Origin of the Abkhaz people. Introduction. Origin of the Abkhaz people Origin of the Abkhazians

The territory of modern Abkhazia was inhabited by people in ancient times, as evidenced by rich archaeological material. Since ancient times, ancient Greek, and after them ancient Roman written sources report about the ancient Abkhazian tribes inhabiting Abkhazia - Apsils, Abasgians, Sanigs, Misimians, etc., as well as about the territories in which they lived: Apsilia (in modern southern Abkhazia), Abasgia (central and northern Abkhazia), Sanigi (northwestern Abkhazia to Sochi), Misiminia (mountainous regions of northeastern Abkhazia). The name of the Apsila tribe has been preserved to this day in the self-name of the Abkhaz people - Apsua and in the Abkhaz name of their country - Apsny. The name Abasgi became the basis for the names “Abkhaz” and “Abkhazia”. However, this information is clearly not enough to talk about the origin of the ancient Abkhazian tribes. The answer to these questions can be given by studying the Abkhaz language. The Russian linguist Trubetskoy, who is supported by the majority of Soviet scientists, argues that today in the Western Caucasus there are 2 neighboring unrelated families of languages: 1) Kartvelian; 2) North Caucasian. The North Caucasian family of languages, along with Dagestan and Vainakh, includes the Abkhaz-Adyghe group of languages.

Division of branches of the Abkhaz-Adyghe language

Abaza Abkhaz Ubykh Adyghe Kabardian

Abkhazian branch

Adyghe branch

There are a number of theories regarding the origin of the ancient Abkhazian tribes. The most interesting of them are:

1. Northern - according to which the ancestors of the Abkhaz tribes came from the territory of the North-West Caucasus.

2. Southern or Malaysian - the ancestors of the Abkhaz tribes came from the territory of Asia Minor.

3. Local theory - according to this theory, the formation of the ancient Abkhazian tribes occurred without the intervention of external factors.

4. Ethiopian-Egyptian according to which the ancestors of the Abkhazians came from areas of Africa.

5. Local migration according to which the origin of the ancestors of the ancient Abkhazian tribes is associated with the interaction of local and alien tribes.

The validity of this theory is proven by the following factors.

Scientists claim that at the beginning of 3 thousand BC. On the territory of Asia Minor, a powerful alliance of the Kashki and Abeshla tribes was formed, which took part in the destruction of the Khat state. Apparently these tribes became carriers of elements of the Khat culture, including the language. At the turn of the 2nd - 1st millennium, due to overpopulation in former habitats (Asia Minor), part of the Kashki and Abeshla tribes began to develop new territories, thus reaching not only the territory of modern Abkhazia, but also further to the North Caucasus (in the Settlement Area modern Adyghe and Kabardians). Apparently the Kashki and Abeshla tribes were not only more numerous than the local tribes, but stood at a higher level of development. That is why the culture of the alien tribes won.

The origin of the Abkhazians and their place among other peoples of the world has long been of interest to researchers. There are not many written sources from which they draw their knowledge. And archeology, without the availability of appropriate written data, cannot paint a true picture of the origins of the people. The possibilities of ethnology and anthropology are further narrowed. Experts believe that language is a kind of unwritten chronicle of the centuries-old memory of the people. It contains information about economic activities, the way of life of distant ancestors, their connections with other peoples and much other interesting information. All this helps to understand the linguistic kaleidoscope of the peoples of the Caucasus, which, due to the mountainous landscape, played a preservative role in contrast to the expansive steppes. Therefore, the Caucasus is united in its diversity and many-sided in its unity, which must always be taken into account. It is recognized that the Abkhaz language is one of the oldest languages ​​in the world. It, together with other closely related languages ​​(Abaza, Ubykh, Adyghe, Circassian, Kabardian) forms the Western Caucasian (Abkhaz-Adyghe) language group, numbering several million people today.

The Abkhaz-Adyghe group of languages ​​is related in origin to the East Caucasian languages ​​(Vainakh and Dagestan). Both of these groups form a single Caucasian family of languages.

Researchers of the Abkhaz language note that it is the most difficult for outsiders. Until recently, in the hunting environment, the Abkhaz-Adygs had a special “forest” or “hunting” language.

