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On the Black Sea, neighboring Russia and Georgia. 8,600 square kilometers (3,320 square miles.) Equivalent to an area 93 by 93 kilometers (58 by 58 miles). Mountainous. Mild and sub-tropical climate.
Independence declared, 1992. Not recognized by the United Nations and others.
President: Sergei Bagapsh, elected February 12, 2005.
Parliament: People's Assembly, consisting of 35 elected members.
Population, 2006 estimate: between 157,000 and 190,000.
Russia has also issued passports for the citizens of Abkhazia since 2000 and subsequently paid retirement pensions and other monetary benefits. More than 80% of the Abkhazian population hold Russian citizenship. Abkhazians do not pay Russian taxes, or serve in the Russian Army.
The 2003 census records 43.8 percent Abkhazians, 21.3 percent Georgians, 20.8 percent Armenians, 10.8 percent Russians and 0.7 percent Greeks.
Declared an autonomous Soviet republic by Stalin's Soviet Union in 1931. Following the break up of the Soviet Union, a war for independence in 1992-93 against claims of inclusion by Georgia. Some Georgians forced to flee.
Economically tied to Russia, including tourism. Currency is the Russian ruble. Fertile land produces an abundance of agricultural products. Russians are investing capital in Abkhazia.
Copyright © 2010 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.