Upper Abkhazia
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Upper Abkhazia ( ka, ზემო აფხაზეთი,
romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
:
''Zemo Apxazeti''; ab, Аҧсны хыхьтәи, Apsny xyxjtwj) is a term introduced in 2006, to denote the northeastern part of the disputed territory of
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
, that had remained under
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
control after the 1992 War in Abkhazia. From September 2006 to August 2008 its main village,
Chkhalta Chkhalta ( ka, ჩხალთა; ab, Чҳалҭа; russian: Чхалта) is a village in the upper part of the Kodori Valley, situated in Gulripshi District, Abkhazia, a breakaway republic from Georgia. History Prior to August 2008, Chkhal ...
, hosted the
Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is an administration recognized by Georgia as the legal and only government of Abkhazia. Abkhazia has been ''de facto'' independent of Georgiathough with very little international recognitio ...
and was the seat of the Azhara municipal community. This situation came to an end in the Battle of the Kodori Valley in August 2008, when Upper Abkhazia was conquered by the
Russo Russo may refer to: *Russo (surname) * Russo (footballer, 1915–1980), full name Adolpho Milman, Brazilian football forward and manager * Russo (footballer, born 1976), full name Ricardo Soares Florêncio, Brazilian football defender *Russo brothe ...
-
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
armies, which had already controlled the rest of Abkhazia.


Geography

Geographically, Upper Abkhazia comprised the Upper Kodori Valley, the Chkhalta Ridge and the Marukhi Pass on the border with the
Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. It was populated by some 2,000 people, chiefly ethnic
Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
(
Svans , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = File:Kartvelian languages.svg , caption = Distribution of the Svan language in relation to other Kartvelian (South Caucasian) languages. , population = –80,00 ...
). The area has a size of approximately 29% of Abkhazia's territory and is of high strategic importance, due to its proximity to the Abkhaz-held capital of Sukhumi and other important cities in the region.


History

The term Upper Abkhazia has been largely used by the Georgian officials and media since the successful operation of Georgian forces in the Kodori Valley in July 2006, which established firmer Georgian presence in the region. Before that the Georgian government had exercised a very loose control over Kodori, even though the Abkhaz separatist forces had never been able to penetrate the valley and the area had largely been run, since 1994, by the local warlord
Emzar Kvitsiani Emzar Kvitsiani ( ka, ემზარ კვიციანი, ; born April 25, 1961) is a former Georgian military commander and politician. He took part in the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), forming a paramilitary group '' Monadire'' in the uppe ...
, who was dislodged in the Georgian police operation in 2006. On September 27, 2006, on the 13th anniversary of the fall of Sukhumi to the Abkhaz rebels and their allies from the
Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
(1993), the Kodori region and the adjacent pieces of land, governed by Georgia, were officially renamed Upper Abkhazia and declared a "temporary administrative center" of Abkhazia and the headquarters of the de jure Abkhazian government. In spite of Abkhaz and Russian protests, a new office of the de jure government was inaugurated, on the same day, by a high ranking delegation from Georgia's capital,
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
, including
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.
and the Catholicos Patriarch
Ilia II Ilia may refer to: Science and medicine *''Apatura ilia'' or lesser purple emperor, a butterfly *Ilium (bone) (plural: "ilia"), pelvic bone People * Ilia (name), numerous **Ilia II Ilia may refer to: Science and medicine *''Apatura ilia'' or ...
. The area underwent a major rehabilitation program, including the reconstruction of infrastructure and reinforcement of security services. The Central Election Commission of Georgia had established the constituency of Upper Abkhazia, allowing the population of the area, for the first time in the history of Georgia, to take part in the Georgian local elections, 2006.''First time in the history of Georgia the population of Kodori gorge will elect the representative body''
The Central Election Commission of Georgia website, September 3, 2006. On August 12, 2008, during the
2008 South Ossetia War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
, Russian and Abkhaz forces gained control of Upper Abkhazia in the Battle of the Kodori Valley.


See also

* Kodori Valley *
Sadzen Lesser Abkhazia (Georgian: ჯიქეთი, Jiqeti) was the term used to refer to those lands of Abkhazia that were not subject to the direct control of the ruling Shervashidze dynasty. History After the Russian-Circassian War, the bulk o ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Abkhazia says it controls most of Kodori ValleyDetailed History of Upper Abkhazia (Georgian source)
States and territories established in 2006 Subdivisions of Abkhazia Regions of Abkhazia