Relationship with the Hutts. The collapse of the Abkhaz-Adyghe proto-language into three main branches (Abkhaz-Adyghe-Ubykh) is believed to have begun approximately 5 thousand years ago. In modern science, the hypothesis about the relationship of the Abkhaz-Adyghe languages ​​with the Hutt language, whose speakers lived in Asia Minor (in the territory of modern Turkey), has received wide recognition. The direct connections of the ancient population of the Western Caucasus with Asia Minor and Western Asia, with the civilizations of the Ancient East are indicated by the famous monuments of Maikop (until the second half of the 3rd millennium BC) and megalithic (dolmens, cromlechs - second half of the 3rd millennium BC .) archaeological cultures. The well-known “Maikop” and “Esher” epigraphic inscriptions can also testify to the traditional connections of the Abkhaz-Adygs with ancient Eastern civilizations. The signs of these texts show a certain similarity both with the writings found in Byblos (XIII century BC), in Phenicia, and with the signs of the Hittite hieroglyphic writing (II-I millennium BC).

The people, who spoke the proto-language of the Abkhaz-Adyghe, were engaged in agriculture, raised livestock, made various handicrafts, and processed metals. This is confirmed by archaeological materials from Abkhazia. There is an opinion that the Hutts were the inventors of iron metallurgy and that their name iron found its way into many languages ​​of the world (in particular, the Russian word “iron” comes from it). Words such as “sea”, “shore”, “fish”, “mountain (wooded )", "forest (deciduous)", "forest (coniferous)", "fir", "beech", "dogwood", "chestnut", etc. Toponymic names indicate the same thing. For example, names of rivers that include the element “dogs” - water, river (Aripsa, Supsa, Akampsis, Apsar, Lagumpsa), as well as words with the name “kua” - “ravine”, “beam”, “river”, etc. And the archeological data of Abkhazia indicate the continuity of local cultures in time and space before and after the mention of ancient Abkhazian tribes in ancient written sources in the first centuries of our era.

Ecological niche and ethnogenesis of ancient Abkhazians. In the origin of peoples, the role of natural conditions (features) should also be taken into account, i.e. geographical environment. For the history of the Abkhaz-Adygs, the preservative and differentiating processes that took place in the Western Caucasus gorges and mountain passes were very important.

Language decays usually occur during the movement of part of the speakers of the proto-language to another geographically isolated (mountains, rivers) area - the so-called ecological niche.

There is an opinion that the ancestral home of the Abkhaz-Adygs was the Colchis ecological niche and the adjacent northeastern regions of Asia Minor, where in the second - early first millennium BC. e. Kashki-Abeshla, related to the Abkhaz-Adygs, lived (they most likely spoke the Hutt language). Then, perhaps, there was a movement along the coast through the eastern Black Sea corridor (Meoto-Colchian road) and through the passes of the direct linguistic ancestors of the Circassians to the northern slopes of the Western Caucasus. The ancestors of the Zikh-Ubykhs occupied a niche between the Gagra ridge and Tuapse, connected with neighboring territories by difficult-season paths. The Proto-Abkhazian tribes, as the primary part of the community, continued to live in Colchis, where ancient authors found them in the person of the Apsils, Abasgians and Sanigs. Experts believe that cultural advances from Colchis along the Black Sea coast to Eastern Transcaucasia and the northern slopes of the Central Caucasus reached their peak in the 9th-8th centuries. BC e. This time coincides with the heyday of the “Colchis-Koban metallurgical province.” As for the ancient non-Kartvelian tribes: Kardu-Kart, Kulha-Kolhi, Lusha-Laz, etc., they, there is an opinion, even before the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. lived in the northeastern regions of Asia Minor. And only then did these tribes advance through the river gorge. Chorokhi along the coast or along the river gorge. Kura to the Kolkhida ecological niche. The historical plausibility of this option may be indicated by its primacy in Transcaucasia before the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. Proto-North Caucasian “Hurrito-Urartian” element, related to the East Caucasian languages ​​(Nakh-Dagestan).

Speaking about the origin of the Abkhaz people, it is important to always remember that since the settlement of the Western Caucasus by humans, southern influences have traditionally prevailed here - from Asia Minor. From there, in ancient times, speakers of the Abkhaz-Adyghe proto-language moved into the Western Caucasian valleys.

