The article was commissioned, proofread by the editor, but then rejected on ridiculous grounds (“we can not give advice on how to enter Abkhasia, which is illegal”). OK, how on Earth would I myself have written my analysis, had I not entered Abkhasia myself? You are commissioning an article to a person who collects data “illegally”? The publishers never replied.
Rebranding and history
Think of any company considering rebranding. The decision in most cases provokes controversy, and not uncommon are ‘experts’ (read: ‘prophets’) predicting failure. Still this process is a vivid change in a living organism. Renewal is necessary to anything and anyone. The same is true for historic periods.
Paradox: in most cases of successful rebranding the audience can hardly remember company’s previous style. Some, however, will gladly affirm that ‘twas better in those goode olde days. Being, however, perfectly uneasy at precising why exactly. Recognize this?
When the past comes to clash with boisterous events of the present day, the process looks like rebranding in many aspects. Some agree, some disagree, but the end is either acceptance and change: or slow dying if the society is too conservative to venture into a series of transformations.
These options were inevitable (with slight variations, of course) in any society in any larger or narrower perspective. Until the phenomenon we now call ‘international society’ entered the stage in the twentieth century when a new ‘option’ was introduced. Any artificially isolated culture stews in its own juice. It breeds its own strange ideas about the world and the way things are. These peculiar views provoke in turn strange prejudices and points of view that dominate the isolated society. The end is slow disintegration. Or rising urge to rejoin the international family.
Pompeii or vacuum?
Abkhazia’s current stance is the one of an isolated outcast. With one minor reservation. Abkhazians do not seem to care about it.
Torn by force out of the international context of cultural exchange, Abkhazian society is now trying to seek its cultural identity amidst vacuum. Well. Actually. Let us be straightforward. Is it trying to search it at all? Most of the heritage lies in neglect and ruins if the legacy is not Soviet-Georgian-related. Otherwise it is being systematically wiped out.
The analogy might seem incorrect to some extent, but culturally the whole of Abkhazia looks like Pompeii after Vesuvius’ eruption. Since the very day when this international isolation began, and which, by the look of things, shows no signs of being lifted in the foreseeable future.
Lifestyle in many aspects came to a standstill at the end of the Soviet era, or, to be more precise, on the 30th September 1993 when the war was officially over. Those seeking ‘the yesteryear’ flock in mass here to feel nostalgic and sentimental amidst cracked-enamel statues and bas-reliefs of the Soviet days, or to bliss out on sandy beaches where many things still remind of the ‘best achievements’ of Soviet-style service.
Abkhazian ‘concentras’. Soviet period (1921-1993)
To explain any phenomenon I use what I call ‘concentric approach’ (‘concentras’) inspired by logic. The closer we are to the core of Euler’s diagram, the more detailed view we get. Running on the outer edge of the diagram lets us perceive knowledge in broader sweeps.
The ‘outer concentras’ for the Soviet Abkhazian history comprise the following checkpoints. (Concentras name facts only, without any interpretation or supporting any side if there is any ongoing conflict, hot or frozen.)
1921. Soviet power in Abkhazia. Georgia recognizes its independence. On federative terms it is later associated with Georgia as an equal republic.
1931. Abkhazia loses its equal autonomous status and, despite protests, becomes subject to Georgia.
1946, 1955, 1971. Recorded protests against Tbilisi’s policy when Georgians were settled by force on the Abkhazian territory, allegedly to ‘assimilate’ the indigenous society.
1988. Letter demanding Abkhazia’s special status.
1990-1991. Fall of the Soviet Union. Conflict and tensions between the central Georgian government and local Abkhazian municipalities.
1992-1993. War.
1993. De facto: independence. De jure: partially recognized territory.
Cultural and historic layers in Abkhazia
Despite all turbulent events on the crossroads of civilizations, — and this epithet is not merely a hollow buzzword for Abkhazia, — one symbol was kept through all the periods with precaution and piety. Abkhazia claims to have seven sanctuaries (of which one is still disputed as to where it had been located).
