On the two-year anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war, the Georgian newspaper Rezonans has published what it calls a complete list of Russian military installations in Abkhazia (via BBC Monitoring):
Psou - One platoon of Russian border-guards, 7 Abkhaz border-guards, one BMP, one BTR.
Gagra - One platoon of Russian border-guards armed with automatic weapons and have the use of machine guns.
Sukhumi - One company of Abkhaz border-guards, three tanks, four automobiles of Kamaz, Maz and Ural types, one company of Russian border-guards are present at Mayak.
Machara - Two companies, one tank unit, 15 tanks, 14 BMPs. 10 BTRs, six mortars, automatic weapons, machine guns, grenade launchers.
Baghmarani - One artillery division, 20 cassette-based artillery, freight vehicles, seven tanks, seven D30 cannons.
Kashtaki: Two platoons of mine clearers and eight T-55 tanks
Ochamchire - One company-sized special purpose unit, 12 T-55b tanks, two BMPs, cannons and grenade launchers.
Tqvarchali - The military here is commanded by Major Sumar Zakaria. One platoon, machine guns, automatic weapons, grenade launchers, Ural and Kamaz automobiles.
Gali - One platoon of Russian troops, two BMPs, three automatic weapons, machine guns, Ural, Zil and UAZ automobiles.
Since the source for this information is Georgian intelligence, it should be taken with a large grain of salt. And there is a curious omission of Gudauta, which is the military base that Russian president Dmitry Medvedev visited on Sunday.
Also: Most of these facilities were already existing, and the newspaper says the total cost of construction was 40 million rubles (about $1.3 million), so that's not too ambitious.
What do Georgians make of this construction? It's not preparation for an attack on Georgia, but a consolidation of its control in Abkhazia, analysts interviewed by the paper say:
"I do not think Russia is building these bases to use them against Georgia. It is building them to stop NATO establishing a presence on Georgian territory. These bases already have a global function. The presence of bases on Georgian territory has a symbolic meaning for Russia. As long as Russian bases remain in Georgia, Georgia's NATO membership is out of the question," Paata Zakareishvili told Mteli Kvira.
The paper also gives a short rundown of the function of each of these bases:
Firstly, the Pichori base is a border-shoreline base. In other words, a control base. Our source says that the sea is monitored from this section. A similar base is located in Ochamchire. As for the Okumi base, which is situated deeper inside Gali District, he says that this base is the place of deployment for artillery, tanks and infantry whose function is to provide military support to the bases on the line of occupation [Georgian-Abkhaz borderline].
This military support envisages the use of artillery, tanks and infantry. A residential complex for 60-70 Russian military families with the accompanying infrastructure is located near the Pichori base
The Meore Otobaia, Saberio and Lekukhona bases are the place of deployment for the border guards from which every minor or major crossing point over the Inguri river are controlled. There are a total of 23 such minor or major crossings, all of which are controlled by the Russians. There are 13 crossings between the Meore Otobaia and Tagiloni bases. There are 10 crossings between Tagiloni and including the Saberio base [as published].
The Tagiloni military base, which is comparatively small, is situated between the Meore Otobaia and Saberio bases, 3-4 km away from the occupation line. This base is the place of deployment for infantry and interior troops. The transfer base in Saberio is to defend the Inguri dam. It should be noted that the Russians are building border defence complexes at the Meore Otobaia, Saberio and Lekukhona bases.
And a list of the equipment that the Abkhaz defense forces have:
The Abkhaz ministry of defence has at its disposal the following: 10 T-55 tanks; 10 infantry automobiles, 10 armed personnel carriers, a stealth battle vehicle, 12 D-30 artillery units, 5 or 6 BM21s, eight 23-3 (Zil-Mtlb) [as published].
[Air force:] Two Su-25 attack aircraft, two L-39 attack aircraft, 10 or 11 Mi-8 paratrooper helicopters.
Sea division [navy]: two Gryf , Utios, two Volgas
Coastguard division: Up to six 100mm KS-19 anti-aircraft cannons, up to two 3U-23-2 anti-aircraft cannon.
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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