14 August 1992. The aviation of the Georgian troops began to bomb the city of Sukhum, which will be forever recorded in the memory of the abyss. Twenty days earlier, on 23 July, the Abkhazia forces proclaimed the independence of the Arab country in the country. After winning the war, which lasted 13 months, independence was achieved definitiva.El former leader of the communist party of Abkhazia,
Vladislav Ardzinba, led the victory and became the first president of the independent training, Abkhazia. Ardzinba, who died in 2010, has never disappeared his legacy in this small republic. Everywhere you can find your images, here he is a hero. Under his leadership, Abkhazia regained independence. Recovering it, because the statue of Abkhazia was not built out of nowhere: “Our question is not separatism, but the process of recovering the historical state,” explains a government official.

The Abecedarian was state and kingdom in the 8th century, as well as the principality in the 13th century. The wars between Turkey (the Ottomans) and Russia have for centuries conditioned the life of the abmast. They have been subjected to one and the other and have had to suffer their repression. However, in 1917, the October Revolution of the Bolsheviks was going to give a new light to the nation: The people's council of Abkhazia was created and the Republic of the Mountains was created. After the establishment of Soviet power in 1921, Abkhazia regained its independence, sovereignty and territoriality as the Soviet Socialist Republic. Like Ardzinba, the leader of the Bolsheviks of Abkhazia, Néstor Lakoba, then reached great popularity.

Until 1931, the dream of the abyss lasted. Soviet President Josif Vissarionovich “Stalin” integrated Abkhazia into the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia as the Soviet Socialist Autonomous Republic. The number of Georgian ethnicities increased in the Republic, completely revolutionizing the previously pro-Abkhazian ethnicity demography. Nestor Lakoba was also “purged.” Despite the fact that the policies of the Georgians Veria and Stalin led to the assimilation of the Abkhazia people, the historic accession to the Soviet Union is close, and this is evidenced by the large number of people who, for example, took part in the resistance against the Nazis during the Second World War. Abkhazia is the second former Soviet republic with more “Soviet heroes”.

End of the Soviet Union and national construction

The process of the disappearance of the Soviet Union triggered the national demands of some small nations and the processes of self-determination in the emerging republics. Thus, tension among ethnic minorities increased in countries such as Transnistria, Ossetia, Chechnya or Abkhazia.

Socially, there was also a great disaster and the oligarchs began to privatize the resources. Abkhazia’s Minister of Economy, Adgur Ardzinba, explained to us that “with the privatizations and the collapse of the USSR the industry was destroyed.” “Abkhazia was a developed and free country in the Soviet Union,” explains the young Teymuraz. He is a deputy mayor of the city of Gagra and son of the last communist leader of Abkhazia. It has led us to meet the following aristocrats of Pedro de Oldenburg: “In Soviet times we all lived well,” they say here. Amazing. The aristocrats, the working class, the peasants… all together began to defend the Soviet Union and the independence of Abkhazia.

After the war and the measures taken by the international community against the country, the small republic of the Caucasus remained isolated for years. Russia was the first country in the world to recognize the independence of Abkhazia. Thus, the trade between the two gives it a respite.

The Minister of Economy has explained to us that “the driving force of the country is tourism”. In the last two summers, more than 3 million tourists have visited the country, mostly Russians, and also from the European Union – beyond the pressure of Georgians and the EU – attracted by the Black Sea, the Caucasus and low prices. The Russian low classes are able to spend the summer quietly in Abkhazia, and Abkhazia has made good use of it.

On the other hand, Abkhazia continues to open the path of "national construction", which he has described as "capital". The National Bank controls financial capital and the official currency is the Ruble, due to transactions with Russia and economic relations. They have also built their own systems of parlementu, police, education and justice. The lack of broad international recognition has not brought major problems to the abkhazes.

The hard road to independence: 1992 War

During the process of disintegration of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared independence and became a capitalist country. In March 1991, the then President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsajurdia, organized and won the referendum for independence.

The Georgians, who did not have a majority in the regions, such as Abkhazia or South Ossetia, boycotted the referendum. The creation of the new States aroused the desire for sovereignty of other small nations. Abkhazia was no exception and unilateral independence was proclaimed on 23 July 1992. In response, on 14 August 1992, the Georgian army bombed the capital, Sukhum, and the war between the two nations began.

Shortly after the outbreak of war, the Georgian Army took control of the most strategic locations in Abkhazia. Georgia managed to isolate the rebels in the centre of the country. The Abkhazia militias, made up of all ethnic groups in the country except the Georgians, established the capital in the city of Gudauta and made it a beacon of resistance. Batal Dzhapua was in those fights. Today, the famous painter and artist has just finished the documentary that picks up the details of the Abkhazia war: “Achieving independence is hard,” says the former guerrilla warfare. The Georgian troops remained surrounded for 13 months until, in September 1993, with a successful counter-attack, they managed to expel the Georgian forces from Abkhasta: “We were lucky enough to win. Aiaaaira”. Victoria.

Despite the difficulties, the State of Abkhazia

Abkhazia Foreign Minister Viatxeslav Txirikba believes that independence “is an instrument to preserve our culture and language in a globalised world.” But the cost has been high. It brought thousands of deaths in the war and a blockade that lasted more than 7 years. At the close of the border with Georgia, the border with Russia was also blocked by order of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Only women and children could leave the country and the country had to survive thanks to smuggled products, a few international humanitarian organizations or the assistance of the Abkhazia diaspora by sea. Until Vladimir Putin won the elections and suspended the economic blockade.

Another black chapter in the history of Abkhazia was lived on August 7, 2008. The Georgian Army bombed the de facto independent South Ossetia region and killed 1,300 people in one night, 3 per cent of the total Ossetians. This triggered the 10-day war between Abjasia-Ossetia and Georgia. In the attack by the Georgian Army, 13 Russian soldiers also died. Russia took a direct part in the war and was concluded in a few days.

That short war also represented the political and diplomatic response of Russia and on 26 August the Russian Federation formally recognized the independence of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It was a historic breakthrough for these republics that survived 16 years without recognition.

In addition to Russia, in September 2008 Nicaragua, by the mouth of former Sandinista guerrilla Daniel Ortega, declared independence from Abkhazia. Also Venezuela, through President Hugo Chávez, during his trip to Moscow in 2009. Three small states in the Asia-Pacific region (Nauru, Vanuatu and Tuvalu) have also recognized the independence of the country and, together with them, other de facto independent regions in the same situation as Abkhazia: For example, Nagorno Karabakh, Transnistria and South Ossetia.

Despite the fact that Russian aid has given a respite, the issue of the Abkhazia declaration is slow on an international level. The Minister for Foreign Affairs makes this clear: “If it were not for the pressures of Brussels and the United States, more countries would recognize our independence.” Unlike Kosovo, the question of Abkhazia shows that the small nations of the world are condemned to live without international recognition and under the threat of an empire. Today Abkhazia and tomorrow Catalonia. What future for the small nations of the world?