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This book is
about the roots of one of the conflicts in what is now a strategically
important area of the world - the Caucasus. It provides detailed analysis of
the military, political and diplomatic struggle for Abkhazia and Sochi in
1918-1921 between Russia and Georgia (temporarily Sovietised in 1921-91) and
examines the major processes that fuelled the ethnic hatred in the region.
This
region is one of those hot spots where polar ideologies and economic
interests of major powers collide, but which somehow gets neglected by
politicians and the media, leaving the small nations involved in the conflict
at the mercy of their powerful and ambitious neighbour - Russia. The recent
Russian-sponsored ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia is a grim reminder of how
important it is to understand the volcanic forces that may explode the
region, with dire consequences for the whole world.
This
work concentrates only on one little-known episode of regional history - the
dramatic events that took place in 1918-21 in Abkhazia and the Black Sea
Riviera (the Sochi district of the Black Sea province). It demonstrates that
the artificial "Abkhazian separatism" had been created and
exploited by outside forces (the Ottoman Empire, the Bolshevik Russia and the
anti-Bolshevik Russian "White movement") that were interested in
the acquisition of the territory of Abkhazia in order to gain control over
the whole South Caucasus. At the same time, despite their mutual bitterness,
both Red and White Russian leaders demonstrated a striking unanimity on the
question of the status of Abkhazia and the Sochi district. Both Reds and
Whites sought to prevent the integration of the two disputed territories into
Georgia. Both parties worked hard with some elements of local population
trying to exploit and develop their "anti-Georgian" sentiments.
The
book draws parallels between the post-WorldWar I
imperialist ambitions of Russia (both communist and anticommunist) and the
modern hegemonism of the Kremlin. Indeed, history
repeated itself again after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, when
the South Caucasus once again gained strategic importance. Today, it serves
as a natural corridor, through which Western countries can access the vital
hydrocarbon resources of Central Asia, bypassing Russia. That is why the
leadership of the Russian Federation considers it crucially important to
restore its political control over the recently independent states of the
South Caucasus, or alternatively, to destabilize them to the extent that the
newly-opened land bridge between Europe and Asia would not function. That
could explain why not only reactionary Russian top brass and secret services,
but also well-known "democratic" RF politicians, stood united
against Georgia and her territorial integrity. Those combined efforts
resulted in the wars and ethnic cleansings of 1992-93 and 2008, the
occupation of Abkhazia and the breach of Georgia's territorial integrity.
However,
the current situation in Abkhazia became possible not only due to the
military superiority of the Russian Federation, but to a large extent due to
the fact that the history of Abkhazia and her legal and cultural connections
with the rest of Georgia remain unknown to the decision-makers, as well as to
the politically active public both in the West and in Russia. The paucity of
publicly available objective information on the Abkhazian situation opens up
great opportunities for ideologically-loaded and sometimes even instigative
interpretations of this sensitive issue. In view of the above, this book also
aims to provide a concise description and analysis of the process of
integration of Abkhazia, and, in part, of the Sochi district, into the
Georgian state in 1918-1921, listing the international treaties and
inter-party agreements that provide legal basis for the association of
Abkhazia with Georgia.
The
book contains 18 full-color maps and over 20 photographs and other
illustrations
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