CONTENTS OF CHAPTER 1
Nagorno-Karabakh 
Abkhazia 
South Ossetia 
Final Remarks 

History of the Conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia
"According to the Constitution of the former Soviet Union, the Union Republics had the right to secede, but in practice this right seemed to exist only on paper. However, ultimately the dissolution oj the Union took place peacefully; the Union Republics gained independence" [1] (Lauri Hannikainen)

NAGORNO-KARABAKH
In the first century AD, the region that is today the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was part of the province of Artsakh, which belonged to Caucasian Albania. Feudal relations and Christianity developed from the third through to the fifth centuries. In the eariy eighth century, the Arabs conquered Artsakh, as well as all of Albania, and Islam penetrated the area. Until that time Grcgorianism had flourished among the Christian population. Artsakh was part of the Albanian kingdom during the ninth and tenth centuries, only to be invaded by the Scljuk Turks in the middle of the llth century. In the 1230s, Artsakh was conquered by the Mongols, and from that time most of its territory was called Karabakh. During the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, Karabakh was the arena for continuous wars between Iran and Turkey. Panakh Ali-khan founded the Karabakh Khanate in the mid-18th century. To defend it, in the 1750s, he built the Panakhabad fortress (subsequently named Shusha, after a nearby village), which became the capital of the khanate. It was not until 1805 that the Russian Empire gained control over the Karabakh Khanate, from Persia. However, its new status was not to be confirmed until 1813 under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan, when Persia formally ceded Karabakh to the Tsar, itself the culmination of the Russian-Iranian War of 1804-1813. In 1822, the Karabakh Khanate was abolished, after a few years of Russian tolerance towards its Muslim rulers, and a province, with a military administration, was formed.
During the first decade of Russian rule, immigration into Karabakh almost exclusively consisted of Russian military, administrators and traders. However, following the conclusion of the Russian-Iranian War of 1826-1828 and the Treaty of Turkmenchai, of 1828; which led to the incorporation, into the Russian Empire, of eastern Armenia and northern Azerbaijan; a first-wave of mass Armenian immigration into the area began. The first wave consisted of Armenian refugees from the hostilities in Persia. It is estimated that approximately 57000 Armenians migrated to Karabakh and Yerevan province after 1828, while approximately 35 000 Muslims - Azeris, Kurds and Lezgins, and various nomadic tribes - out of a population of 117000 left the area. The Russian-Turkish Wars of 1855-56 and 1877-78 led to further migration. This time Armenians settled in Karabakh and other parts of Tsarist Transcaucasia having left Ottoman Turkey, replacing the many thousands of Muslims who were, at this time, fleeing the Russian Empire. Such migrations, albeit on a lesser scale, were to continue until the end of the nineteenth century.
In 1840, Karabakh w'as made part of Shusha district, Caspian Oblast. In 1846 it became part of Shemakha Province, which was renamed Baku Province in 1859. As from 1868, the administrative structure of the region was radically changed. Karabakh became part of the newly created Elizavetpol Province (Elizavetpol was the new name for Gand-zak, or Ganja), and along with Zangezur region one of its five districts. This situation was to remain until 1917.
Following the October Revolution, Karabakh became part of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan, although its control was hotly disputed by Ottoman and British forces, as well as, of course, Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Eventually, however, the British re-affirmed Azerbaijani jurisdiction over Karabakh by appointing a Muslim governor at Shusha. Shusha had, by this time, come to be regarded by the Armenian people as an Armenian cultural centre and it was not until 28 February 1920 that the Armenian elders of Shusha reluctantly agreed to recognise Azerbaijan's authority. The situation was to alter following the events of 4 April, when a mass exodus of Armenians from Shusha to nearby Khankende (Stepanakert, today the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh), following an Armenian uprising put down by Azeri forces, transformed, almost overnight, Shusha into an Azeri city [2].
During the summer of 1919, the Karabakh Armenians agreed to accept their inclusion in Azerbaijan, subject to a final decision at the Paris Peace Conference, provided the resolution was based on the granting of 'territorial autonomy for all Karabagh and national-cultural autonomy for its Armenian population' [3], Early in 1920, the Peace Conference recognised Azerbaijan's claim to Karabakh [4].
The process of deciding whether Karabakh should remain within Azerbaijan or be adjoined to Armenia can only be described as disrespectful and distasteful to both the Azerbaijani and Armenian people, and provides a typical example of the .disregard and insensitivity of Soviet nationality policy during this time.
