Sochi conflict

The Consequences of the Brest-Litovsk World

According to the conditions of the Brest-Litovsk peace signed on March 3, 1918, significant territories passed to Turkey. Given the worsening situation on the European fronts , Turkey’s plan was to include as many Caucasian lands with a pro-Turkish population as possible before concluding a common peace that promised the Triple Alliance little good ^[4] .

Although the Transcaucasian Confederation , of which Georgia was a part at that moment, did not recognize the conditions of peace , its ability to resist the Turkish offensive was limited. After the new Turkish offensive in March-April 1918 and the occupation by the Turks of Batumi , Ozurgeti and Akhaltsikhe , the Confederation was forced to agree to negotiations.

At the request of Turkey, the Confederation was to appear in the negotiations as an independent entity. Therefore, on April 9, 1918 , it was transformed into the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (ZDFR) .

Batumi Peace Conference

At the Batumi conference on May 11, 1918 ( Batumi controlled Turkey at that time), which was attended by the delegations of Turkey , the ZDFR , the Mountain Republic and Germany , the Georgian delegation was forced to agree to worse conditions than those stipulated by the Brest-Litovsk Treaty .

On the same day, May 11 , representatives of the Highland Republic announced their withdrawal from the ZDFR and the creation of an independent pro-Turkish Highland Republic , which included Abkhazia. The members of the delegation of the ANC of Abkhazia, among them A. Shevarshidze , said to Turkey that "Abkhazia does not want to be part of the group of Transcaucasian peoples, but considers itself to be a North Caucasian association of highlanders" ^[5] .

However, in secret bilateral negotiations, Georgia, most fearing that Turkey might continue the annexation of its territory, asked Germany for military support in exchange for its entry into its sphere of influence, which, with the already occupied Crimea and Ukraine, would cover the entire north of the Black Sea region. The German command eagerly responded to this appeal, since Germany already in April 1918 signed a secret agreement with Turkey on the division of spheres of influence in the Caucasus, according to which Georgia was already in the sphere of influence of Germany. The condition for German support was the exit of Georgia from the ZDFR , due to the impossibility of Germany's support of its other members - Armenia and Azerbaijan .

The overthrow of Bolshevik power in Abkhazia

The support of Germany opened up the possibility for Georgia to compensate for the territorial losses in the south by joining the territories along the Black Sea coast .

Georgia took the first step in this direction, establishing control over Abkhazia. As early as May 17, 1918 , Georgian military detachments of the ZDFR, led by Valiko Dzhugeli, entered Sukhumi and overthrew the Bolshevik government in power there ^[6] .

The Abkhaz National Council (ANS) restored by them in the second convocation had a composition much more loyal to Georgia than the ANS of the first convocation dispersed by the Bolsheviks.

According to A. Chkhenkeli to the National Council of Georgia: “the Turks decided to send troops to occupy Sukhumi and began appropriate training. However, they soon received news of the capture of Sukhumi by our troops and the expulsion of the Bolsheviks. This news acted on them like a bolt from the blue ” ^[7] .

Proclamation of the Georgian Democratic Republic

On May 26, 1918 , the Georgian Democratic Republic was proclaimed. The borders of Georgia were not defined in the act of independence, but German General von Lossov, in a secret letter dated May 28, 1918 ^[8], made their preliminary drafts and expressed his readiness for “Germany to assist Georgia in securing its borders” ^{[5 ]} .

Relocation of German troops to Georgia

As a result of the agreement concluded with Georgia on May 28, 1918 , Germany gained control over the Transcaucasian raw materials (oil, manganese), the railway and ports.

The three thousandth expeditionary force under the command of Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein was transferred from the Crimea to the Georgian ports of Poti and Ochamchira . Germany’s military assistance helped to eliminate the threat from the Bolsheviks in Abkhazia. The Germans contributed to the formation of the Georgian armed forces and their preparation for a further offensive ^[9] .

During the summer of 1918 , the combined German-Georgian garrisons were deployed in various parts of Georgia and reinforced by troops transferred from Ukraine and Syria, as well as liberated by German prisoners of war and mobilized German colonists ^[10] .