Taking into account the geographical factor and many other things, we should not forget that no people can develop independently, without interaction with other neighboring peoples. Abkhazians are no exception in this regard.

Bridge between Europe and Asia. The territory inhabited by Abkhazians has always served as a kind of bridge between the North Caucasus and the Black Sea coast. The second direction of connections was determined by the sea, along the shores of which ships moved towards Asia Minor and Crimea. In this regard, we can recall such coastal civilizations as, for example: Greece, Rome, Byzantium, Genoa, with which the ancient ancestors of the Abkhazians were also in close contact (by the way, in the village of Tamysh a clay model of a boat was found in the 8th century layer. BC.). An important role was also played by the fact that the base of the triangle of space occupied by the Abkhazians was open to influences from the southeast, from where the foothill “Abkhazian road” led, which was used by merchants and conquerors. It is possible that in the late Middle Ages this path was protected by the Great Abkhazian (Kelasur) Wall, as evidenced by its configuration, the architectural features of the towers themselves and curtains (the fortress wall between the towers), as well as the accompanying archaeological material.---

Geniochi Tribal Union and its components. The population of Abkhazia and adjacent regions, as evidenced by ancient written sources, was in the 1st millennium BC. e. a rather powerful and at the same time motley union of Geniochian tribes. Nevertheless, they were close to each other linguistically and culturally. At least, the ancient cities of Dioscurias (modern Sukhum) and Fasis (modern Poti) were located on the land of the Geniokhs.

In the first centuries of our era, the Geniokhian union broke up into smaller ancient Abkhazian tribes: Sanigs, Abasgians, Apsils (the latter gave the Abkhazians the self-name Aps-ua). In the VI century. n. e. The Misimians emerged from the Apsils. At this time, the ethnopolitical border between the ancient Abkhazian and ancient Kartvelian tribes (Laz) ran approximately along the river. Ingur. This is how it was in the 7th - early 8th centuries, before the formation of the Abkhazian kingdom. In the I-VI centuries. all of the listed ancient Abkhaz tribal associations were early class state formations (“principalities” or “kingdoms”) - Sanigia, Apsilia, Abasgia and Misiminia (from the 6th century). They became the basis for the formation of first the Abkhazian (Abasgian) principality, and then the Abkhazian kingdom (8th century). This was facilitated by the unity of the ancient Abkhaz tribes, which led to the creation of a single Abkhaz feudal nation - the common ancestor of both Abkhazians and Abazins (this process could have begun back in the 7th century, or maybe a little earlier, after the official adoption of Christianity in Abkhazia in the 30-50s of the 6th century). It should be remembered that during the period of the “kingdom of the Abkhazians and Kartlians”, back at the end of the 12th century, the language of the ancestors of modern Abkhazians (Apsaras - Apsua) was well known and respected at the royal court.

Subsequently, the ancestors of some of the modern Abazas (Tapanta), having crossed the spurs of the Main Caucasus Range, settled in the valleys of the North Caucasus devastated by the Mongol invasion. Relocation there of another Abazin tribe - the Ashkharians, who call themselves ap-sua, i.e. Abkhazians, happened even later. Therefore, the speech of the Ashkharians, unlike the Tapants, is less different from the Abkhazian. In a word, the Abkhaz and Abaza actually speak close dialects of the single Abkhaz-Abaza language.

This is how today we can briefly imagine the rather complex process of the origin of the Ab-Khaz people, one of the most ancient peoples of the world.

Abkhazians, Apsua (self-name), people in Eurasia, the Caucasus, indigenous population of Abkhazia.

Numbers and languages

Population in the world is 185 thousand people. (at the beginning of the 21st century).

• according to the 1989 census, the number of Abkhazians in Abkhazia was 93.3 thousand people (18% of the population of Abkhazia),
• according to the 2003 census - 94.6 thousand people (44% of the population),
• according to the 2010 census - 122.1 thousand people (about 51%).

A small part lives in Turkey and Arab countries, where Abkhazians moved in the 2nd half. 19th century Subethnic groups are distinguished:

• Abzhuyskaya,
• Gudauta (Bzyb) and
• Samurzakan

They belong to the Balkan-Caucasian race of the large Caucasian race. They speak the Abkhaz language of the Abkhaz-Adyghe group of the North Caucasian family.

