Oleg Kusov, exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Polyanichko’s murder, the occupation of regions outside Nagorno-Karabakh, resolutions of the UN SC on two South-Caucasian armed conflicts, the joint commission on settlement of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict begins working, attempt on Dudayev’s life, different attitudes of the Kremlin to the Karabakh and Abkhaz wars.
New victims of the Karabakh war
On August 1st the head of the Acting administration in the territories of North Ossetia and Ingushetia, Viktor Polyanichko, was killed near the North Ossetian village of Tarskoe. His car was shot by unknown terrorists. The commander of the 42nd corps Major General Anatoly Koretsky and the officer of the anti-terrorist group Alfa, Senior Lieutenant Viktor Kravchuk were killed as well. Four officers were hurt. In 1990-1991 Polyachenko headed the Organization committee on Nagorno-Karabakh. In summer 1991 the General Prosecution of the USSR initiated a criminal case against him. The former secretary of the CK KPSS on ethnic affairs, Andrey Girenko, remembered: “The position of Polyanichko was firm – to keep Karabakh within Azerbaijan by any means…”
The official investigation of Polyanichko’s murder didn’t bring results.
August 7th – establishing of the Talysh-Mugan Republic was announced in the south of Azerbaijan.
August 11th – the Armenian armed groups attacked the Azeri towns of Fizuli and Jebrail which were situated outside Nagorno-Karabakh.
August 13th – the acting president of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev met a big group of writers, scientists and representatives of local educated layers from the south of the country. The Talysh issue was discussed.
Agust 16th – villages of Gushchular, Gyshlag, Doshulu, Efendilyar, Gradjaly, Balyand, and Suleymanly were occupied.
August 18th – the UN SC adopted the second resolution on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which stressed that “the Council judges the attack on the Fizulin region from the territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, like it previously judged occupation of the Kelbadjar and Aghdam regions of Azerbaijan. The Council demands the ending of all attacks and military actions, bombing and shelling which threaten peace and security in the region and withdrawing all occupational forces from the Fizulin, Kelbadjar, Aghdam and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan. The Council confirms independence and territorial integrity of the Azerbaijani Republic…”
August 21st – the Armenian armed groups occupied the Fizulin region which was situated outside Nagorno-Karabakh. 152 860 Azerbaijanis were expelled. Along with the region’s center, 75 villages, a small town, 86 schools, colleges, 40 kindergartens, 69 libraries, 20 cultural centers, about 865 medical facilities were destroyed.
August 25-26 – the Armenian armed groups occupied the Jebrail region which was situated outside Nagorno-Karabakh. 57 125 Azerbaijanis were expelled.
August 26th – the Armenian side completely occupied the territory of the Gadrut region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
August 28th – the referendum on “Trust to Abulfaz Elchibey” took place in Azerbaijan. 97.5% of citizens voted for his resignation.
August 31st – the Armenian armed groups occupied the Gubadlin region which was situated outside Nagorno-Karabakh. 31 364 Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Russians were expelled. 94 residential areas, 205 cultural-domestic facilities and 12 history monuments were destroyed.
The same day Baku and Stepanakert signed the agreement on cease-fire for 10 days and a meeting between leaders of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh was appointed on September 10th. The agreement didn’t change the situation, but it stopped military activities for seven weeks.
Diplomatic activeness during military inactivity
August 4th – the Secretary General of the UN Boutros-Ghali addressed the chairman of the UN SC to send a group of military observers to the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict.
August 5th – a Russian part of the Joint Commission on Settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict was formed.
August 6th – the first session of the commission which adopted a schedule of withdrawal of Georgian troops took place. The Georgian side promised to withdraw troops by August 9th.
Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua resigned the same day. The official reason for the resignation was the parliament’s rejection of adopting the budget.
August 8th – the UN group of military observers of 17 people came to Sukhumi.
August 9th – the chairman of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba, sent letters to the UN Secretary General and Russian President that the schedule of troops withdrawal was broken by the Georgian side.
August 10th – another session of the Joint Commission took place in Pitsunda. It was decided to withdraw the troops by the end of August 16th.
August 17 – a demonstration devoted to leaving of North Caucasus and Cossack volunteers was held in Gudauta.
August 20th – the only legal means of payment in Georgia was a coupon.
August 22nd – Sochi hosted another session of the Joint Commission. The Georgian side promised to withdraw armor and heavy armaments from the conflict area by September 1st.
August 23rd – Boris Yeltsin met Eduard Shevardnadze.
August 24th – Boris Yeltsin met Vladislav Ardzinba. It was the last active participation of Russian President in the Georgian-Abkhazian problem as actually on September 1st, 1993, an internal political crisis began to develop in Russia.
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The key events of August 1993 took place in the South Caucasus. Military events took place in the zone of the Karabakh conflict and diplomatic events in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. The UN Security Council was actively dealing with both conflicts in August. They adopted two resolutions. The Karabakh resolution was stricter than the Georgian-Abkhaz, moreover, it was the second in one summer. However, the Armenian side didn’t pay attention to the urges of the most powerful organization in the world.
At the same time, to cease another South Caucasian conflict, it was enough to sign the Russian-Georgian-Abkhazian Agreement and the UN resolution on establishing a mission of international observers. What is the reason for different diplomatic efforts and results? I think the point was the position of Yeltsin’s Kremlin. Moscow confirmed that it influenced the South Caucasus’s situation more than the UN SC and international organizations. At that period the Minsk Group of the OSCE was ineffective. 12 countries dealt with settlement of the Karabakh conflict together with Russia. Russian didn’t pay much attention to the conflict. At the same time, Moscow paid close attention to the Georgian-Abkhaz developments. The difference in approaches was obvious.
