Taklama

For the first week or so after the unexpected death of President Sergei Bagapsh this morning, following surgery in Moscow, Abkhazia will predominantly be mourning. But then the question of his succession will inevitably come up. In line with the constitution, Vice President Alexander Ankvab is now acting President, but …

The Caucasus - An Introduction Frederik Coene
Routledge, London
October 2009
240 pages
ISBN: 978-0-415-48660-6

"There are two important Meshketian movements, and each has its own view on the nationality issue. Vatan (Homeland) is a pro-Turkish organization, while Khsna is aware of its Georgian conciousness." (page 160)

"Six months after the …

After previous deliberations, Georgia's parliament has now on 20 May formally recognised the Circassian Genocide which took place towards the end of the Russian Empire's conquest of the region, culminating in 1864.

In itself, it is a good thing that these events have been recognised for what they are. However …

I have joined twitter, at http://twitter.com/#!/sephiakarta . New tweets will be displayed on this weblog as well, in the rightmost column.

In April 2010, the 'retirement' of no less than 5 Abkhazian Deputy Ministers of Defence, including Chief of the General Staff Anatoli Zaitsev, sparked speculation that this was in fact a purge-in-process. The question was, if so, then what kind of purge? If Zaitsev (despatched from the Russian Army) had …

The photo was taken in Yerevan last August, outside a post office.

For those unfamiliar: TNT is a global mail and express company centred in the Netherlands. They introduced their slogan sure we can at the time of the 2008 American Presidential campaign, but claim to have come up with …

Abkhazian democracy has many weaknesses, but presidential and parliamentary elections during the last 10 years stood out for their high level of competitiveness. The recent local elections, held on February the 12th, illustrate how uneven Abkhazia's development has been.

Voters elected the fifth convocations of the local assemblies of Abkhazia's …

Empty land Promised land Forbidden land Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen
The Sochi Project
November 2010
272 pages

This is an unusual book. It is a book about Abkhazia, which in itself is rare enough. What is more, it is not academic conflict literature. Still more remarkable, it attempts …

On Tuesday the 8th, Vladimir Emin-ipa Nachach passed away. He had been one of the most valuable members of the People's Assembly since he was first elected in 2002. A trained Lawyer and a veteran from the 1992-1993 war with Georgia, Nachach had headed the Committee on Legislation, Judicial and …

Last May Albert Hovsepyan resigned as Vice Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Abkhazia. At the time, he was the highest ranking Armenian in Abkhazia, and I posited that it represented a setback to Armenian integration into the Abkhazian state. All the more so since he had not been …