REPUBLIC OF ABKHAZIA

Abkhazia (Abkhaz: Аҧсны Apsny, Georgian: აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti or Abkhazeti, Russian: Абха́зия Abhazia) is a de facto independent, partially-recognised country lying on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, its southern border. It is bordered by Russia to the north, and Georgia to the east. It is recognized by Russia, Nicaragua and the de facto independent republics of South Ossetia and Transnistria, in which context it is referred to as the Republic of Abkhazia with Sukhumi as its capital.
Most of the European Union, OSCE, and NATO nations recognize Abkhazia as an integral part of the territory of the state of Georgia. Under Georgia's official subdivision, Abkhazia is an autonomous republic (Georgian: აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა, Abkhaz: Аҧснытәи Автономтәи Республика, Apsnitei Avtonomtei Respublika), bordering the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti to the east. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia passed a resolution declaring Abkhazia a "Russian-occupied territory".

The secessionist movement of the Abkhaz minority led to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. The 1992 - 1993 War in Abkhazia resulted in a Georgian military defeat and the mass exodus and ethnic cleansing of the Georgian population from Abkhazia. In spite of the 1994 ceasefire accord and the ongoing UN-monitored and Russian-dominated CIS peacekeeping operation, the sovereignty dispute has not yet been resolved. This dispute remains a source of a conflict between Georgia and Russia.
In July 2006, Georgian forces launched a successful police operation against the rebelled administrator of the Georgian populated Kodori Gorge Emzar Kvitsiani. Kvitsiani had been appointed there by the previous president of Georgia Edvard Shevardnadze, and was refusing to recognize the authority of president Mikheil Saakashvili who succeeded Shevardnadze after the Rose Revolution. Although Kvitsiani escaped the capture by Georgian police, the Kodori Gorge was brought back under the control of the central government in Tbilisi. During 2008 South Ossetia War in August 2008, Russian and Abkhazian forces attacked the Georgian police units located in the region, and occupied Kodori Gorge which had never been under the Abkhazian-Russian control before. The majority of the population was forced to flee the gorge and to move Western Georgia. Promptly, the Russian Federation has rescinded its recognition of Georgian sovereignty over Abkhazia, diplomatically recognizing the independence of Abkhazia on 26 August 2008.