1989 Sukhumi riots
Encyclopedia
The Sukhumi riot was a riot
in Sukhumi
, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
, in July 1989, triggered by an increasing inter-ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz
and Georgian
communities and followed by several days of street fighting
and civil unrest in Sukhumi and throughout Abkhazia.
The riots started as an Abkhaz protest against opening of a Georgian university
branch in Sukhumi, and concluded with looting of the Georgian school which was expected to house the new university on July 16, 1989. The ensuing violence quickly degenerated into a large-scale inter-ethnic confrontation. By the time when the Soviet army
managed to temporarily bring the situation under control, the riots had produced at least eighteen dead and 448 injured, mostly Georgians, marking the start of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
.
" and the status of autonomous republic, signed a petition to the central Soviet government at a mass meeting at Lykhny
, Abkhazia, demanding the rights to secede from Georgia. The move caused mass protests from the Georgian community, which accounted for by far the largest single group in (45,7%) of the population of the Abkhaz ASSR, and were resolutely opposed to any diminution of their links with the Georgian republic, holding rival demonstrations within Abkhazia and within Georgia proper. The protests climaxed in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi
and evolved into a major anti-Soviet and pro-independence rally on April 9, 1989, which was violently dispersed by the Soviet Interior Ministry troops, resulting in the deaths of twenty, mostly young women, and the injury of hundreds of demonstrators. At a plenum of the Georgian central committee the following day the Communist party first secretary, Jumber Patiashvili
, resigned and was replaced by the former head of the Georgian KGB
, Givi Gumbaridze. The April 9 tragedy removed the last vestiges of credibility from the Soviet regime in Georgia and pushed many Georgians into radical opposition to the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Abkhaz remained largely loyal to the Soviet rule partly to antagonize the Georgian movement and partly to obtain Moscow
’s sympathy towards their cause.
had always been very sensitive in Abkhazia. Sukhumi State University was established in 1978 as a part of the concessions towards the Abkhaz secessionist demands, which in its turn was triggered by the Georgian national mobilization in defense of their language
and culture. The University had three – Abkhaz
, Georgian, and Russian
– sectors. However, Georgian students repeatedly complained of discrimination at the hands of their Abkhaz and Russian lectors and administration. Soon after the April 9 events, Georgian students at Abkhaz State University launched a hunger strike
, demanding that the Georgian-language sector of their institution be spun off and transformed into a branch of Tbilisi State University
. The students' demand was part of a larger Georgian campaign aimed at reviving or establishing separate Georgian cultural institutions in Abkhazia which would be free of any Soviet influence. Earlier, this had led to the division of the Sukhumi soccer team and the theater along ethnic lines. The student movement acquired a widespread support among the Georgian population of Abkhazia, with ethnic Georgian lectors and schoolteachers, and the Sukhumi Subtropics Institute researchers joining them in a strike. The university issue, however, required Tbilisi's approval, and the authorities were reluctant to concede. On May 14, 1989, however, Gumbaridze's government gave in to public pressure and ordered to establish the new Sukhumi branch of Tbilisi State University, leaving the Abkhaz and Russian sectors under the administration of Sukhumi State University. Yet, Abkhaz responded angrily and launched a series of mass demonstrations immediately after the decision. They promptly organized a sit-in
in an attempt to block the Georgian preparations for admissions examinations for their new university. Foreseeing the possibility of violence, local officials began a campaign to collect hunting weapons from the population. At the same time, the Abkhaz activists from the recently established nationalist organization Aydgylara ("Popular Forum") filed a complaint to Moscow, reporting that the university crisis was fueled by the Georgian "informals" as anti-Soviet oppositionists were then known. A special commission Supreme Soviet of the USSR launched an investigation of the university dispute in early July and concluded that the Georgian government had no legal right to authorize the new university, prompting an acute reaction in Georgia. Despite that conclusion, and threats by the Abkhaz, the Georgians went ahead with a new entrance exam for the university that was scheduled to be administered on July 15.
(police) officials ignored calls from desperate employees from the besieged building and replaced, early on July 15, policemen of Georgian nationality guarding the university with Abkhaz officers. The same day, a small police unit sent to Sukhumi from Tbilisi to help restore order was disarmed by the Abkhaz militia without any hindrance from the local police. Meanwhile, Georgians gathered into a counter-rally to prevent the Abkhaz from disrupting the university.
