Sochi conflict
Encyclopedia
Sochi conflict was a three-party border conflict which involved the counterrevolutionary White Russian forces
, Bolshevik
Red Army
and the Democratic Republic of Georgia
each of which sought the control over the Black Sea
town Sochi
and the adjacent region. The conflict was fought as a part of the Russian civil war
and lasted with varying success from July 1918 to May 1919, and ended through the British
mediation effectively establishing the current official border between Russia
and Georgia
.
-Adyghe
tribe, Zygs, since ancient times.
Georgian claims came from the fact that the area was politically dominated by the medieval kingdom of Georgia
at the height of its prestige and strength, and then came under the rule of a successor, the Kingdom of Imereti
and, eventually, the Principality of Abkhazia
. The area of increasing tourist interest, part of this region was detached by the Tsar
’s decree of December 25 1904, from the Sukhumi district
(Kutaisi
guberniya) to become part of the Black Sea guberniya
. The Black Sea
district was only thinly inhabited since the Russian Empire took control of the area forcing thousands of locals to become Muhajir
s. The region was also inhabited by a significant number of Armenians and Georgians.
The Russian general Denikin and his colleagues insisted, however, that the border between Georgia (though not yet recognized by either White or Soviet leadership) and the White-controlled Kuban Republic should be that between the former Russian guberniyas of Kutais and Black Sea, i.e. slightly in the north to the Bzyb River
.
revolt in Abkhazia
that made the local post-revolution government, Abkhazian People’s Council, to request aid from the Democratic Republic of Georgia
and to join it as an autonomous entity (June 8 1918). A Georgian force under Major General Giorgi Mazniashvili
was deployed in the region and joined by an Abkhaz cavalry provided by local nobility. Mazniashvili repulsed a Bolshevik offensive from Sochi
direction late in June and, following to the instructions from Abkhazian and Georgian authorities, advanced northward in order to liquidate a Bolshevik base which provided help to the Communist soldiers.
The Georgian military operation, encouraged also by a German
military mission, resulted in the occupation of Adler (3 July), Sochi
(6 July), and Tuapse
(27 July) along the Black Sea coastline. Mazniashvili was soon ordered to take control of the Tuapse-Maikop
railway line and coordinate his actions with the White Russian Kuban government and Denikin’s Volunteer Army
waging an all-out war against the Red armies in South Russia
.
Initially, Georgia regarded the White forces as allies against the common threats from the Bolshevist Moscow
. This cooperation was, however, soon clouded by Denikin’s calls for the reunited “Great Russia” with the Caucasus
as its integral part.
Early in September, the Georgians were forced out from Tuapse by the retreating Taman Red Army pursued by Denikin’s forces. Soon the White units took control of the town on September 8 forcing the Bolsheviks to retreat further toward Armavir.
On September 18, a Council for Sochi (a legislature formed by the local Menshevik
s and SRs in August) declared the unification of the city and its district to the Democratic Republic of Georgia
as a “temporary measure” against the threats from both Lenin and Denikin. The annexation by Georgia followed immediately and caused an acute protest from the leaders of the White forces.
On September 25 1918, the White leaders and representatives of the DRG met in Ekaterinodar to find a peaceful solution to the dispute. Denikin demanded that the Georgians withdraw back to the Bzyb river. An agreement was not achieved and the Whites halted the negotiations next day. The same day Denikin captured Lazarevskaya at the northern outskirts of Sochi but he was unable to take full control over the region until the Red Army was defeated in North Caucasus
. On February 6 1919 the Georgian troops were forced back to the Bzyb river with their commander General Konyev (Koniashvili), and his staff captured by the Russians at Gagra
. Georgia sent reinforcements, but the British
representatives intervened establishing a demarcation line along the Bzyb. The captured Georgian officers were released.
On March 14 1919 a Georgian delegation presented at Paris peace conference a project of the borders of the country in which it demanded a part of the former Black Sea province up to the small river Makopse 14 km southeast to the town Tuapse. The negotiations, however, yielded no results.
On April 12 1919, a Sukhumi
-based Georgian People’s Guard and army units under General Mazniashvili launched a counteroffensive. Avoiding the British peacekeeping posts at the Bzyb river, they retook Gagra after a bloody clash and, in cooperation with the “Green” Russian guerillas, moved to the Makhadyr river. The British intervention however halted the Georgian advance. A new demarcation line was established south to Adler, on the Psou River
. Along the border, a British expeditionary force took positions to prevent further outbreak of the war. On May 23-24, Georgian, Russian Volunteers’ and British representatives met in Tbilisi
to find a peace resolution. Actually, this was the end of the conflict. Occasional skirmishes occurred, however, until the late 1919.
The establishment of the current official Russian-Georgian border along the Psou was perhaps the main outcome of the Sochi conflict. The new border was de jure recognized by the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (May 1920) and the Allies
(January 1921).
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
each of which sought the control over the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
town Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
and the adjacent region. The conflict was fought as a part of the Russian civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
and lasted with varying success from July 1918 to May 1919, and ended through the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mediation effectively establishing the current official border between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
Background
The disputed area had been inhabited by an AbkhazAbkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
-Adyghe
Adyghe people
The Adyghe or Adygs , also often known as Circassians or Cherkess, are in origin a North Caucasian ethnic groupwho were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, especially after the Russian–Circassian War of 1862.Adyghe people mostly speak Adyghe and most...
tribe, Zygs, since ancient times.