Dialects:

• Abzhui (underlies the literary language) and
• Bzybsky

Russian and Georgian languages ​​are also common. Writing on a Russian graphic basis. Believers are Sunni and Orthodox Muslims.

Story

The ancestors of the Abkhazians belonged to the aboriginal population of the Western Caucasus. It was already mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions under the name Abeshla, and later in ancient sources, which identified the tribal associations of the Abazgs in the north, the Apsils in the south, etc. During the period of the Abkhazian kingdom (8th-10th centuries), the unification of the ancient Abkhazian tribes into the Abkhazian nation was completed. After Abkhazia entered Russia (1810) in the middle. 19th century writing began to be created on a Russian graphic basis. With the formation of the Abkhaz SSR (1921; from 1931 - ASSR), the process of national consolidation accelerated among the Abkhazians and the process of state building began. After the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992-1994. In Abzazia, the process of state building continued at an accelerated pace.

Traditions

Traditional occupations are agriculture and transhumance, auxiliary occupations are beekeeping and hunting. They grow corn and other grains, tobacco, cotton, grapes, horticultural crops, raise cattle, and goats in the mountains. During the years of Soviet power, tea, citrus fruits, etc. were also cultivated in Abkhaz agriculture, and a diversified industry was developing. The working class and intelligentsia were formed.

Traditional crafts - production of agricultural implements, utensils, clothing, metal and horn products, embroidery, carpet weaving, inlay, wood carving. Traditional social organization is characterized by a large patriarchal family and patronymy, atalichestvo and other types of fictitious kinship. Arabic kinship system. From the middle of the 19th century. The small family and the neighborhood community predominated. Family exogamy and other elements of the patriarchal clan organization were preserved. Traditional settlements are scattered. Round or quadrangular wicker buildings with a thatched conical or gable roof already in the 19th century. began to be replaced by plank houses with a raised floor on pillars; During the years of Soviet power, the construction of two-story stone urban-type houses spread. Traditional men's clothing - woolen or cotton trousers, shirt, beshmet, circassian coat, stacked belt and burka. Headdresses - mainly a felt hat or bashlyk, shoes - duvets and leggings. Women's clothing - trousers, high-necked dresses, beshmets, scarves, duvets or wooden shoes. The traditional costume is worn only by the older generation on holidays.

The food is dominated by hominy, sour milk, raw vegetables, boiled beef and fried chicken with seasonings (adjika, etc.). Folklore (Nart epic) is developed.

Literature

• Inal-ipa Sh.D., Abkhazia. 2nd ed., Sukhumi, 1965: his, Traditions and Modernity (based on the ethnography of the Abkhazians). Sukhumi, 1973;
• Janashia N.S., Articles on the ethnography of Abkhazia, Sukhumi, 1960;
• Anchabadze E.V., Essay on the ethnic history of the Abkhaz people. Sukhumi. 1976;
• Argun Yu. G., Abkhaz ethnographic sketches, Sukhumi, 1980;
• The phenomenon of longevity. Anthropological aspect of the study. M., 1982;
• Bibvava V.L., Modern rural family among the Abkhazians. Tb. 1983.

(self-name - Ansua), people, indigenous population of Abkhazia. They also live in Russia (6 thousand people) and other countries. The Abkhazian language is of the Abkhaz-Adyghe group of the North Caucasian family of languages. The believers are mostly Sunni Muslims, with some Orthodox Christians.

Language

They speak the Abkhaz language of the Abkhaz-Adyghe group of the North Caucasian language family. There are dialects: Abzhuy (underlies the literary language) and Bzyb. Writing on a Russian graphic basis.

The Abkhazian language belongs to the Western Caucasian (Abkhaz-Adyghe) language group. It has two dialects - Abzhuy (the basis of the modern literary language) and Bzyb. Abkhazian writing developed on the basis of the alphabet created in 1862 by linguist P.K. Uslar. Later it was improved by Abkhaz scientists. The basis of the national alphabet is the Cyrillic alphabet.

Religion

Abkhaz believers are Orthodox Christians (from the 4th century) and Sunni Muslims (from the 16th century).

Story

Abkhazians are the autochthonous population of the Caucasus. In the 8th century they developed statehood, which to one degree or another lasted until their annexation to Russia in 1810. In the 1870s. more than half of the population of Abkhazia, dissatisfied with the policies of the autocracy, moved to Turkey.