In the spring of 1918, the Georgian armed forces invaded Abkhazia, overthrew Soviet power and established their control over its territory ^{[11] [12] [13]} . Appointed by the Governor General of Abkhazia, Mazniashvili announced martial law on 23 June 1918 and demanded that the population unconditionally submit to all laws of Georgia . This step provoked a protest from Abkhazia ^[14] , which sought support in the struggle against the Bolsheviks, but did not at all seek political submission to Georgia. The resulting crisis subsequently led to the resignation of R. Kakub from the post of Minister for Abkhaz Affairs, and the election on July 17 in his place of R. Chhotua promising the ANS that his "main goal is to protect the interests of Abkhazia" ^[5] .

In early July, Georgian troops crossed the border of the Sochi district and proceeded with the annexation of Russian territory. At that time, the Kuban-Black Sea Soviet Republic was on the verge of collapse under the blows of Denikinites and rebellious Kuban Cossacks, and could not organize a significant rebuff. Using the support of the population, Georgian troops occupied Gagra and Adler by July 3 . Having knocked out the Reds from positions near the Kudepsta River on July 5 , they entered Sochi .

From July 8, Red Army forces attempted to counterattack, but after a series of battles from July 15 to 26, Georgian forces completely seized the initiative and, after a 12-hour battle, entered Tuapse on July 27 . By September 1918, the entire coastal territory was occupied and declared "temporarily annexed to Georgia" ^{[11] [12] [13]} .

Georgia justified its claims on the occupied territories with its control over them during the time of David the Builder and Queen Tamara ^{[11] [12] [13]} .

As trophies, Georgian troops captured many prisoners, 4 guns, 12 machine guns, ammunition, ships, 5 steam locomotives ^[15] . Moving along the railway towards the pass, on August 4 , Georgian forces defeated the main group of red troops under the command of Antonov , numbering 4 thousand , six kilometers north of Tuapse. and including the “Freedom Fighter No. 2” armored train, and took up positions 6 km north of the Krivenkovskaya station.

The offensive of the Georgian army was greatly facilitated by the fact that the Kuban-Black Sea Soviet Republic was constrained by the struggle against the All-Union Socialist League ^{[11] [12] [13]} .

The introduction of Georgian troops into Abkhazia was considered ambiguously by the Abkhazians themselves. Therefore, when at the end of the summer of 1918 Germany began to curtail military operations in Transcaucasia , and the North Caucasus corps of the Turkish army under the command of General Yusuf Izzet-Pasha , Adyge by nationality, representatives of the Abkhaz aristocracy in the ANS turned for help to Turkish Abkhazians . Their plans included the inclusion of Abkhazia in the Mountain Republic, which is under Turkish auspices, however, since Turkey could not openly oppose its German ally on this issue, it was planned to support the Abkhazians by sending volunteers ^[4] .

In July-August, Turkish units, consisting mainly of the descendants of the Caucasian Muhajirs , attempted amphibious landings (for example, on the night of June 27, 1918 a large armed landing landed near the Kodor River ), but they all ended in failure ^[16] .

On August 8, the Georgian administration broke up the ANC of the second convocation on August 15 on charges of “Turkophilism” and reorganized the ANS into a body more convenient for conducting Georgian politics in Abkhazia.

After the capitulation of the Central Powers in the fall of 1918 and the withdrawal of German and Turkish units from Transcaucasia , the leading role in the region passed to Great Britain - the main ally of the Volunteer Army . Great Britain strove to create a united anti-Bolshevik front in the region, but did not want Russia (as well as any other force) in the Caucasus to play a prominent role and pursue a policy of “divide and conquer” . Supporting Denikin’s goals in the fight against the Bolsheviks, Great Britain did not encourage their aspirations to restore a “united and indivisible” Russia , striving to maintain good relations with Georgia, to a large extent to ensure the transportation of Baku oil.

The command of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia , which was fighting to preserve a single and indivisible Russia, could not allow Russia to lose Sochi, therefore, as soon as the situation on the front against the Bolsheviks improved, General Alekseev demanded to be immediately cleared at the talks held on September 25–26 in Yekaterinodar Russian territory ^{[11] [12] [13]} .

