the Roman and later Byzantine empires. In the VI-VIII th centuries AC the "Great Silk Road" was laid through Abkhazia to the North Caucasus.

The apostles Andrew and Simon the Zealot preached in I st century AC on the territory of Abkhazia. The first Christian community was organized in Pitiunt (Pitsunda), its leader, Bishop Stratophilus, participated in the First Ecumenical Council, which was held in 325 in the city of Nicaea. Abkhazia adopted Christianity as an official religion in the first half of VI th century.

The Abkhaz Kingdom was formed at the end of the VIII th century, which was headed by the first King Leon II. Leonids Dynasty united all Western Transcaucasia. The last representative of this dynasty was Theodosius. The Abkhaz King’s crown passed to his nephew Bagrat Bagration from him. Bagrat II (978-1014) was the founder of Abkhaz-Bagratid dynasty, which had been ruling the Abkhaz Kingdom until the middle of the thirteenth century.

Abkhaz principality was formed after the disintegration of the Abkhaz Kingdom, the rulers of which were representatives of the feudal family Chachba (Shervashidze). In the XIII-XVth centuries a number of Genoese trading posts operated on the territory of the Abkhaz principality. In the XVI-XVIIIth centuries Abkhaz principality was under the protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. This is the time when Sunni Islam got spread in Abkhazia.

From 1810 to 1864 Abkhazian principality retained autonomous control as a part of the Russian Empire. As a result of the Caucasus and the Russian-Turkish wars, as well as anti-colonial revolts of 1866, 1877 the major part of population of Abkhazia was forced to leave their homeland and become refugees - Muhajirs.
After the collapse of the Russian Empire, Abkhazia joined the Union of Mountaineers of the Caucasus and South-East Union.

On November 8, 1917, the first Parliament in the history of Abkhazia - the Abkhaz People's Council started functioning in Sukhum. On March 4, 1921, Bolsheviks came to power in Abkhazia. They established the Soviet power. On March 26, 1921 Abkhazia was proclaimed as a Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR Abkhazia). On December, 1921 SSR Abkhazia leadership entered into a "special union treaty" with Georgia and ratified it in February 1922 which recorded equality of two republics. The character of interstate relations between Abkhazia and Georgia was reflected in the Constitution of SSR Abkhazia of 1925 and Constitution of SSR Georgia of 1927. In 1924-1925 the emblem and flag of the Abkhaz SSR were approved and legislative acts adopted. Up till 1931 SSR Abkhazia was called "contractual republic".

On February, 19, 1931 a resolution was adopted on the transformation of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia into the autonomous Republic within Georgia. Violation of the sovereignty of Abkhazia and decrease of the political status to the level of autonomy within Georgia led to the multi-day nationwide People's Assembly in the village Duripsh (February, 18-26 1931.). People openly expressed distrust to the government. Every ten years (1949, 1957, 1967, 1978, 1989.) mass demonstrations were held in Abkhazia.
After the collapse of the USSR,on August,14, 1992 Georgiainvaded the territory of Abkhazia, without declaration of war. Patriotic War of the people of Abkhazia lasted for more than 13 months and ended on September, 30, 1993 by bringing victory to Abkhazia,

On November 26, 1994 the Parliament adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Abkhazia as a sovereign state.
Vladislav Ardzinba was elected as the first President of Abkhazia. On October 12, 1999 the Statement on State Independence of Abkhazia was adopted as a result of the referendum. On August 26, 2008 the President of Russia - Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree recognizing the independence of Abkhazia. In the following years, Abkhazia has been officially recognized by a number of States - members of UN.