Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia

Did You Know?

• The republic was jokingly referred to as 'Lakobistan' due to Nestor Lakoba's control.
• Stalin and other Soviet leaders owned dachas in Abkhazia and spent considerable time there.
• The 1925 constitution was restored in the 1990s, leading to the 1992–1993 war between Abkhazian secessionists and Georgia.

History

The Russian Empire annexed Abkhazia in the early nineteenth century and consolidated authority by 1864, incorporating it into the Kutais Governorate. Large-scale population transfers expelled thousands of ethnic Abkhaz and brought in ethnic Mingrelians. After the 1917 February Revolution, Abkhazia's status became contested; it considered joining the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus but decided against it. In February 1918, Abkhaz Bolsheviks attempted to create a commune, but the effort failed and leaders Efrem Eshba and Nestor Lakoba fled.

The Abkhaz People's Council formed and controlled the region until the Democratic Republic of Georgia annexed Abkhazia in May 1918, though Georgia never fully established control. The Georgian constitution of 1921 guaranteed Abkhazia autonomy, but the nature of this autonomy was never determined after the Red Army invasion in February 1921. Historian Timothy Blauvelt noted this marked the first time Abkhazia was defined as a distinct geographic entity in modern history.

Politics

Initially, the Abkhaz Revkom, chaired by Efrem Eshba, controlled Abkhazia until the Council of People's Commissars was established on 17 February 1922. Nestor Lakoba was elected its Chairman, though he had effectively controlled Abkhazia since the Bolshevik takeover in 1921. Lakoba and Eshba had led two abortive seizure attempts in 1918; after the second failed, they fled, returning only in March 1921. Eshba was soon transferred, leaving Lakoba as the sole leader. Lakoba's status was never contested; he resisted repressive policies like collectivization and financially supported the Abkhaz nobility, enabled by his close relationship with Joseph Stalin.

Economy

Abkhazia was a major tobacco producer, responsible for up to 52 per cent of Soviet tobacco exports in the 1930s. It also produced tea, wine, and citrus fruits, making it one of the wealthiest Soviet regions and considerably richer than Georgia. Exports turned the region into an island of prosperity in a war-ravaged Caucasus. Factories were built but had less economic impact. Abkhazia was a prime holiday destination for the Soviet elite; Stalin visited annually, and Lakoba's hosting deepened his relationship with Stalin. Lakoba refused to implement collectivization, arguing there were no kulaks, and Stalin defended this policy. Collectivization was first carried out after Abkhazia was downgraded in 1931 and fully implemented in 1936 after Lakoba's death. The Soviet ruble was the official currency.

Demographics

The SSR Abkhazia was ethnically diverse, with demographics altered by late-nineteenth-century deportations of up to 100,000 Abkhaz. By the republic's formation, ethnic Abkhaz comprised less than 30 per cent of the population. The korenizatsiia policy promoted minority groups, and between 1922 and 1926 ethnic Abkhaz grew by about 8 per cent while Georgians dropped by 6 per cent. The 1926 census recorded 55,918 Abkhaz (28 per cent), 67,494 Georgians (36 per cent), 25,677 Armenians (13 per cent), 14,045 Greeks (7 per cent), and 12,553 Russians (6 per cent) out of a total population of 201,016.

The Abkhaz language was Latinized in 1928 under korenizatsiia. An Abkhazian Scientific Society was created in 1922, and an Academy of Abkhazian Language and Literature in 1925. The 1925 constitution named Abkhaz, Georgian, and Russian as official languages; Russian was dominant in government, while local regions used the prevalent language.