While the reports are conflicting on which group first resorted to violence, with both sides blaming each other of starting fighting, the ensuing events would quickly degenerate into an open inter-ethnic warfare and eventually into the War in Abkhazia. Georgians reported that a group of armed Abkhaz opened fire on the Georgian demonstration in Rustaveli
Park, while Abkhaz claimed that they engaged in fighting after an Abkhaz photographer was beaten by Georgians while trying to penetrate the university building. Either way, on late July 16, a crowd of five thousand Abkhaz, many of whom were armed, surged into the building. Several members of the Georgian exam commission were beaten up, and the school was looted.
This set off a chain of events that produced further casualties and destruction as the both sides engaged in armed fighting for several days to come. That evening, Abkhaz and Georgians began mobilizing all over Abkhazia and western Georgia. The Kodori
Svans
, ethnic Georgian subgroup from northeastern Abkhazia, and Abkhaz from the town of Tkvarcheli
clashed in a shooting spree that lasted all night and intermittently for several days afterward. Meanwhile 30,000 Georgians from western Georgia, particularly from Mingrelia, and the predominantly Georgian Gali district
in southern Abkhazia, began marching toward Sukhumi, led by the eminent Soviet-era dissident
Merab Kostava
. The authorities reported that the Abkhaz crowds attacked police posts to get access to weapons, but evidence suggests that official sympathy prevented the local law enforcement agencies from offering resistance to the "attackers". Moreover, a local procurator in Ochamchire
ordered the return of Abkhaz hunting weapons. Hence, the Abkhaz armed groups were able to organize picket and block the Georgian marchers (some of whom were armed as well) at a bridge outside the ethnically mixed town of Ochamchire. Kostava stopped the march, averting more bloodshed, and soon the Soviet Interior troops were invoked to reestablish order.
The July events in Abkhazia left at least eighteen dead and 448 injured, of whom, according to official accounts, 302 were Georgians. Although a continuous presence of the Interior Ministry troops maintained a precarious peace in the region, outburst of violence did occur, and the Soviet government made no progress toward solving any of the interethnic problems. The Georgians suspected the attack on their university was intentionally staged by the Abkhaz secessionists in order to provoke a large-scale violence that would prompt Moscow to declare a martial law
in the region, thus depriving the government in Tbilisi of any control over the autonomous structures in Abkhazia. At the same time, they accused the Soviet government of manipulating ethnic issues to curb Georgia's otherwise irrepressible independence movement. On the other hand, the Abkhaz claimed that the new university was an instrument in the hands of Georgians to reinforce their cultural dominance in the region, and continued to demand that the investigation of the July events be turned over to Moscow and that no branch of Tbilisi State University be opened in Sukhumi.
However, as neither side felt strong enough to force the issue militarily at that time, the Georgian-Abkhaz antagonism had largely been relegated to the legislatures by July 1990, making Abkhazia a field of "war of laws" until the armed hostilities broke out in August 1992.
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
in Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
, Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, in July 1989, triggered by an increasing inter-ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz
Abkhaz people
The Abkhaz or Abkhazians are a Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. A large Abkhazian diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the emigration from the Caucasus in the late 19th century known as Muhajirism...
and Georgian
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
communities and followed by several days of street fighting
Street fighting
Street fighting is a colloquial term used to denote unsanctioned, illegal in some countries, hand-to-hand fighting in public places, between individuals or groups of people....
and civil unrest in Sukhumi and throughout Abkhazia.
The riots started as an Abkhaz protest against opening of a Georgian university
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...
branch in Sukhumi, and concluded with looting of the Georgian school which was expected to house the new university on July 16, 1989. The ensuing violence quickly degenerated into a large-scale inter-ethnic confrontation. By the time when the Soviet army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
managed to temporarily bring the situation under control, the riots had produced at least eighteen dead and 448 injured, mostly Georgians, marking the start of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict
The Georgian–Abkhazian conflict refers to the ethnic conflict between Georgians and Abkhazians in Abkhazia, which is presently a de facto independent partially recognized republic...
.
Background
The lingering ethnic discord in Abkhazia exacerbated when, on March 18, 1989, the Abkhaz élites, who viewed an increasingly active movement for Georgia's independence as a threat to their political privileges of a "titular minorityTitular nation
The titular nation is the single dominant ethnic group in the state, typically after which the state was named.-Soviet Union:The notion was used in the Soviet Union to denote nations that give rise to titles of autonomous entities within the union: Soviet republics, autonomous republics, autonomous...
