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Abkhazia

by stuart notholt

A presentation of Abkhazia

Full name: Republic of Abkhazia.
Location: Western region of Georgia.
Status: Disputed. Formerly a subdivision of Georgia, Abkhazia declared itself independent on 23 July 1992. Since then it has been at war with, and partially occupied by, Georgia.
Notes: The Abkhazians are a Caucasian people. There flag is similar to that of the self-styled Confederation of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, whose guerrillas have reported assisted the Abkhazians in their struggle. (It has also been claimed that the Russians has supported the Abkhazian separatists as part of their political disputes with Georgia.) The flag of Abkhazia appears to be based on that of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, except that the green stripes in the former appear as blue in the Abkhazian flag.

stuart notholt

An explanation of the flag

I have a comment on the flag of Abkhazia and its symbolism, based on a short article I found in the journal CENTRAL ASIAN SURVEY (Vol 13, No 3, 1994, pp. 435-436).
The colour of the stripes is given as blue in some sources, and green in others. From what I can gather, it appears that green is correct, making the flag similar (identical?) to that of the Federation of Caucasian Mountain Peoples.
The flag was adopted by the Abkhazian parliament on 23. July 1992.
Some points about the symbolism of the flag:
The canton: Open white palm on red with an arch of seven stars over it. This is a symbol of Abkhazian statehood. The Abkhazian Kingdom first emerged in the about 700-900 AD. The symbol appears on Genoese "portalans" from the 13th and 14th centuries. In the Middle Ages a dark red flag with a palm flew over Sabastopol at the site of the current capital of Abkhazia, Sukhum. The stars represent the seven main regions of historical Abkhazia. The number "7" is also of religious significance, being a sacred number. The green and white stripes (also seven i all) is an indication of religious tolerance, the peaceful coexistence of Islam and Christianity. Moreover, the pattern also connects to the historical flag of the North Caucasus Republic (also known as the Mountain Republic), independent for one year from the proclamation on 11. May 1918 onwards. The republic consisted of seven republics: Daghestan, Chechnya-Ingushetia, Ossetia, Abkhazia, Kabarda, Adygheia, and Karacay-Balkaria. On the flag of the North Caucasus Republic the Christian republic of Abkhazia was represented by a white stripe, as was Ossetia and Kabarda. The The NCR was occupied by Georgian forces, and later annexed by Soviet Georgia.
There is also a coat of arms, a shield divided vertically into white and green. On this is placed devices outlined in gold: At the base eight-pointed star, in the upper part of both the white and the green field are set two eight-pointed stars. At the centre of the shield is a horseman, flying on the fabulous steed called Arash, and shooting an arrow towards the stars. This scene is from the heroic epic Narts. Green symbolizes youth and life, while white symbolizes spirituality. The stars represent the sun, as well as the union of the East and West.

jan oskar engene

The "Flags of Aspirant Peoples" chart uses the green flag. The source for the blue flag was the _Flag Bulletin_, No. 148: "The new flag, flying over the parliament building in Sukhumi when it was seized by Georgia, consists of seven equal horizontal stripes of blue and white. The red canton bears a white hand below an arc of seven white (or, according to one report, yellow) stars." The _Flag Bulletin_ is usually most precise in checking its sources, however one cannot help wondering if maybe they've got it wrong on this occasion, particularly as there seems to be some dispute over the colour of the stars. Or maybe the shade of blue/green was simply ambiguous?

stuart notholt

I had some excellent material on the flag of Abkahzia from Dr George Hewitt, its honorary consul in London. First let me assert that the stripes are green, and never were blue. If they were depicted as blue that was an error, of which I was just as guilty as anyone else. I think Dr Hewitt was the author of the article quoted by Jan Oskar Engene, as I have a copy here which seems to follow it word for word. Dr Hewitt is Reader in Caucasian Languages at the University of London. He tells me that the hand and stars emblem is associated with the Abkhazian National Forum, and it is often the case that a national flag is based on the flag or emblem of the political movement dominant at the time independence is secured. The Abkhazians have an Information centre in Moscow, and I hope to visit it when I am there next week.Their fax no. is 007 095 924 5660.

william crampton