Georgian claims came from the fact that the area was politically dominated by the medieval kingdom of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
at the height of its prestige and strength, and then came under the rule of a successor, the Kingdom of Imereti
Kingdom of Imereti
The Kingdom of Imereti was established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagration when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Imereti was considered a separate kingdom within the Kingdom of Georgia, to which a cadet branch of the Bagration royal family held...
and, eventually, the Principality of Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
. The area of increasing tourist interest, part of this region was detached by the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
’s decree of December 25 1904, from the Sukhumi district
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
(Kutaisi
Kutaisi
Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
guberniya) to become part of the Black Sea guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
. The Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
district was only thinly inhabited since the Russian Empire took control of the area forcing thousands of locals to become Muhajir
Muhajir
Muhajir or Mohajir is an Arabic word meaning immigrant. The Islamic calendar Hejira starts when Muhammad and his companions left Mecca for Medina in what is known as Hijra. They were called Muhajirun...
s. The region was also inhabited by a significant number of Armenians and Georgians.
The Russian general Denikin and his colleagues insisted, however, that the border between Georgia (though not yet recognized by either White or Soviet leadership) and the White-controlled Kuban Republic should be that between the former Russian guberniyas of Kutais and Black Sea, i.e. slightly in the north to the Bzyb River
Bzyb River
Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev once proposed a major dam and hydroelectric power generation facility on the Bzyb River, since his favourite resort was located near the mouth of the river at Pitsunda. However, this proposal was ruled out by his experts who opined that a dam built on the Bzyb...
.
Conflict
The conflict was preceded by a pro-BolshevikBolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
revolt in Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
that made the local post-revolution government, Abkhazian People’s Council, to request aid from the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and to join it as an autonomous entity (June 8 1918). A Georgian force under Major General Giorgi Mazniashvili
Giorgi Mazniashvili
Giorgi Mazniashvili was a Georgian general and one of the most prominent military figures in the Democratic Republic of Georgia...
was deployed in the region and joined by an Abkhaz cavalry provided by local nobility. Mazniashvili repulsed a Bolshevik offensive from Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
direction late in June and, following to the instructions from Abkhazian and Georgian authorities, advanced northward in order to liquidate a Bolshevik base which provided help to the Communist soldiers.
The Georgian military operation, encouraged also by a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
military mission, resulted in the occupation of Adler (3 July), Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
(6 July), and Tuapse
Tuapse
Tuapse is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. It serves as the administrative center of Tuapsinsky District, although administratively it is separate from it...
(27 July) along the Black Sea coastline. Mazniashvili was soon ordered to take control of the Tuapse-Maikop
Maikop
Maykop or Maikop may refer to:*Maykop, capital of the Republic of Adygea, Russia*Maykop culture, prehistoric culture of the northern Caucasus, ca. 3500 BCE–2500 BCE...
railway line and coordinate his actions with the White Russian Kuban government and Denikin’s Volunteer Army
Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army was an anti-Bolshevik army in South Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
waging an all-out war against the Red armies in South Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Initially, Georgia regarded the White forces as allies against the common threats from the Bolshevist 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...
. This cooperation was, however, soon clouded by Denikin’s calls for the reunited “Great Russia” with the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
as its integral part.
Early in September, the Georgians were forced out from Tuapse by the retreating Taman Red Army pursued by Denikin’s forces. Soon the White units took control of the town on September 8 forcing the Bolsheviks to retreat further toward Armavir.
On September 18, a Council for Sochi (a legislature formed by the local Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
s and SRs in August) declared the unification of the city and its district to the Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
as a “temporary measure” against the threats from both Lenin and Denikin. The annexation by Georgia followed immediately and caused an acute protest from the leaders of the White forces.
On September 25 1918, the White leaders and representatives of the DRG met in Ekaterinodar to find a peaceful solution to the dispute. Denikin demanded that the Georgians withdraw back to the Bzyb river. An agreement was not achieved and the Whites halted the negotiations next day. The same day Denikin captured Lazarevskaya at the northern outskirts of Sochi but he was unable to take full control over the region until the Red Army was defeated in North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
. On February 6 1919 the Georgian troops were forced back to the Bzyb river with their commander General Konyev (Koniashvili), and his staff captured by the Russians at Gagra
Gagra
Gagra is a town in Abkhazia, Georgia’s breakaway republic, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains...
. Georgia sent reinforcements, but the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
representatives intervened establishing a demarcation line along the Bzyb. The captured Georgian officers were released.
On March 14 1919 a Georgian delegation presented at Paris peace conference a project of the borders of the country in which it demanded a part of the former Black Sea province up to the small river Makopse 14 km southeast to the town Tuapse. The negotiations, however, yielded no results.
On April 12 1919, a 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:...
-based Georgian People’s Guard and army units under General Mazniashvili launched a counteroffensive. Avoiding the British peacekeeping posts at the Bzyb river, they retook Gagra after a bloody clash and, in cooperation with the “Green” Russian guerillas, moved to the Makhadyr river. The British intervention however halted the Georgian advance. A new demarcation line was established south to Adler, on the Psou River
Psou River
Psou River is a river in the West Caucasus. It flows along the Southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and forms a part of the border between Georgia and Russia. The river flows into the Black Sea. The length of the Psou is 57 km and the drainage basin is approximately...
. Along the border, a British expeditionary force took positions to prevent further outbreak of the war. On May 23-24, Georgian, Russian Volunteers’ and British representatives met in 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...
to find a peace resolution. Actually, this was the end of the conflict. Occasional skirmishes occurred, however, until the late 1919.
The establishment of the current official Russian-Georgian border along the Psou was perhaps the main outcome of the Sochi conflict. The new border was de jure recognized by the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (May 1920) and the Allies
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
(January 1921).
Sochi conflict in literature
- Alexander Serafimovich "The Iron Flood" (1924)
- Alexandre Bondar, Victoria Rozhkova "Three Days in Tuapse" (2009)