Upper Abkhazia ( Georgian : ზემო აფხაზეთი , romanized : Zemo Apxazeti ; Abkhaz : Аҧсны хыхьтәи , romanized: Apsny xyxjtwj ), commonly known by its administrative name, Azhara Municipality is a geographical term and municipality of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia . The term was first introduced in 2006, to denote the northeastern part of the disputed territory of Abkhazia , that had remained under Georgian control after the 1992 War in Abkhazia . From September 2006 to August 2008 its main village, Chkhalta , hosted the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia 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 - Abkhazia armies, which had already controlled the rest of Abkhazia. Even though the area was no longer controlled by Georgia, the Georgian Government kept its municipal status as a sign of not recognizing any changes to the Abkhazian administrative divisions made by the breakaway republic. The current seat of the municipal government-in-exile is Tbilisi .
17-746: Geographically, Upper Abkhazia comprised the Upper Kodori Valley , the Chkhalta Ridge and the Marukhi Pass on the border with the Russian Federation . It was populated by some 2,000 people, chiefly ethnic Georgians ( Svans ). 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
34-513: 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, including President Mikheil Saakashvili and the Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II . The area underwent a major rehabilitation program, including
51-530: Is a large, steep peak in a heavily glaciated region, and presents serious challenges to mountaineers. Its north face (on the Russian side) is 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) high and contains several classic difficult routes. The significant sub-summit Shkhara West, at 5,068 m (16,627 ft), is a climbing objective in its own right, and a traverse of the entire Bezingi Wall is considered "Europe's longest, most arduous, and most committing expedition". The peak
68-585: Is populated by several upland villages; these are Lata, Omarishara , Shkhara and Zemo Azhara . Administratively, it was de facto and de jure a part of Upper Abkhazia (prior to August 2008), but the Republic of Abkhazia claims it as part of the Gulripshi District . According to the last Georgian census (2002), the population of the former Georgian-controlled part of the valley was 1,956, of which were 1,912 ethnic Georgians (Svans). The population of
85-634: The Battle of the Kodori Valley . Kodori Valley The Kodori Valley , also known as the Kodori Gorge ( Georgian : კოდორის ხეობა , Abkhaz : Кәыдырҭа , romanized: Kwydyrta ), is a river valley in Abkhazia , Georgia 's breakaway autonomous republic. The valley's upper part, populated by Svans , was the only corner of the post-1993 Abkhazia directly controlled by
102-669: The Kodori corridor, several dangerous incidents occurred: Shkhara Shkhara ( Georgian : შხარა ) is the highest point in the country of Georgia . It is located near the Russian-Georgian border, in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region on the northern side, and the Svaneti region of Georgia in the south. Shkhara lies 88 kilometres (55 mi) north of the city of Kutaisi , Georgia's second-largest city, and closer to
119-616: The Upper Kodori Valley in 2011 was 196, mostly ethnic Georgians (Svans). Russian state media outlet Sputnik claimed there were about 100 people in Azhara in 2020, who mostly engaged in beekeeping and animal husbandry. The residents of Azhara did not have Abkhazian passports. The Abkhazian historic regions of Dal and Tsebelda occupied most of the Kodori Valley before the incorporation of Abkhazia into Russian Empire from 1810 to 1864. Its highland communities were independent of
136-568: The battles continued in the Kodori region up to the late March 1994. The village of Lata was taken by Abkhazian forces on March 24 and 25, 1994. According to the Moscow Agreement , signed in May 1994, the ceasefire line was drawn to the north-east of it so, so that the Upper Kodori Valley would remain outside of the control of Abkhazian authorities. Together with the Gali district , it is one of
153-505: The central Georgian government, which since 2006 officially styles the area as Upper Abkhazia (Geo. ზემო აფხაზეთი, Zemo Apkhazeti ). On August 12, 2008, Russo–Abkhazian forces gained control of the Upper Kodori Valley, previously controlled by Georgia. The Upper Kodori Valley lies in the upper reaches of the Kodori River in northeastern portion of Abkhazia, about 65 km (40 miles) inside an official administrative boundary of
170-475: The central authority of Shervashidze -Chachba princes. In the 1840s, Imperial Russian soldiers started a series of massacres and ethnic cleansing. In January 1841, Russian troops massacred the Svan and Georgian populations in Kodori valley, specifically in the village of Dali. It is estimated that 90 Svan surnames went extinct as families were killed and few deported. As a result, the ethnic cleansing continued until
187-554: The late 19th century, in 1866 the uprising of almost all the Abkhaz of these lands became muhajirs and the now depopulated territory of the former District of Tsebelda was placed under a special "settlement curator." Armenians , Georgians ( Megrelians ) and Russians populated the lower part of the valley, while Svans settled in its upper part (beyond the village of Lata). Despite the war in Abkhazia ending by September 1993,
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#1732780573704204-428: 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 2006 Georgian local elections . On August 12, 2008, during the 2008 South Ossetia War , Russian and Abkhaz forces gained control of Upper Abkhazia in
221-918: The region with the rest of Georgia. It is about 30 km (20 miles) down the coast from Abkhazia's capital Sukhumi . At an elevation of 1,300 to 3,984 meters, the area covers a range of landscapes from coniferous mountain forest to intermittent snow cover. The climate is alpine and winters are snowy. Annual precipitation 1,600 to over 2,000 mm (120 mm in January, 160 mm in April, 180 mm in July and 160 mm in October). Over 30 days with heavy rains per year. Around 180 days with snow cover. Mean temperature: January: -3 C, April: 3 C, July: 14 C and October: 5 C. Mean maximum temperature in July: 28 C. The valley
238-508: The region. 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
255-605: The townlet of Mestia in Svaneti . The summit lies in the central part of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range , to the south-east of Mount Elbrus , Europe 's highest mountain. Shkhara is the third-highest peak in the Caucasus, just behind Dykh-Tau . Shkhara is the high point and the eastern anchor of a massif known as the Bezengi Wall , a 11–12-kilometre-long (6.8–7.5 mi) ridge. It
272-630: The two areas that remain populated by Georgians in the post-war Abkhazia. Under UMOMIG's ( United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia ) expanded mandate laid out in Resolution 937 (1994), the mission was given two tasks in the Kodori Valley: 1. Monitor the withdrawal of troops of Georgia from the Kodori Valley to places beyond the boundaries of Abkhazia. 2. Patrol the Kodori Valley regularly. Despite no subsequent real military activity in
289-495: The valley and the area had largely been run, since 1994, by the local warlord Emzar Kvitsiani , 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 (1993), the Kodori region and the adjacent pieces of land, governed by Georgia, were officially renamed Upper Abkhazia and declared
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