In 1921, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia was formed, which became part of Georgia on the basis of a union treaty. In 1931, the status of Abkhazia was downgraded to the level of an autonomous republic. The growth of Abkhaz-Georgian contradictions in the late 1980s. led to a serious political crisis.

Representatives of the Abkhaz people appeared on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory in the 1930s (16 people). In the post-war period, their numbers gradually increased: 1970 - 68 people, 1979 - 89, 1989 - 124.

In the 1990s, the diaspora decreased by half and numbered 60 people by the end of 2002. The Abkhaz community of Krasnoyarsk is characterized by a double predominance of men and the absolute dominance of city dwellers (88%).

Life and activities

The main traditional occupations of the Abkhazians are agriculture, transhumance and grazing; auxiliary occupations are beekeeping and hunting. In the 20th century The cultivation of tobacco, tea, and citrus fruits (tangerines) has been mastered. Crafts were developed - making utensils, clothing, metal and horn products, wood carving, inlay, embroidery, weaving.

Traditional men's clothing - beshmet, circassian coat, skinny trousers, burka, bashlyk, papakha, stacked belt with a dagger; for women - a fitted dress with a wedge-shaped neckline on the chest, closed with metal fasteners, a belt, and a scarf on the head.

The national food of the Abkhazians is hard corn porridge mamalyga (abysta), boiled beans, milk and dairy products, various types of meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, honey. Characteristic are spicy gravies and sauces, the famous seasoning adjika. Alcoholic drinks - dry wine and grape vodka.

Famous Abkhazians

• Apsha Leon
• Ali Bey - Sultan of Egypt 1763-1773.
• Ardzinba, Vladislav Grigorievich - Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz SSR (1990-1992), Chairman of the Supreme Council (1992-1994) and President of the Republic of Abkhazia (1994-2005).
• Arshba, Otari Ionovich (father's side) - Russian entrepreneur.
• Bagapsh, Sergei Vasilievich - Prime Minister (1997-1999) and President of the Republic of Abkhazia (2005-2011).
• Gablia, Varlam Alekseevich - Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Gogua, Alexey Nochevich - prose writer.
• Gulia, Georgy Dmitrievich - Russian Soviet writer, Honored Artist of the Georgian SSR (1943), Honored Artist of the Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1971).
• Gulia, Dmitry Iosifovich - writer, people's poet of Abkhazia (1937); founder of Abkhaz written literature.
• Daraselia, Vitaly Kukhinovich - Soviet football player, midfielder, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.
• St. Eustathius
• Iskander, Fazil Abdulovich - Soviet and Russian prose writer and poet.
• Kokoskeria, Yason Basyatovich - Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Lakerbay, Mikhail Aleksandrovich - writer, playwright, theater critic, Honored Artist of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1961).
• Lakoba, Nestor Apollonovich - Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the SSR Abkhazia (1922-1936), Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Abkhaz ASSR (1930-1936).
• Orbay, Rauf - Prime Minister of Turkey (1922-1923).
• Papaskiri, Ivan Georgievich - Abkhaz Soviet writer, Honored Worker of Culture of the Georgian SSR (1968).
• Hareiddin Pasha - Prime Minister of Tunisia, author of the Tunisian Constitution of 1861.
• Shinkuba, Bagrat Vasilievich - writer and poet, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1958-1979).

• Among all the regions of the USSR, the record holder for the number of centenarians per capita was Abkhazia. In 1956, there were 2,144 people aged 90 years and older living in the Abkhaz SSR; of these, 270 are over a hundred, and 11 are over 120 years old. Among the Abkhaz long-livers there were no gloomy and angry people; The Abkhazians have a saying: “Evil people do not live long.”

In recent decades, Abkhazia has been away from the bustling tourist routes. The reason for this was the events of the early 90s, when the fire of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflicts, which seemed to have long gone out, flared up again. For many years this beautiful Caucasian country has not seen tourists. But time passes, the craters from the explosions and the scars in people’s hearts have become overgrown, resorts are being rebuilt, and tourism services are developing. We again go to Gagra, Sukhum, Pitsunda, and Lake Ritsa. And we are surprised by what we see - picturesque landscapes, ancient fortresses, beautiful botanical gardens, monasteries and temples, caves. We are surprised and realize that we know nothing about this small country, which is recognized as a country by only a few states in the world. Let's fill this knowledge gap together and take a short excursion to history of Abkhazia.

