Kodori Gorge

The Kodori Gorge is located in the upper reaches of the Kodor River (s) in the north-eastern part of Abkhazia . Height: from 1300 to 3984 meters.

The climate is humid, winters are snowy. From 1600 to 2000 mm of precipitation falls annually (120 mm in January, 160 mm in April, 180 mm in July, 160 mm in October). 30 days of rain annually. For approximately 180 days, the gorge is hidden by snow cover. The average temperature in January: −3, in April: 3, in July: 14, in October: 5. The average maximum temperature (July): 28 ° C.

In the valley are located, in particular, the mountain villages of Azhara and Chkhalta , which consist of many small villages. According to the 2002 census, 1,956 people lived in the valley, of which 1912 were ethnic Svan Georgians . In August 2008, most of the local population left the gorge along with the retreating Georgian troops.

During the Georgian-Abkhaz war (1992-1993), the Kodori Gorge, administratively part of Abkhazia, became a place of confrontation between Abkhaz and Georgian forces. On the Georgian side were local Svan militia units, the largest of which was the Monadire detachment under the command of Emzar Kvitsiani . Largely thanks to him, the eastern part of the Kodori Gorge (the so-called “ Upper Kodori ”) remained during the fighting under the control of the Georgian government.

Under the terms of the “Ceasefire and Separation of Forces Agreement” signed by the Georgian and Abkhaz side on April 4, 1994 in Moscow, Georgian troops were required to be withdrawn from the Kodori Gorge to their locations outside Abkhazia under the control of representatives of the CIS peacekeeping force and UN observers . At the same time, in the Kodori Gorge, it was required to organize regular patrols of peacekeeping forces and international observers ^[2] .

Subsequently, constant tension remained in the gorge. Several dangerous incidents were associated with the gorge:

• Hostages from among UN military observers were periodically seized in the gorge, in particular, in October 1999, June 2000 and December 2000. In each case, the hostages were released.
• In the fall of 2001, a group of Chechen fighters led by commander Ruslan Gelayev entered the gorge from Georgia, which led to an aggravation of Georgian-Abkhaz relations. On October 8, 2001, a UN mission helicopter was shot down by unknown persons, as a result of which all nine people on board were killed. Russian air forces carried out attacks on militants. As a response, Georgia sent troops to the area. In the end, the militants were knocked out of the gorge.
• In July 2006, under the pretext of disarmament of local militarized units led by Emzar Kvitsiani, Georgia sent its troops into the gorge ^[3] . In connection with the restoration of Georgian jurisdiction in the region, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered the government and parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (within Georgia) to be placed in the gorge ^[4] . On August 2, the transfer of many members of the government and parliament of Abkhazia in exile to the Kodori Gorge was completed. The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is located in the village of Chkhalta, and the Supreme Council in the village of Azhara ^[4] . On September 27, 2006, on the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, by decree of the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, the upper part of the Kodori Gorge was renamed Upper Abkhazia .
• As indicated in the report of the UN Secretary General on the situation in Abkhazia on October 3, 2008, the sharp escalation of hostilities in South Ossetia on August 7 and 8 and the ensuing Georgian-Russian conflict had a profound impact on the situation in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict and on the whole the process of its settlement ^[5] . On August 8, the Abkhaz side began introducing heavy military equipment into the arms restriction zone in violation of the Moscow agreement on ceasefire and separation of forces in 1994. In the afternoon of August 9, shelling of the upper Kodori Valley began. On August 12, the Abkhaz side launched an offensive and established control over the upper part of the gorge. About 2 thousand local residents (Svans) and Georgian armed personnel left this area shortly before the emergence of Abkhaz forces ^[5] . Thus, Abkhazia regained control over the entire territory of the former Abkhaz ASSR .

• Conflict in the Kodori Valley (2001)
• Conflict in the Kodori Valley (2006)
• Operation in the Kodori Valley (2008)
• Armed conflict in South Ossetia (2008)
• Military Sukhumi road

• Geography of the valley
• UNOMIG activities in the valley (unopened) (link unavailable) . Archived October 15, 2004.
• Georgian-Russian tensions , from the article of the
• Georgian-Russian tensions
• Russian military incursion in 2002 (neopr.) (Unavailable link) . Archived October 24, 2008.
• Moscow Unleashes a Mountain Chieftain against Georgia (Eurasia Daily Monitor)
• Georgia Regains Control over Battle in Kodori (Eurasia Daily Monitor)
• GEORGIA'S SUCCESS IN KODORI GORGE BOLSTERS CASE TO REPLACE RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS (Eurasia Daily Monitor) (unopened) (link not available) . Archived on August 13, 2008.
• Kodori becomes the “temporary administrative center” of Abkhazia (Civil Georgia)
• Google maps