The Georgian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister E. Gegechkori, insisted on the inclusion of the Sochi district in Georgia, which was necessary to "protect the Georgian population from the Bolsheviks" (despite the fact that by this time the Bolsheviks had already been expelled from the region) ^[17] .

On September 26, negotiations between the FYUR and Georgia were interrupted, and the whites launched an attack on the positions of the Georgian army ^{[11] [12] [13]} .

The troops of General Denikin occupied Sochi , Adler and Gagra . By February 10, 1919, the White forces forced the Georgian army to retreat across the Bzyb River ^{[11] [12] [13]} .

In a UK note dated December 25 , Georgia expressed serious concerns about Denikin’s future plans. In response, the UK demanded that Denikin promise to refrain from attacking Sochi ^[15] and gave Georgia the appropriate assurances. Sochi district was declared "neutral" (but subordinate to the Georgian administration), and Denikinites, under the threat of war, were prohibited from further advancement without the consent of the commander of British troops in the Caucasus, General Walker ^{[15] [17]} .

In January 1919 , at the Paris Conference , representatives of Georgia presented a historical map of the state’s borders during the reign of King David the Builder and Queen Tamara, on which the territory of the Sochi and Tuapse districts was part of Georgia. Based on the presented historical evidence, the border of Georgia was supposed to be p. Makopse , located 14 km southeast of Tuapse ^[18] .

However, there the representatives of the Mountain Republic presented a map on which Abkhazia was depicted in its composition.

As further developments showed, the influence of Great Britain on Denikinites was limited. In January 1919 , due to the interethnic conflict caused by the Georgian-Armenian war and “because of the oppression caused by the Georgians” ^[4] , the Armenians of Sochi County revolted. Georgian troops used artillery against the rebellious Armenian villages ^[17] . In response to requests from Armenians for help, Denikin, despite the heavy fighting with the Red Army near Novocherkassk , violated the agreement with Great Britain and on January 24 sent troops to Sochi. Ignoring the British protests, the Volunteer Army, supported by attacks from the rear of the Armenian militias, entered Sochi on February 6 , and General Koniashvili, the commander of the troops, was captured. On February 8, the garrisons of Sochi and Adler surrendered, including the head of the Georgian headquarters, Colonel Tsereteli. In total, 700 soldiers and 48 officers of the Georgian army were captured in Sochi, and the number of killed was only 7 White Guards and 12 Georgian troops ^[17] .

Great Britain declared a protest to Denikin, threatening to break off relations, cut off military supplies and even war, in particular, shelling the Caucasian coast of Russia from Linkorov’s guns ^[17] . However, Denikin not only refused to leave Sochi , but moved to Sukhumi , declaring Abkhazia a part of “united and indivisible Russia” (it is known that in early 1919 Abkhaz leaders conducted negotiations with Denikinians asking them to help displace Georgian troops from Abkhazia ^[5] ) . The Georgians tried to stop them in Gagra , but were driven back. At this point, the British offered Denikinists a compromise option - the “neutralization” of the Sochi district with the deployment of British troops there. White had no choice but to agree and stop on the border of the Sochi district along the Bzyb River.

This period was characterized by the beginning of the anti-Russian actions of the Georgian administration. The lands of Russian landowners in Georgia were confiscated ( February 24, 1919 ), activists of the Russian National Council in Tiflis and military personnel were arrested. On Maundy Thursday 1919 , the Georgian authorities sealed and took the Tiflis Cathedral from Russian parishioners ^[4] .

The possession of the troops of A.I. Denikin in 1919 actually saved Sochi (and Tuapse) for Russia ^{[11] [12] [13]} . However, Russia nevertheless lost the Gagrinsky district between the Psou and Bzybi rivers, and Abkhazia was included, albeit on a contractual basis, even in the GSSR after the Sovietization of Georgia ^[1] .

• The Iron Stream , 1967

• A. Serafimovich " Iron Stream "
• А. Бондарь, В. Рожкова «Три дня в Туапсе»

• Гражданская война в Черноморье и Сухумском округе (1917—1918)
• Политическая ситуация в России в 1917—1918 годах

• Архив статей по Абхазии