RESOLUTION OF THE PEOPLE’S
ASSEMBLY-PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ABKHAZIA on the Appeal of the People’s Assembly – Parliament of Abkhazia to the
President of the Russian Federation and the Federal Assembly of the Russian
Federation for recognizing the independence of the Republic of Abkhazia and establishing
associated relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of
Abkhazia
The State system of
Abkhazia was established more than 1200 years ago. Since the moment of its origin
in the 8th century, the
During the last two
centuries,
The historical
reality of the late 18th - early 19th centuries allowed
the Principality of Abkhazia to join the Russian Empire as an independent
entity in 1810. This fact was attested by the Deed of February 17, 1810 of Russian
Emperor Alexander I, recognizing the independence of Abkhazia under the Russian
protectorate.
The Abkhazian
People’s Assembly gathered in Sukhum on November 8, 1917, after the collapse of
the Russian Empire. The Assembly elected the People’s Council of Abkhazia,
which adopted the Constitution and the Declaration of the People of Abkhazia,
while the statehood of Abkhazia was restored on May 11, 1918.
In June 1918, the troops
of the newly proclaimed Democratic Republic of Georgia occupied the
The policy pursued
by the Government of Georgia triggered sharp protests among the multinational population
of Abkhazia, which resulted in driving the Georgian troops out of Abkhazia and establishment
of the Soviet power on March 4, 1921.
The independent Soviet
Socialist Republic of Abkhazia was proclaimed March 31, 1921. On May 21, 1921,
the Revolutionary Committee of Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia recognized
the independence of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia and adopted the
Declaration of Independence of the SSR of Abkhazia.
The SSR of Abkhazia
participated in the
In the period from
February 1922 to February 1932 the SSR of Abkhazia was united with the Georgian
SSR on an equal basis with the contractual republic’s status. In February 1931,
by Stalin’s order, the contractual republic was transformed into the Autonomous
Republic of Abkhazia within the Georgian SSR against the will of the Abkhaz
people. The infringement of the sovereign rights of Abkhazia by degrading its
status to the level of autonomy within the Georgian SSR triggered strong protests
among the population of Abkhazia, which were expressed at the National Gathering
of the people of Abkhazia.
One of the
gloomiest periods in the modern history of Abkhazia started in 1937. Beria plunged
the republic into terror and repressions, uprooting the political and
intellectual elite of the Abkhaz nation. The policy of “Georgianization” was gathering momentum: the
Abkhaz writing system was transferred onto the Georgian graphic basis, the
original Abkhaz place names were replaced with Georgian, the instruction in the Abkhazian language was
banned in schools and replaced with Georgian, the Abkhazians were prohibited
from calling themselves a nation, the government conducted a policy of
assimilation and resettlement targeted at deformation of the ethnic and
demographic composition of the population. In the period from 1937 to 1953, dozens
of thousands of Georgians were resettled to Abkhazia from
Mass protests and demonstrations were held in
Abkhazia in 1957, 1964, 1967, 1978 and 1989 within the framework of the
national liberation movement with the demand for Abkhazia’s secession from
Meanwhile, the USSR Constitution of 1977 defined the
autonomous republics as states with internal sovereignty. According to the Law
of the
In response to the unilateral decisions of Georgia, made
in late 1980s - early 1990s and aimed at the country’s withdrawal from the USSR
and the invalidation of the legal acts of the Georgian SSR, the Supreme Council
of the ASSR of Abkhazia adopted the Declaration of the State Sovereignty of
Abkhazia and the Resolution on Legal Guarantees for the Protection of
Sovereignty of Abkhazia. The documents were adopted on August 25, 1990, with
the purpose to protect the statehood of Abkhazia. They stated that Abkhazia’s status
of part of
The Law of the USSR on the Procedure of Withdrawal
of Union Republics from the USSR, which was adopted April 3, 1990, i.e. when
Georgia still was part of the USSR, entitled the autonomous republics to make their
independent decisions on their further participation in the USSR and their national
status in case of a republic’s withdrawal from Union. In compliance with this
regulation, Abkhazia participated in the referendum of March 17, 1991, and majority
of the population of Abkhazia voted for the preservation of the
Abkhazia did not participate in the referendum on the
restoration of the independence of
On April 9, 1991, based on the results of the referendum
of March 31, the Supreme Council of Georgia adopted the Act of Restoration of the
State Independence of Georgia, which proclaimed
These events gave the origin to two independent
states:
This is why, the admission of
Taking account of the current political reality and seeking
to prevent an armed confrontation, Abkhazia proposed
On July 23, 1992, based on the Constitution of 1925,
the Supreme Council of Abkhazia declared Abkhazia a sovereign state and international
entity.
At the same time, the Parliament of Abkhazia offered
the Government of Georgia to start negotiations for the establishment of equal
relations on the basis of a federal agreement. Yet,
After the end of the liberating war on September 30,
1993, the Abkhaz and Georgian sides signed the Statement on Measures for Political Settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz
Conflict. The document, signed April 4, 1994 through the mediation of the UN
and the
On November 26, 1994, the People’s Assembly –
Parliament of the
On October 3, 1999, during the nationwide referendum,
97.7% of the citizens of Abkhazia voted for the building of a sovereign,
democratic, constitutional state. The Act on the State Independence of Abkhazia
was adopted on October 12, 1999 and people of Abkhazia reaffirmed their resoluteness
to continue to build the sovereign, democratic,
constitutional state – international entity and to attain its
recognition by the international community. The Abkhaz people’s aspiration to gain
the recognition of its independence corresponds to the UN Charter,
International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Vienna Declaration
and other universally recognized international legal acts.
Nowadays, Abkhazia possesses all the internationally
recognized requisites of a sovereign state, whose system and activities meet
all the criteria of a democratic, legal and socially-oriented state, based on
the principles of representative democracy and division of powers. There are such
democratic institutes as the developed civic society, independent mass media,
legal opposition and efficient legal system working in the
The 13-year post-war period has proved the viability
of the independent Abkhazian state, which only needs to legitimize its
sovereignty in compliance with the UN Charter.
The People’s Assembly of the Republic of Abkhazia reminds
that the President and the Parliament of Abkhazia, on behalf of the people of
Abkhazia, formerly addressed the Government of the Russian Federation with the
request to consider the possibility of establishing associated relations between
Abkhazia and the Russian Federation, which, in fact, would be legalization of state
and legal relations between Russia and Abkhazia.
Given the above facts, the natural right of a nation
to self-determination, the historical reality of the establishment and
development of the state system of Abkhazia, political and legal relevance of the
existence of the Republic of Abkhazia as an independent state, acknowledging
the exceptional role of Russia in the Abkhaz people’s life and Abkhazian
statehood, taking into consideration the brotherhood between the people of
Abkhazia and peoples of Russia and respecting the will of the overwhelming majority
of the population of Abkhazia to strengthen the links with Russia, which clearly
shows in the fact that 90% of the
residents of Abkhazia have become citizens of the Russian Federation,
People’s Assembly of the
1. To appeal to the
President of the Russian Federation, the Council of Federation of the Federal
Assembly of the Russian Federation and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly
of the Russian Federation for recognizing the independence of the Republic of
Abkhazia and establishing associated relations between the Russian Federation
and the Republic of Abkhazia.
2. This Resolution
enters into force from the day of its adoption.
N. Ashuba,
Speaker, People’s
Assembly of the
Sukhum, 18 October 2006
(Respublika Abkhazia, # 119,
21-22 October 2006)