On 9 November 1920, Stalin said that Zangezur and Karabakh could not 'be handed back to Dashnak Armenia'. In a resolution adopted by Nariman Narimanov, the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee's president: 'As of today, the old frontiers between Armenia and Azerbaijan arc declared to be non-existent. Mountainous Karabagh, Zangezur and Nakhichevan are recognised to be integral parts of the Socialist Republic of Armenia' [5]. Initial responses were favourable. On 2 December, Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze, Chairman of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) (RCP(B)), described it as 'an historic document unprecedented in the history of humanity'. Stalin's initial response was equally fulsome, on 4 December in Pravda, proclaiming that, 'Soviet Azerbaijan has officially renounced its claim to the disputed territories ... The age old conflict between Armenia and its Muslim neighbours has been settled in one fell swoop' [6]. Ironically, it was Armenia herself that was to renounce its claims to Karabakh in its treaty, later that month, with the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR).
By the spring of 1921, with Karabakh once more Azeri territory, an agreement was signed between the representatives of Soviet Armenia and those of the Red Army which confirmed the Armenian character of Karabakh and Zangezur. This decision, coupled with a resurgence in the dispute between Armenia, Azerbaijan and other Soviet officials, led to the matter being considered by the Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party, which, on 3 June 1921, decreed, in the presence of Narimanov himself, that Mountainous Karabakh belonged to Armenia. This was confirmed, a few days later, by the Armenian government in a decree, published both in Yerevan and Baku, that 'Mountainous Karabakh henceforth constitutes an integral part of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia' [7].
Not surprisingly, the Central Committee of the Azerbaijani Communist Party proved unwilling to surrender Karabakh [8]. This time, however, it had the public support of the Commissariat for Nationality Affairs, at that time headed by one J.V. Stalin. As a result, in early July, the matter was reconsidered by a 'broadened plenum' of the Caucasian Bureau. Not only were Stalin, Narimanov and Ordzhonikidze present, there were also further representatives of each republic, the Soviets, the unions, the army and the railroad administration. At the first meeting, on 4 July, after lengthy discussion, a resolution to transfer Mountainous Karabakh to Armenia was carried, despite Narimanov's opposition [9]. However, Narimanov demanded that the matter be reconsidered by the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party for a final decision. The Bureau accepting his proposal met again the following day, 5 July, and under pressure from Stalin, Ordzhonikidze and Nazaretian, an Armenian Communist, called for a reconsideration of the previous day's resolutions, for which they had voted. They were rescinded and the following resolution was adopted:
'Proceeding from the necessity for national peace among Muslims and Armenians and of the economic ties between upper (mountainous) and lower Karabagh, of its permanent ties with Azerbaijan, mountainous Karabagh is to remain within the borders of the AzSSR [Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic], receiving wide regional autonomy with the administrative centre at Shusha, becoming an autonomous region ...
b) The CC AzCP [Central Committee of the Azerbaijani Communist Party] is entrusted with the delineation of the border of the autonomous oblast1 [10].
At this juncture, it is important to consider, also, the fate of another region, Nakhichevan. In July 1920, the Red Army occupied Nakhichevan and declared it the Nakhichevan Soviet Socialist Republic with 'close ties' to the Azerbaijan SSR. However, in November of that year, a declaration by the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee, celebrating the 'victory of Soviet power in Armenia', proclaimed that both Zangezur and Nakhichevan should be awarded to the Armenian people as a sign of the Azerbaijani people's support for Armenia's fight against the former Dashnak government. Lenin, although welcoming this 'fraternal act', did not agree and called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum. This referendum, held at the beginning of 1921, demonstrated that 'nine-tenths' of the Nakhichevan population wanted to be included in Azerbaijan 'with the rights of an autonomous republic'. Thus, the December 1920 treaty between the RSFSR and Armenia, which recognised Armenian claims to Zangezur, but not to Nakhichevan, was upheld.
In Karabakh, the question of the nature of the autonomy to be granted proved to be more controversial. Narimanov was opposed to the idea of autonomy to protect the Armenian population. Not only did he believe that existing constitutional provisions were adequate, he also felt that a separate administrative unit in Karabakh would only diminish Baku's control there. Thus, according to Narimanov: 'Mountainous Karabagh remains an inseparable part of Soviet Azerbaijan with the right of internal self-rule within the framework of the Soviet Constitution with an oblast executive committee at its head'. In August, however, a campaign was undertaken by Levon Mirzoyan, member of the Azerbaijani Communist Party, to respect the terms of the 5 July resolution.