" and the status of autonomous republic, signed a petition to the central Soviet government at a mass meeting at Lykhny
Lykhny
Lykhny is a village in the Gudauta District of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The village lies along the narrow Black Sea plain of Abkhazia at an elevation of 50 meters above sea level. Lykhny is located five kilometers from the administrative center of Gudauta. There are...
, Abkhazia, demanding the rights to secede from Georgia. The move caused mass protests from the Georgian community, which accounted for by far the largest single group in (45,7%) of the population of the Abkhaz ASSR, and were resolutely opposed to any diminution of their links with the Georgian republic, holding rival demonstrations within Abkhazia and within Georgia proper. The protests climaxed in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and evolved into a major anti-Soviet and pro-independence rally on April 9, 1989, which was violently dispersed by the Soviet Interior Ministry troops, resulting in the deaths of twenty, mostly young women, and the injury of hundreds of demonstrators. At a plenum of the Georgian central committee the following day the Communist party first secretary, Jumber Patiashvili
Jumber Patiashvili
Jumber Patiashvili is a Georgian politician. A current member of parliament, he was the Communist leader of the Georgian SSR from 1985 to 1989....
, resigned and was replaced by the former head of the Georgian KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, Givi Gumbaridze. The April 9 tragedy removed the last vestiges of credibility from the Soviet regime in Georgia and pushed many Georgians into radical opposition to the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Abkhaz remained largely loyal to the Soviet rule partly to antagonize the Georgian movement and partly to obtain Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
’s sympathy towards their cause.
The university controversy
The issue of universityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
had always been very sensitive in Abkhazia. Sukhumi State University was established in 1978 as a part of the concessions towards the Abkhaz secessionist demands, which in its turn was triggered by the Georgian national mobilization in defense of their language
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
and culture. The University had three – Abkhaz
Abkhaz language
Abkhaz is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken mainly by the Abkhaz people. It is the official language of Abkhazia where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan...
, Georgian, and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
– sectors. However, Georgian students repeatedly complained of discrimination at the hands of their Abkhaz and Russian lectors and administration. Soon after the April 9 events, Georgian students at Abkhaz State University launched a hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
, demanding that the Georgian-language sector of their institution be spun off and transformed into a branch of Tbilisi State University
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...
. The students' demand was part of a larger Georgian campaign aimed at reviving or establishing separate Georgian cultural institutions in Abkhazia which would be free of any Soviet influence. Earlier, this had led to the division of the Sukhumi soccer team and the theater along ethnic lines. The student movement acquired a widespread support among the Georgian population of Abkhazia, with ethnic Georgian lectors and schoolteachers, and the Sukhumi Subtropics Institute researchers joining them in a strike. The university issue, however, required Tbilisi's approval, and the authorities were reluctant to concede. On May 14, 1989, however, Gumbaridze's government gave in to public pressure and ordered to establish the new Sukhumi branch of Tbilisi State University, leaving the Abkhaz and Russian sectors under the administration of Sukhumi State University. Yet, Abkhaz responded angrily and launched a series of mass demonstrations immediately after the decision. They promptly organized a sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
in an attempt to block the Georgian preparations for admissions examinations for their new university. Foreseeing the possibility of violence, local officials began a campaign to collect hunting weapons from the population. At the same time, the Abkhaz activists from the recently established nationalist organization Aydgylara ("Popular Forum") filed a complaint to Moscow, reporting that the university crisis was fueled by the Georgian "informals" as anti-Soviet oppositionists were then known. A special commission Supreme Soviet of the USSR launched an investigation of the university dispute in early July and concluded that the Georgian government had no legal right to authorize the new university, prompting an acute reaction in Georgia. Despite that conclusion, and threats by the Abkhaz, the Georgians went ahead with a new entrance exam for the university that was scheduled to be administered on July 15.
The riots
A few days before the scheduled exams, several thousand of Abkhaz organized a mass anti-Georgian rally in Sukhumi. On July 12, 1989, the Aydgylara activists led the demonstrators, including armed groups, into the attack on the building of the local Georgian-language newspaper, forcing it to shut down. Soon, the school building which was expected to house the Georgian university was also surrounded by the crowd. The local militsiyaMilitsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
(police) officials ignored calls from desperate employees from the besieged building and replaced, early on July 15, policemen of Georgian nationality guarding the university with Abkhaz officers. The same day, a small police unit sent to Sukhumi from Tbilisi to help restore order was disarmed by the Abkhaz militia without any hindrance from the local police. Meanwhile, Georgians gathered into a counter-rally to prevent the Abkhaz from disrupting the university.
