Although divided by a separatist conflict and decades of tension, Abkhaz and Georgians have proven willing to set mutual grievances aside when humanitarian matters come into play. One such area is the treatment of those infected with HIV/AIDS.
The recent death of Sergei Bagapsh, the de facto president of Abkhazia, presents a policy challenge for the separatist territory, as well as for its political patron, Russia.
The unexpected May 29 death of Sergei Bagapsh, the de facto leader of the breakaway region of Abkhazia, is certain to shake up Abkhaz politics, but some Abkhaz observers say that the underlying question is whether or not it will lead to instability in the territory.
In a jab at Moscow, Georgia on May 20 became the first country to recognize as genocide Tsarist Russia’s massive slaughter of ethnic Circassians in the mid-19th century. The decision constitutes part of Tbilisi’s ongoing argument that the Caucasus is a region where Russia comes as an outsider, not as a native with the right to rule.
Complaining about a lack of Georgian-language instruction, ethnic Georgian students from the breakaway region of Abkhazia are regularly sneaking past armed Russian border guards to attend classes in Georgian-controlled territory. But the covert crossings, a potential security debacle in the making, are so far raising few alarms.
Several ethnic Georgian children living in the Gali region in the breakaway region of Abkhazia attend kindergarten and school in the Georgian region of Samegrelo.