Finally, at a meeting of the Organisational Bureau of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijani Communist Party, on 24 October 1921, First Secretary Kirov decided to appoint a special commission Tor the delineation of borders for an autonomous part of Karabagh' [11]. This coming just eleven days after the conclusion of the Treaty of Kars [12] (compensation for Armenia for the loss of Nakhichevan?).
It took nearly two years for a settlement to be reached on Karabakh's status. In December 1922, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan Communist Party, in response to a resolution of Ordzhoni-kidze's Zakraikom (Transcaucasus Regional Party Committee), proposing that an autonomous oblast be created in Karabakh, established two further committees. The first was a three-man Central Commission on Karabakh Affairs, the second a seven-man Committee on the Feasibility of Establishing an Autonomous Oblast in Mountainous Karabakh. The seven-man Committee, when it finally reported to the Presidium, recommended that the mountainous part of Karabakh be separated from the lowland areas of historical Karabakh, and become an autonomous unit. This was confirmed by decree on 24 July 1923 [13]. Two years after the disappointment of failing to secure Karabakh for themselves, the Armenian people were to be compensated with the creation of the Autonomous Oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh (AONK) [14].
It is interesting to note that the AONK, for a short time (July 1923, until the establishment of 'Red Kurdistan' in 1924) and at one point, touched the Armenian border. However, because the intention was for the autonomous oblast to exclude as many Azerbaijani villages as possible, the finally agreed boundaries (totalling 4400 sq km) came to separate Nagorno-Karabakh completely from the Armenian SSR [15]. The 'loss' of Karabakh had remained a sore for the Armenian people since 1921. However, it was only the new sense of 'freedom', provided by Gorbachev's policy of perestroika, that enabled the issue, finally, to be raised in public. Of course, once provided with that opportunity, the anger, disappointment and frustration of nearly 70 years was, inevitably, unleashed.
There had been, previously, a few open 'demonstrations'. In 1963, a petition from 2500 Karabakh Armenians was presented to Khrushchev denouncing Azeri chauvinism and 'their' economic policy designed to force Armenians to leave [16]. The petition concluded by calling for Karabakh to be attached either to Armenia or Russia. Khrushchev ignored it and later that year there were clashes in Stepanakert leaving eighteen dead. On 24 April 1965, while government and church officials gathered at the Yerevan opera house to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey, an unofficial demonstration, numbering 100000 people, was held outside calling for the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia [17]. This culminated in the, so called, 'Letter of Thirteen' - the first ever formal missive, addressed to the central authorities in Moscow, on the issue [18]. Finally, in 1977, Sero Khanzatian, a member of the Executive Committee of the Soviet Writers' Union, addressed a strongly worded open letter to Brezhnev, urging the reunification of Karabakh with Soviet Armenia [19].
In order to understand the Caucasus region one must appreciate the 'competing' histories presented by its peoples [20]. It is perhaps hardly surprising that a region which has been so often treated like a piece of plasticine, by its 'colonial masters', should have such a contorted and particularist approach to its past. Thus, it was to be a doctoral dissertation on the history of the region, defended at the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, that was to provide the necessary spark.
Ferida Mamedova's dissertation on Caucasian Albania was accused by the Yerevan literary newspaper, Grakan Ten (Literature Newspaper), of 'falsifying Armenian history'. The former dissident, Andrey Sakharov stoked the flames by claiming that Mamedova's dissertation had been highly selective in its choice of works, only to draw a sharp response from Mamedova's research advisor, Ziya Bunyatov, in the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences quarterly journal (Azerbaijan), entitled: 'A.M. Sakharov, if he does not know the ford, he should not enter the river' [21].
In November 1987, Gorbachev's adviser, Abel Aganbegiyan, in a speech made to Armenian war veterans in Paris, referred to Nakhichevan and Karabakh as 'historic Armenian territory' that should be 'reunited' with Armenia [22]. Not surprisingly this drew a response from Azerbaijan. In February 1988, Azerbaijan published an 'open letter' by Academy member Bakhtiyar Vahabzade and head of Azerbaijani History at Azerbaijan State University, Dr Suleyrnan Aliyarov. This refuted the claims of Aganbegiyan, arguing that Karabakh was once an integral part of Caucasian Albania whose inhabitants were ancestors of Azerbaijani Turks [23].
On 20 February 1988, a session of the 20th convocation of delegates of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast adopted a resolution seeking transfer of Karabakh from Soviet Azerbaijan to Armenia [24]. The Assembly, simultaneously, appealed to the USSR's Supreme Soviet for confirmation. On 13 June 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijani SSR denied the application of the Karabakh Assembly [25], although this was counterbalanced, on 15 June, by Armenia's Supreme Soviet, which approved Karabakh's proposal and appealed to the Soviet government to resolve the matter [26].
On 18 July 1988, the USSR Supreme Soviet, relying on Article 78 of the Soviet Constitution, which prohibited any territorial changes to a Union republic without its consent [27], resolved to leave Nagorno-Karabakh within the structure of Soviet Azerbaijan [28]. However, by the 24 March 1988 resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and subsequent implementing directives from the Soviet government, Arkadiy Volskiy, a high-level official of the Soviet Communist Party, was appointed Moscow's authorised representative in the territory [29]. Beginning on 20 January 1989, the Supreme Soviet established a special authority in Nagorno-Karabakh, headed by Volskiy, which was directly subject to the USSR government [30]. For the first time since 1921, Soviet Azerbaijan's political control over the territory of Karabakh was curtailed. A National Council was formed in the summer of 1989 by authorised representatives of the people.
The USSR Supreme Soviet's resolution of 28 November 1989 abolished the 'Volskiy Commission' [31], and a 15 January 1990 decision replaced it with Soviet Azerbaijan's 'Republic Organisational Committee' (Orgkom) [32]. The stated purpose of this body was to re-establish the erstwhile local Soviets of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the Orgkom, under the direction of the (late [33]) Azerbaijani Communist Party deputy leader, Viktor Polyanichko, in reality, took measures to artificially increase the size of the Azerbaijani community in Nagorno-Karabakh and alter the territory's demographic makeup. A great number of residences were built in Karabakh for Azerbaijani refugees who had fled Armenia between 1988 and 1990. On 26 November 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, having already declared its independence from the USSR (on 30 August) [34], and contravening Articles 86 and 87 of the Soviet Constitution; which codified autonomous region status for Nagorno-Karabakh and prohibited any change therein without its consent; adopted a resolution on the 'Abolition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast' [35]. In so doing, Baku also violated its own law, enacted on 16 June 1987, which regulated relations between itself and Nagorno-Karabakh. This law prohibited infringement of the latter's borders without its explicit consent [36]. Azerbaijan's decision was a 'response' to a 1 December 1989 resolution of Armenia's Supreme Soviet unanimously calling for 'The Reunion of the Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh' [37], and to the 'Declaration of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh', on 2 September 1991 [38]. Karabakh independence,
it should be noted, was declared not from the Soviet Union, but from Azerbaijan (see Chapter 2). On 27 November 1991, the USSR Constitutional Oversight Committee's resolution deemed unconstitutional the Orgkom created by the Supreme Soviet decision of 15 January 1990, as well as the 26 November 1991 Azerbaijani decision abolishing Karaba-kh's autonomy. It also revoked the 1 December 1989 Armenian resolution on 'Reunion' [39]. Thus, Karabakh's prc-1988 status was restored.
On 10 December 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh held its own referendum on independence (following Azerbaijan's, on 18 October 1991) [40]. The vote overwhelmingly 'approved' Karabakh's sovereignty, with 82.2% of Karabakh's registered voters participating (although the Azeri population boycotted the plebiscite) and 99.89% supporting its independence from the already seceded Republic of Azerbaijan [41]. On 28 December 1991, parliament elections were held, and, on 6 January 1992, the newly convened parliament of Karabakh adopted its Declaration of Independence, on the basis of the referendum results [42]. On 20 September 1992, the parliament petitioned the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States and individual countries for recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic [43]. In December 1994, it adopted a resolution establishing the post of president of the republic [44],
Ceasefire brokered on 9 May 1994, according to the terms of the Bishkek Protocol [45].

ABKHAZIA
In the middle of the first millenium BC, the territory that is today Abkhazia (8600 sq km) was part of the kingdom of Colchis. During the fourth through to the sixth century AD, Byzantium gradually brought Abkhazia under its control. In the first half of the sixth century Christianity was introduced into Abkhazia as the official religion. In the 780s, the Abkhazian ruler Leon II liberated the country from Byzantine rule and united all of western Georgia, calling it the Abkhazian kingdom. In the second half of the tenth century, Abkhazia became part of the united feudal state of Georgia. With the decline of feudal Georgia, Abkhazia broke away, at the turn of the 17th century, to become an independent principality. By the second half of the 16th century, Abkhazia, along with all of western Georgia, had fallen under Turkish rule.
