Volunteers fight for Abkhazia against Georgia | 1992-93 War

1992 - 93 Georgian-Abkhazian War

Still unresolved, the war in Abkhazia 1992-1993 is largely overlooked. At the time nationalism was rampant throughout the Caucasus. Georgia, reeling from an internal squabble between its first elected president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and the head of the National Guard, Tengiz Kitovani and his ally Dzaba Ioseliani, launched an ill-fated attempt to solidify central government control over separatist minded Abkhazia.

The Georgians were finally driven out a year and a half later (September 1993) by Abkhazian forces strengthened, if not spearheaded, by hundreds of North Caucasus volunteers, among them future Chechen field commanders Shamil Basayev and Ruslan Galayev. Basayev actually received the Hero of Abkhazia medal and was credited for, among other military feats, liberating the northern city of Gagra and pushing the Georgians across the Psou River into Russia proper, where they were repatriated to Georgia via the ports at Poti and Batumi.

Although it took place early in the conflict, the Battle for Gagra was a turning point in the war. Georgian forces had made an amphibious landing to seize Gagra during the first weeks of the war, intending to then push southward and squeeze Abkhazian forces in a pincer movement between a second Georgian force moving north from Sukhumi. The Georgian forces failure to hold the strategic northern city, let alone use it as a base to launch further attacks southward, severely hampered its efforts to impose its will against the Abkhazian separatist movement.

Finally, there has been much written about Russias involvement in Abkhazia. Most analysis insists that without Russian support Abkhazia would not have been able to break free (In fact, believing Abkhazia to be another Transdeniester, hundreds of Ukrainian volunteers fought on the Georgian side). However, there are problems with this analysis. First, most of the foreign fighters involved in Abkhazia were not Russian soldiers but, like Shamil Basayev, independent minded fighters from the north Caucasus. Others came from the Abkhazian diaspora, primarily from Turkey. Second, complaints of Russian armor and aircraft involved in the fighting as proof of Russian complicity is problematic, as all armor and aircraft on both sides of the conflict was of Russian/Soviet origin. Georgian officials have even claimed publicly that they themselves rented Russian tanks and their crews for combat missions by the day or even by the hour, more accurately suggesting that rather than an instrument of policy, the Russian army, in a state of flux in 1992, was open to the highest bidder.

(The Battle of Gagra - by Dodge Billingsley (www.combatfilms.com)

http://www.combatfilms.com/cfrtv_archive_0009.asp

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Abkhazia
• Georgia
• War
• Volunteers

[rachveloluka]

chechen fuckers, they can sell their own soul dude. we were helping them when russia fucked them. i was personally was fighting there, for nine month. this peice of shitts made mitake 3 times. no forgivness next time. the same goes to fucking armenin so called "fighters". this war is not over. i did enjoied durring the 1993 in summer, in the village of tsugurovka kill them for fun dude. this fucking war is not over taporian i bagramian. ................... hi ha mother fucker cock suckers...

[circassianworld]

@rachveloluka Thanks for show us your real face. Everybody must see it.

Btw, when it comes to about Chechens, perhaps you forgotten that in the 1st Chechen war Shevardnadze allowed Russian bombers to take off from Georgian bases/air-space to bomb Chechenia.

[circassianworld]

Earlier during the Stalinist deportations there was one notorious incident in the village of Khaibakh where in 1944 hundreds of people were herded into a barn, which was then set on fire -- anyone escaping was shot. The commander of the NKVD group responsible was a Svan (Gvishiani), acting under the general directorship of Beria (Mingrelia), who was himself responsible to Stalin (Georgian).

[zuragotsiridze]

as for armenians they are always against us, cause armenian is not nationality it's ilness

[circassianworld]

Hitler also said same words. You are very good example of Georgian FASCISM... That's why i will keep your comment. Everbody must see Georgian fascism.

[maktabak]

americans go home live caucasus and balkans free

[RezoChigogidze]

God is with Georgia..

soon we will show you all who is boss in Caucasus .... you traitors and jackals of caucasus..

[jabamelkadze1]

general kharkharashvili has drunk much of your blood-you northern rats!

[EnrapturedSpirit]

@N789A you're a fool. this is not true, but georgian propaganda from beria era. you should be ashamed to believe such falsehoods. georgia is not from caucasus, that is why you are "trans-caucasus". everyone knows who you are.

[EnrapturedSpirit]

@ananogeo we only share similar cultures because georgians took everything from us and made it theirs.

[MrHanne30]

I really love Abkhazia and look forward to visit your country again. You deserved your independence! You are great people and have a wonderful homeland. God bless you.

[iberuscaucasus]

FUCL ALL CIRCASIAN GOOD BAD MIDDLE

[Haytime4justice]

@jumanji770

Ammen, finally some truth.

[jumanji770]

During the war a lot of prisoners were released in Georgia and sent to fight in Abkhazia. There were a lot of drug addicts as well. They went Abkhazia for plunder not for fighting. Even Georgians saying that there were abnormal soldiers on their side. Those soldiers attacked Georgians - their own people.

There were many former prisoners — not war prisoners, but criminals. This is reported by International Committee of the Red Cross.

[Sezer150]

Long Live independent ABKHAZIA Long Live CIRCASSIA and CHECHNYA

[Panslavist1804]

@maktabak

Nice said my brother