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attacked by the Ingush. And, both of the peoples faced with a new phenomenon 
emerged as a serious problem for the peoples of the North Caucasus: the refugee 
problem. 
Beyond that, as the most destructive consequence, the conflict, to a great 
extent, ruined the unity of the North Caucasian peoples that was institutionalized in 
the Confederation. As Shanibov stressed it direct confrontation among the two of 
its component parts caused a serious damage on the prestige of the Confederation, 
and resulted with a terrible moral defeat on the Confederation’s work. The 
Confederation’s intention to work, as a peacemaking and peacekeeping entity, has 
been blocked by its own constituent members, and as a result, considerably reduced 
the power of the Confederation.
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Nevertheless, the existence of a new conflict, at that time with an outside 
power, namely Georgia, did cause a dead blow to the Confederation, and, all the 
attention was turned toward Abkhazia. 
 
4- The Abkhaz-Georgian conflict:
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Abkhazia had always been the Achilles heel of the Caucasian unity in 
1990s and as it was stressed several times by the leaders of the Assembly and the 
                                                 
599
 Şenibe, Birliğin Zaferi, 54. 
600
 For the Abkhaz-Georgian dispute see B.G. Hewitt, “Abkhazia: a problem of identity and 
ownership,”  Central Asian Survey, 12(3): 267-323 and in Transcaucasian Boundaries, John F.R. 
and et. al., eds., 1996. London: 190-225. Gueorgui Otyrba, “War in Abkhazia: The Regional 
Significance of the Georgian-Abkhazian Conflict,” in Roman Szporluk ed., 1994. National Identity 
and Ethnicity in Russia and the New States of Eurasia, New York: 281-309; B. Coppieters, 
Georgians and Abkhazians: The Search for a Peace Settlement, available from the Internet: 
www.vub.ac.be/polı/publi.; Stanislav Lakoba, “Abkhazia is Abkhazia,” Central Asian Survey, 
14(1): 97-106. John Colarusso, “Abkhazia,” Central Asian Survey, 14(1): 75-96. 

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Confederation, the peoples of the North Caucasus and even the other small peoples 
of the former Soviet Union saw their destiny in the fate of Abkhazia. By helping 
the struggle of Abkhazia, the peoples of the North Caucasus gained a sense of 
regional identity and the Confederation of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus 
acquired an immediate and concrete task true to the meaning of its existence. 
 
As it was in the case of South Osetia, the Abkhaz strongly opposed the 
emerging nationalist policies and actions of the Georgians, and in return to the 
election of Zviad Gamsakhurdia as the President of the Republic of Georgia in 
October 1990, they elected an Abkhaz nationalist, Vladislav Ardzinba to the 
chairman of the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet. 
Again similar to the South Osetian case, a major catalyst of tensions was 
the March 1991 all-union referendum. The Abkhaz, despite the existence of 
Georgian threats, took part in all-union referendum and voted in favour of the 
preservation of the union. Then, while the Georgia had declared its secession from 
the Soviet Union and independence on 9 April 1991, the Abkhaz, in response, 
declared their intent to become the part of the Soviet Union. 
During the course of the last months of 1991, the parties mainly negotiated 
on the proposal of the Abkhaz for the two-chamber parliament for Abkhazia. 
Despite the opposition from the Georgian side, the Abkhaz organized elections in 
October and December 1991 for this parliament. However, within the months, the 
parliament was paralyzed owing to the formation of two blocks: that of the 
Georgian deputies on the one side and the other ethnic groups’ deputies on the 
other. The Georgian deputies repeatedly rejected decisions that were taken by a 

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majority of votes. These disagreements led to a walkout by Georgian deputies who 
continued to meet in separate quarters. 
During this chaos, inter-Georgian tensions increased and descended into 
open warfare in Tiflis over the period of the last days of 1991 and the beginning of 
1992. An elected president Zviad Gamsakhurdia fled to Chechnya and the Military 
Council of Sigua-Kitovani-Ioseliani was set up. Then in March 1992, 
Shevardnadze was brought in Tiflis and quickly made head of State Council, which 
run Georgia until the elections on 11 October 1992. The arrival of Shevardnadze 
obtained international recognition of Georgia, which implied the recognition of the 
borders, claimed by that country’s government and therefore the inclusion of 
Abkhazia in its territory. 
Meanwhile following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia proceeded 
to adopt its constitution of 1921, which made no reference to Abkhazia. The 
Abkhaz saw the adoption of this constitution together with the earlier nullification 
of its borders with Georgia, as a further downgrading of its already intolerable 
status. 
In June 1992, president Ardzinba of Abkhazia sent a draft treaty to the 
Georgian State Council in which a federative or confederative solution to the 
problem was suggested, which would safeguard Georgia’s territorial integrity. The 
draft contained provisions for the guarantee of the rights of all minorities in the 
territories under the Abkhazian and Georgian jurisdiction, and for rejection of the 
use of military force to resolve differences. The Georgian leadership nevertheless 
did not reply. 
 

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