The Kodori Valley, also known as the Kodori Gorge (კოდორის ხეობა, ), is a river valley in Abkhazia, Georgia's breakaway autonomous republic. The valley's upper part, populated by Svans, was the only corner of the post-1993 Abkhazia directly controlled by the central Georgian government, which since 2006 officially styles the area as Upper Abkhazia (Geo. ზემო აფხაზეთი, Zemo Apkhazeti). On August 12, 2008, Russo–Abkhazian forces gained control of the Upper Kodori Valley, previously controlled by Georgia.

Description

The Upper Kodori Valley lies in the upper reaches of the Kodori River in northeastern portion of Abkhazia, about 65 km (40 miles) inside an official administrative boundary of the region with the rest of Georgia. It is about 30 km (20 miles) down the coast from Abkhazia's capital Sukhumi. At an elevation of 1,300 to 3,984 meters, the area covers a range of landscapes from coniferous mountain forest to intermittent snow cover. The climate is alpine and winters are snowy. Annual precipitation 1,600 to over 2,000 mm (120 mm in January, 160 mm in April, 180 mm in July and 160 mm in October). Over 30 days with heavy rains per year. Around 180 days with snow cover. Mean temperature: January: -3 C, April: 3 C, July: 14 C and October: 5 C. Mean maximum temperature in July: 28 C. The valley is populated by several upland villages; these are Lata, Omarishara, Shkhara and Zemo Azhara. Administratively, it was de facto and de jure a part of Upper Abkhazia (prior to August 2008), but the Republic of Abkhazia claims it as part of the Gulripshi District. According to the last Georgian census (2002), the population of the former Georgian-controlled part of the valley was 1,956, of which were 1,912 ethnic Georgians (Svans). The population of the Upper Kodori Valley in 2011 was 196, mostly ethnic Georgians (Svans). Russian state media outlet Sputnik claimed there were about 100 people in Azhara in 2020, who mostly engaged in beekeeping and animal husbandry. The residents of Azhara did not have Abkhazian passports.

History

The Abkhazian historic regions of Dal and Tsebelda occupied most of the Kodori Valley before the incorporation of Abkhazia into Russian Empire from 1810 to 1864. Its highland communities were independent of the central authority of Shervashidze-Chachba princes. In the 1840s, Imperial Russian soldiers started a series of massacres and ethnic cleansing. In January 1841, Russian troops massacred the Svan and Georgian populations in Kodori valley, specifically in the village of Dali. It is estimated that 90 Svan surnames went extinct as families were killed and few deported. As a result, the ethnic cleansing continued until the late 19th century, in 1866 the uprising of almost all the Abkhaz of these lands became muhajirs and the now depopulated territory of the former District of Tsebelda was placed under a special "settlement curator." Armenians, Georgians (Megrelians) and Russians populated the lower part of the valley, while Svans settled in its upper part (beyond the village of Lata).

Recent history

Despite the war in Abkhazia ending by September 1993, the battles continued in the Kodori region up to the late March 1994. The village of Lata was taken by Abkhazian forces on March 24 and 25, 1994. According to the Moscow Agreement, signed in May 1994, the ceasefire line was drawn to the north-east of it so, so that the Upper Kodori Valley would remain outside of the control of Abkhazian authorities. Together with the Gali district, it is one of the two areas that remain populated by Georgians in the post-war Abkhazia. Under UMOMIG's (United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia) expanded mandate laid out in Resolution 937 (1994), the mission was given two tasks in the Kodori Valley:

1. Monitor the withdrawal of troops of Georgia from the Kodori Valley to places beyond the boundaries of Abkhazia.
2. Patrol the Kodori Valley regularly. Despite no subsequent real military activity in the Kodori corridor, several dangerous incidents occurred: