CIVIL SOCIETY
Text by Elizabeth Owen; Photos by Sophia Mizante 10/01/08
September 30 was Independence Day in the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and all the celebratory trappings were on full display: flags, speeches, fireworks and a massive parade. But amid the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of separatist Abkhazia’s defeat of Georgian forces, one unspoken question hung in the air: How independent is the independent Abkhazia?
From a global perspective, the fight over South Ossetia and Abkhazia is often presented as a proxy struggle between Russia and the United States. But for most Abkhaz that perspective misses the point. "You know, we exist. We’re on the map. We can make our own decisions," said one middle-aged man sunning himself on a bench overlooking the Black Sea in the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi. "After 15 years, people need to realize: We’re our own place."
Throughout two days of celebrations, that theme was hard to miss. Most cars in Sukhumi sported at least one Abkhaz flag, often nearly as large as the car itself; women wore green-and-white ribbons, mimicking the colors of the Abkhaz flag. Meanwhile sidewalk vendors sold t-shirts and stickers declaring "I love Abkhazia" in English and Russian.
At a September 30 military parade, as a World War II Soviet anthem played, tanks, rocket launchers and artillery rattled past a platform full of dignitaries. Above the platform hung a red banner; "The Republic of Abkhazia is an independent state!"
Helicopter and fighter jet formations buzzing overhead may have been Russian-made, but Abkhaz officials and ordinary citizens hotly dispute the image of the Republic of Abkhazia as a Moscow satellite. "Western countries are saying that now there’s only one way [for Abkhazia], that ’they’re heading towards Russia,’" commented Sergei Shamba, who serves as Abkhazia’s foreign minister. "But we’re an independent country."
After decades of struggle against both the Russian Empire and Georgia to retain a separate Abkhaz identity, the end goal, Abkhaz leaders say, is Abkhazia’s survival as a state; ironically, given the 19th century uprisings against Russian rule, the means -- for now -- is the Russian Federation. Other than Nicaragua, Russia is the only country to have recognized Abkhazia’s independence from Georgia.
While Shamba affirms that Sukhumi is bent on building a "multi-vectored foreign policy," with a particular focus on Turkey and the European Union, he notes that recognition of an independent Abkhazia by other countries is more "prestigious" than "real."
"We’ve signed a treaty with the Russian Federation that gives us the possibility to solve the main questions before our society, security and economic development," he said.
Under the terms of the September 17 pact, Russia has pledged to defend Abkhazia’s borders, and will enjoy the right to open bases within the territory. Transportation, communication and energy systems will be integrated, and economic cooperation "formalized," as described by the Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti. The agreement also provides for dual citizenship.
That support, de facto President Sergei Bagapsh told a September 29 assembly in Sukhumi, means that Abkhazia "is being reborn in a new era."
Many elements of that "new era" are already evident. Bagapsh has confirmed plans for two Russian bases in Abkhazia, at Ochamchira, in the south, and at Gudauta, near the Russian border. A military airport will reopen in Gudauta, and a port in Ochamchira. "Taking into account that, after everything, Georgia will still in the near future join NATO, Abkhazia should do everything necessary to strengthen state security," the Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Bagapsh as saying.
Additional investment and economic assistance are also part of the friendship package. Speaking to reporters outside Sukhumi’s war-ruined parliament building on September 30, Bagapsh cited economic prosperity as the "next stage" in Abkhazia’s future. "People want that there will never be a return to the events of the early 1990s," he added.
Bagapsh recently announced that his government expected foreign investment to reach some 10 billion rubles (about $390 million) over the next two to three years. In 2014, Russia is due to host the Winter Olympics in Sochi, just across the border from Abkhazia. Much of the investment in Abkhazia in the coming years is likely to be related to the Sochi games.
Abkhazia’s telephone code -- 995, the same as for Georgia -- remains perhaps the most identifiable link between Abhazia and Georgia. While Abkhaz leaders have not publicly expressed a desire to ditch the calling code, they are intent on erasing other signs of the region’s ties to Tbilisi.
Changing the official name of the United Nations’ mission to Abkhazia -- the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia -- ranks top on the list for Abkhaz officials. With it, said de facto Defense Minister Merab Kishmaria, should come a rethink of the UN’s purpose in Abkhazia.
Sukhumi has rejected the idea of having other international observers deploy in Abkhazia. The region’s de facto deputy defense minister, Gari Kupalba, said that the additional observers were needed "in Georgia, where they do have aggressive plans. Abkhazia does not."
Strengthening Abkhazia’s border with Georgia is another policy priority, according to Shamba. Georgians traveling in a horse cart into Abkhazia described the situation in the border region of Gali as "peaceful" and "unchanged" from before the August 2008 war with Russia. Many Gali residents do not hold Abkhaz or Russian passports, and instead use their old Soviet passports to travel to and from Abkhazia. That situation will have to change, according to Shamba. "We never asked them to take Abkhaz passports," he said, "but now we will. Those who don’t take passports will not be able to take part in elections."
Facilitating the return of ethnic Georgians to Gali is unlikely to accelerate, Shamba stated. Abkhaz leaders are wary, he explained, that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration would try to use returnees "as weapons of their policy, as a fifth column." Georgia maintains that Abkhazia is deliberately excluding ethnic Georgians from the region.
While the pace of distribution of Abkhaz passports seems likely to pick up, most residents already hold Russian citizenship, some openly stating that the passport is the only one "that counts." The ruble is the territory’s operative currency -- inflation worries and a shaky economy mean that introducing an Abkhaz currency is not in the works, according to Foreign Minister Shamba. "It’s not a sign of independence," he said. "[G]lobalization has changed that path."
Moscow also provides the bulk of Abkhazia’s pension payments. That sparks many Abkhaz to take a pragmatic view. "I get 2,700 rubles a month (about $108) as a pension from the Russians. And our Abkhaz can only give 200 rubles (about $8)," snapped a Sukhumi fish pushcart vendor who gave her name as Lyudmilla. "How can we live without Russia?"
While the currency, the passports, the planned bases and the new cooperation agreement may underline that Russia is here to stay, many Abkhaz see the relationship as one set to Abkhazia’s terms, as well.
Among the far-flung Abkhaz Diaspora, memories of 19th century uprisings against Russian rule that ended in the expulsion of thousands of their ancestors from Abkhazia still linger.
"Russia went down on its knees to us and kissed our hands when it recognized our independence," commented one Abkhaz businessman in the Turkish town of Inegol in a recent interview with EurasiaNet. "That recognition was an apology to us ? but we still don’t consider the debt fully repaid."
That perspective is not one echoed by Russian politicians. In remarks to the September 29 assembly, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, the highest profile Russian politician to attend Abkhaz Independence Day festivities, claimed that Russia has "always" supported Abkhazia. "We are always together!" he declared to thunderous applause.
Some veterans of the 1992-1993 war with Georgia caution that such displays do not mean that Abkhazia is ready to merge with Russia. "I haven’t heard of any people saying they want to be part of Russia," said one Sukhumi veteran who gave his name as Merab. "We won’t give up our chance at statehood like that. Otherwise, what was the point of fighting?"
Concluded one elderly flower seller at Sukhumi’s bazaar: "Independence means we’re with Russia, and that we’re safe. That’s it. We can’t be independent without Russia."
Editor's Note: Elizabeth Owen is EurasiaNet’s Caucasus news editor in Tbilisi. Sophia Mizante is a freelance photographer also based in Tbilisi.