Later on, this sevenfold mania rolled on with ‘seven historical regions’, ‘seven cities’ (only very recently an eighth municipality was finally granted this status), ‘seven districts’ in the administrative division of the country.
The most important cultural layers by periods comprise:
(1) Ancient:
— Greek;
— Roman;
— Byzantine.
(2) Medieval and New Times:
— Turkish (by ‘incorporation’);
— -Arabic (by ‘incorporation’);
— Georgian (by ‘neighborhood’);
— Russian (by ‘neighborhood’).
(3) Newest Times
— Soviet Georgian (Soviet symbolism);
— New Russian (mostly in the form of low-quality mass culture).
For such a small as Abkhazia, this seemingly overflowing symbolic jumble never weakened the indigenous Abkhazian identity. Nevertheless, it is only very natural to guess that Soviet Georgian symbolism is amidst the most painful in the recent legacy, and the attempts to efface it are numerous. Which is multiplied by the fact we have already stated: absence of new ‘incoming flows’ of culture keeps people from being distracted off that point.
Abkhazian conflicts and oppositions
As the format of our articles here does not let us elaborate too much on each of the points, we have to refrain from sophisticated descriptions and analyses. To illustrate what we call ‘creative conflict’, below are listed several aspects where, even in vacuum circumstances, present-day Abkhazia is seeking its identity through negation of everything that is Georgian.
- auditive/sonoric: Georgian vs. Abkhazian names. Any Georgian toponymic traces are being systematically eliminated one by one and substituted either by original Abkhazian or by newly invented Abkhazian-sounding names;
- economic: loss of independence (the rouble is de facto used as currency) vs. attempts to introduce the apsar for insignificant interior payments;
- visual: revival of the ancient layers vs. systematic neglect (NB: not elimination) of the Soviet visual heritage;
- ethnic: perception of the nation as strictly distinct from the Georgian nation vs. forced Georgianization in the Soviet times;
- political: de facto vs. de jure statuses. Perseverance and 25 years of patience despite the refuse of the whole world to recognize Abkhazian independence;
- vexillographic: national flag vs. ‘autonomic’ flag suggested by central Georgian government;
- religious (reflected in vexillography, see above): 7 stripes with 4 green for muslim and 3 white for christian tribes (or regions, which varies from interpretation or historical explanations) vs. the Christian cross occupying half of the Georgian-suggested flag.
Practical Postscriptum
For those who decide to visit Abkhazia if they are not Russian citizens
- The war was over in 1993. Get rid of the myth. The country is perfectly safe unless you drink too much chacha and, as consequence, behave improperly.
- Do not discuss the question of Abkhazian-Georgian relations with Abkhazians. It is simply boring, for you will keep hearing the same thing over and over again. Concentrate on fantastic nature and multifaceted culture.
- You will need at least a 2-entry visa to Russia. Ask Abkhazian border guards to stamp on a separate paper if your plans are to visit Georgia afterwards. There is no Russian-Abkhazian-Georgian transition. It is unsafe in terms of your further legal status. Remember that under Georgian law such a somersault is illegal. Things are easier when you travel Georgia-Abkhazia-Georgia, because, under international and interior laws, you never leave Georgia, so you only have to get ‘permission’ from Georgian Interior Ministry.
- Have enough Russian cash. Exchange rates might be draconic. Do not expect to pay by credit/debit cards. The Georgian lari is accepted reluctantly in several border villages.
- Read Russian sites or contact Russian friends who can advise on your stay there (many Russians spend their vacations on Abkhazian coasts). Do not get misguided by the fact that Georgians ‘live closer’ and, consequently, seem to know much about the current situation: most of them rarely or never travel to Abkhazia fearing aggressive reaction of the locals (which is total rubbish).
- There is a marvelous ‘Abkhazia. Practical guidebook’ written by Roman Ustinov in Russian where you will find all the necessary information unbiased, without any political reverence towards either side. Up-to-date advice on culture and travel. All other guidebooks I saw (including the god-equal ‘Lonely Planet’) contain nothing but scandalous nonsense about the region, as English-language resources have no direct access to information and, consequently, to the real state of things.
9 September 2015. — Saint Petersburg (Russia)