Ancient Abkhazia

Start history of Abkhazia hidden behind the fog of millennia. The first people appeared on its fertile lands 35 thousand years ago, during the Late Paleolithic era. Mesolithic sites dating from the 12th to 7th millennium BC have been well studied. People lived in caves near rivers and were engaged in fishing and gathering. This is evidenced by fish bones and bone harpoons found in large numbers around their homes.

In the 6th–4th millennia BC, during the Neolithic period, clay dishes appeared. At the same time, man leaves the caves and begins to build dwellings on his own. The development of agriculture begins: cultivation of the land and domestication of wild animals. At the border of the 4th–3rd centuries BC, the inhabitants Abkhazia learned to smelt metal - copper and bronze. A thousand years later, the dolmen culture appeared. Her traces - dolmens(stone tombs) - found everywhere in the territory of modern Abkhazia. Their highest concentration is observed in Gudauta district, in the vicinity of the village of Otkhara (15 dolmens weighing from 60 to 110 tons were recorded here). In dolmens of the Late Bronze Age, researchers find spearheads, bronze axes, ceramics and all kinds of jewelry.

First cities

The first large settlements-cities appeared in history of Abkhazia in the 8th century BC, when Greek sailors and colonists began to develop its Black Sea coast. In the 6th–1st centuries BC, they founded the cities of Pitiunt (now Pitsunda), Gyuenos (Ochamchira), Triglit (Gagra), Dioscuria (Sukhum) and others in quiet and convenient bays for navigation. These cities of the colony quickly grew, turning into cultural and historical centers of the Black Sea coast. Trade flourished in them, goods were exchanged, and crafts developed.

Dioscuriad

Territory where the Hellenes founded Dioscuriad, in Abkhazian was called Akua. The antiquity of the name is indicated by the inscriptions “Akoi” (Akua) on gold stater coins minted in the 1st century BC. In addition, a castle located near modern Sukhum, named by researchers of the early last century Bagrat Castle, formerly called Agua Castle(Akua). In the 5th-4th centuries BC, local and Greek settlements in this territory were connected only by economic interests. A century later, during the Hellenistic era, their inhabitants mutually integrated, and the composition of the population of Dioskouriada became mixed, Greek-Abkhazian.

In the 1st century AD, the Romans appeared and began to dominate on the shores of the Black Sea. This was the era of Emperor Octavian Augustus. It marked the beginning of a new, Roman-Byzantine period history of Abkhazia, which lasted until the 7th century. In the 1st century, Diascurias received a new Roman name - Sebastopolis.

Early Christianity in the history of Abkhazia

According to church traditions, in 55 AD, the apostles Andrew the First-Called and Simon the Canaanite, biblical disciples of Christ, came to the Abkhaz land to preach their faith. For Simon the Canaanite, Abkhazia became his last place of residence - here he died in the vicinity of the Psyrtskha River. Later, a temple was erected in his name on the site of his grave, and the grotto in which the Saint spent his last days became one of the most revered religious shrines of Abkhazia.

Abkhazia and the Russian Empire

In the 19th century, Türkiye and Russia fought to wrest territory along the Black Sea from each other. In mid-summer 1810, a Russian squadron captured the Sukhum-Kale fortress. Abkhazia was annexed to the Russian Empire (with the exception of a few free settlements in the mountains). 1810 is considered the year of the beginning of Russian patronage over Abkhazia. In the same year, about 5 thousand Abkhazians moved to Turkey - this was the first wave of migrations of the 19th century.

Distinctive feature Abkhazian principality It was that, unlike neighboring Georgia, it did not lose its independence as a result of joining Russia. From 1810 to 1864, the principality had autonomous governance within the Russian Empire and existed in the Caucasus longer than others.

Since June 1864, the abolished Abkhazian principality was renamed the Sukhumi military department of the Russian Empire. On the eve of the liquidation of the principality, Prince Mikhail Romanov, who was the governor in the Caucasus, presented to the emperor a plan for the colonization of the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea. Alexander II approved this plan (it was proposed to populate the territory from Ingur to the mouth of the Kuban with Cossack villages). At this time, 45 thousand Ubykhs and 20 thousand Sadzes left Abkhazia and moved to Turkey.