While the reports are conflicting on which group first resorted to violence, with both sides blaming each other of starting fighting, the ensuing events would quickly degenerate into an open inter-ethnic warfare and eventually into the War in Abkhazia. Georgians reported that a group of armed Abkhaz opened fire on the Georgian demonstration in Rustaveli
Shota Rustaveli
Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. He is author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" , the Georgian national epic poem....
Park, while Abkhaz claimed that they engaged in fighting after an Abkhaz photographer was beaten by Georgians while trying to penetrate the university building. Either way, on late July 16, a crowd of five thousand Abkhaz, many of whom were armed, surged into the building. Several members of the Georgian exam commission were beaten up, and the school was looted.
This set off a chain of events that produced further casualties and destruction as the both sides engaged in armed fighting for several days to come. That evening, Abkhaz and Georgians began mobilizing all over Abkhazia and western Georgia. The Kodori
Kodori Valley
The Kodori Valley is a river valley in Abkhazia, Georgia's breakaway autonomous republic. The valley's upper part, populated by Svans, was the only corner of the post-1993 Abkhazia, directly controlled by the central Georgian government, which officially styles the area as Upper Abkhazia...
Svans
Svans
The Svans are a group of Georgians that mostly live in Svaneti, a region of Georgia speaking the Svan language. The self designated Svan is Mushüan, known to the ancient authors as Misimian.-History:...
, ethnic Georgian subgroup from northeastern Abkhazia, and Abkhaz from the town of Tkvarcheli
Tkvarcheli
Tkvarcheli is a town in Abkhazia. It is situated on the river Ghalidzga and the railroad connects it with Ochamchira.-History:...
clashed in a shooting spree that lasted all night and intermittently for several days afterward. Meanwhile 30,000 Georgians from western Georgia, particularly from Mingrelia, and the predominantly Georgian Gali district
Gali district
Gali district is a district of Abkhazia. Its capital is Gali, the town by the same name. The district is smaller than the eponymous one in the de jure subdivision of Georgia, as some of its former territory is now part of Tkvarcheli District, formed by de facto Abkhaz authorities in 1995.Gali...
in southern Abkhazia, began marching toward Sukhumi, led by the eminent Soviet-era dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
Merab Kostava
Merab Kostava
250px|thumb|Merab Kostava, 1988Merab Kostava was a Georgian dissident, musician and poet; one of the leaders of the National-Liberation movement in Georgia...
. The authorities reported that the Abkhaz crowds attacked police posts to get access to weapons, but evidence suggests that official sympathy prevented the local law enforcement agencies from offering resistance to the "attackers". Moreover, a local procurator in Ochamchire
Ochamchire
Ochamchira is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia, and a centre of the eponymous district.According to the 1978 population census, Ochamchira had 18,700 residents. After the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict of 1992-93, Ochamchira experienced a significant population decline due to...
ordered the return of Abkhaz hunting weapons. Hence, the Abkhaz armed groups were able to organize picket and block the Georgian marchers (some of whom were armed as well) at a bridge outside the ethnically mixed town of Ochamchire. Kostava stopped the march, averting more bloodshed, and soon the Soviet Interior troops were invoked to reestablish order.
The July events in Abkhazia left at least eighteen dead and 448 injured, of whom, according to official accounts, 302 were Georgians. Although a continuous presence of the Interior Ministry troops maintained a precarious peace in the region, outburst of violence did occur, and the Soviet government made no progress toward solving any of the interethnic problems. The Georgians suspected the attack on their university was intentionally staged by the Abkhaz secessionists in order to provoke a large-scale violence that would prompt Moscow to declare a martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
in the region, thus depriving the government in Tbilisi of any control over the autonomous structures in Abkhazia. At the same time, they accused the Soviet government of manipulating ethnic issues to curb Georgia's otherwise irrepressible independence movement. On the other hand, the Abkhaz claimed that the new university was an instrument in the hands of Georgians to reinforce their cultural dominance in the region, and continued to demand that the investigation of the July events be turned over to Moscow and that no branch of Tbilisi State University be opened in Sukhumi.
However, as neither side felt strong enough to force the issue militarily at that time, the Georgian-Abkhaz antagonism had largely been relegated to the legislatures by July 1990, making Abkhazia a field of "war of laws" until the armed hostilities broke out in August 1992.