Will Georgia ever recognize Abkhazia’s independence?

It has been a while since such a public outrage happened in Georgia: political expert Mamuka Areshidze suggested that the public should consider the ‘heretic idea’ of opening their minds and embracing the notion of possible Abkhaz independence. According to the expert, such recognition might help overcome the deadlock in the Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue.

However, if such step is taken, it will open a legal way for the international community to recognize the breakaway republic as a sovereign country. On the other hand, US, EU and Turkish embassies in Sukhumi would increase Western influence in the Caucasus, which is quite unfavourable for Russia. And anything that can put Russia at a disadvantage should be profitable for Georgia a-priori.

Nevertheless, Mamuka Areshidze was subjected to scorn and criticism from all groups of Georgian society, from officials to internet-users. ‘Traitor’ is the lightest word used by bloggers to describe the author of such a proposal. The only official figure who dared to publicly support some of Mamuka’s suggestions was Georgia’s ex-president,

Eduard Shevarnadze. He said that now, when it is obvious that Abkhazia will never become an integral part of Georgia again, it’s time for the Tbilisi authorities to face reality and recognize its independence. This statement also triggered a less than favourable reaction among the Georgian people.

Why is it that Georgian people react so violently when faced with the fact of losing Abkhazia forever? Unlike Russians, who had to get over the disintegration of the USSR and the loss of thousands territories,Georgians can’t take the separatism of Abkhazia and South Ossetia lightly. For many of them these are hallowed grounds that symbolize the very self-identity of the Georgian people, like Jerusalem for Jews or Kosovo for Serbs. If we continue to follow the path of historic analogies, it’s appropriate to quote the opinion of some ethno-historians, who suggest that Germans who came to terms with the loss of Königsberg are, in fact, a different nation now.

It is also true that all peoples of the Soviet Union were allowed to create and develop their national myths in order to form and support their national identities – all peoples except for the Russians themselves. Russians were supposed to adopt the ideology of a new, non-ethnic community – ‘the Soviet people’. Ironic as it sounds, it is this lack of self-identifying ideology that made the disintegration of the Union easier to stomach for Russian people.

As for Areshidze’s initiative, it’s pointless: no Abkhaz president would allow the return of Georgian refugees, as if they were to return. Abkhaz people would find themselves once again an ethnic  minority and new violent outbreaks would be imminent. In addition, no Georgian President will ever recognize Abkhaz sovereignty. No power presses Tbilisi to do so, even Russia insists only on respecting the current status quo, which doesn’t impede the development of Georgia’s relations with the EU or even with Russia itself. There’s no practical need for Tbilisi to recognize Abkhazia’s independence. Georgian people put up with the current situation, but they will never accept it.

Georgiy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi, exclusively to VK