Rebellion and Mukhajirism

In 1866, an uprising broke out in Abkhazia, the wave of which swept from the village of Lykhny to Sukhum. The reason for the outrage was the preparation of the Russian authorities to carry out peasant reform. Officials lost sight of the fact that, unlike Georgia, there were no serf relations in Abkhazia. After the suppression of the uprising in Abkhazia, repression began, the people were unconditionally disarmaed (even daggers were taken away). Participants in the uprising were exiled to the Far North and Siberia. In the summer of 1867, another 20 thousand Abkhazians became makhajirs - migrants to Turkey.

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Abkhazians sided with the Turks. At the end of the war, this led to massive political repression. The Abkhaz were recognized as the “guilty” population, and they began to be sent to hard labor or into exile in remote Russian provinces. In 1877, Mukhadzhirism reached its peak - about 50 thousand more Abkhazians left the country. Its towns and cities are practically deserted. In order to somehow solve the problem, Abkhazia began to be populated by other peoples, primarily Georgians (Mingrelians), as well as Greeks, Russians, Armenians, Estonians, Bulgarians, and Germans. By the end of the 19th century, Abkhazians made up only 55% of the country's total population.

In the second half of the century before last, Abkhazia was between the democratic communities of the free mountaineers of the Caucasus and the Georgian feudal system. However, in its social structure a spiritual connection with the Circassian-Ubykh community was clearly visible.

When the Russian Empire collapsed, Abkhazia ended up as part of the Union of United Highlanders of the Caucasus and in the South-Eastern Union. In November 1917, a congress of the Abkhaz people was held, at which the first parliament was elected - the People's Council of Abkhazia, which adopted the Declaration and Constitution of the Abkhaz people. In March 1921, the Bolsheviks declared Abkhazia a Soviet Socialist Republic and established Soviet power in it. In February 1931, the VI All-Georgian Congress was held in Tbilisi, which decided to transform the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia into an autonomous republic, part of the Georgian SSR.

National liberation movement

Just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the national liberation movement began to activate in many union republics. Abkhazia also began a struggle to improve its own administrative status. The Georgian parliament fundamentally began to make decisions and resolutions unilaterally (1989 – 1990), ignoring the interstate nature of relations between Georgia and Abkhazia, clearly supporting the course towards the abolition of Abkhaz statehood. To overcome the legal unsettlement between the countries, in July 1992, the Supreme Council of Abkhazia, by its decision, restored the validity of the 1925 Constitution on the territory of the republic and adopted a new Flag and Coat of Arms of the Republic of Abkhazia.

Georgian-Abkhaz war 1992-1993

The disaster happened on August 14, 1992. Georgia, having just joined the UN, began war against Abkhazia. Her troops supported armored vehicles, aviation and artillery invaded the territory of Abkhazia and occupied it.

The extermination of local residents and cultural genocide began: cultural and historical monuments, valuable documents, rare manuscripts and books were destroyed... On September 30, 1993, Abkhazia was liberated. About 3 thousand people gave their lives for the freedom and independence of the country.

Abkhazia today

In November 1994, the Parliament of Abkhazia adopted a new Constitution of the country. The first president was elected - V.G. Ardzinba. From that time until the autumn of 1999, Abkhazia was under an informational, economic and political blockade.

Nevertheless, she found the means and strength to overcome the difficulties of the post-war period, reviving culture, science, economics, education and the resort sector. In October 1999, in a nationwide referendum, Abkhazians voted for the country's independence, enshrining this in the corresponding state act. In 2008, the independence of Abkhazia was recognized by Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, in 2009 by Nauru, and in 2011 by Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

That's how she is history of Abkhazia: ancient, proud and sad. With all my heart I want to believe that the people of this small mountainous country, which is again at the stage of formation, will find real freedom, recognition and a quiet life. Traveling around Abkhazia, you constantly meet hospitable and cheerful people, beautiful places and buildings that were destroyed during the “last” war. And it is joyful to see that every year there are fewer and fewer such buildings, “witnesses of the 90s”: new roofs appear above them, new windows appear in the window openings, and peaceful light comes on in these windows in the evenings. And then you understand: the history of Abkhazia continues!