Abkhazia first came under the protection of Tsarist Russia in 1810, separate from Georgia. It continued to administer its own affairs until 1864, when Tsarist Russia, finally, after long resistance, defeated the 
Caucasian mountain peoples, transforming the region into the Sukhumi Military District. This had a huge effect on the 'recalcitrant1 Abkhazians, the majority of whom (along with related Circassians and all the Ubykhs) were sent into exile in Ottoman lands in 1877, leaving the northwest Caucasus decimated of its native population. Abkhazian deportations to Ottoman Turkey continued in 1878, following the Russo-Turkish war, due to disagreement with St Petersburg over land reform. By 1886, the population of Abkhazia was as follows (despite deportation): Abkhazians 58961; Mingrelians 3474 [46]; Greeks 2056; Armenians 1337; Russians 972; Estonians 637; Georgians 515 and Others 1460.
In November 1917, the local organs of the Menshevik Transcaucasian Commisariat took power in Abkhazia. In March 1918, under Bolshevik leadership, an armed uprising was instituted, with, on 8 April, the taking of Sukhumi and proclamation of Soviet power. However, the Soviet commune of Abkhazia existed for only 40 days before it was annexed by Georgian Mensheviks, on 17 May 1918. Soviet power was not reestablished until 4 March 1921, with the formation of the Abkhazian Soviet Republic, subsequently recognised by Georgia's revolutionary committee on 21 May. A special 'contract of alliance' was signed between Abkhazia and Georgia on 16 December 1921. Abkhazia and Georgia, together, entered the Transcaucasian Federation on 13 December 1922, and on 30 December 1922, as part of the Transcaucasian Federation, Abkhazia joined the USSR. On 1 April 1925, the Abkhazian Constitution was adopted, enshrining its republican status with treaty ties to Georgia [47].
Abkhazia suffered considerably under Stalin during the 1930s. In February 1931 the status of Abkhazia was reduced to that of an autonomous republic within Georgia. In 1937, the head of the Georgian Communist Party, Lavrenti Beria undertook his 'anti-Abkhazian drive', involving the forced immigration of thousands of non-Abkhazians (especially Mingrelians) into Abkhazia. After Bcria's transfer to Moscow in 1938, anti-Abkhazian measures continued under his successor, Kandi-da Charkviani. The Abkhaz alphabet was changed to a Georgian base. During 1944-45 all Abkhazian schools were closed, replacing them with Georgian schools, and the Abkhaz language was banned from administration and publication. Not until 1953, following the deaths of Stalin and Beria, were the Abkhazian people 'rehabilitated'. A new script, based on Cyrillic, was devised; Abkhazian schools reopened; and administration put back in Abkhazian hands. Indeed, in compensation for the repression, ethnic Abkhazians were allowed over-representation in local offices.
In 1978, 130 Abkhazian intellectuals wrote to Brezhnev to request permission for Abkhazia to secede from Georgia and join Russia, because of 'ongoing' Georgian encroachment on the rights of Abkhazians. In 'compensation', the Abkhazian State University was opened (with Georgian, Russian and Abkhazian sectors) to serve the needs of higher education in western Georgia - a half-hour, twice weekly, Abkhaz television programme was also introduced. Meanwhile, the 130 signatories all lost their jobs. Still, this was followed, 10 years later, in June 1988, by the so-called Abkhazian Letter (this time signed by 60 leading Abkhazians), whose 87 pages detailed why continued 'creeping Kartve-lianisation' [48] of Abkhazia could only be stopped by restoring Abkhazia's 'Union Republic' status of the 1920s 'and' with special treaty ties
with Georgia.
On 18 March 1989, 30000 people signed a petition at a mass meeting at Lykhny (Abkhazia), demanding the restoration of the sovereign status Abkhazia enjoyed before 1931 [49]. Georgian official reaction to these events was very negative [50] and a number of measures were taken to consolidate Georgian power and influence in Abkhazia. Principal among these was the decision to open a branch of Tbilisi State University in Abkhazia's capital Sukhumi. Aimed at undermining the official university, established in 1978, ethnic clashes ensued in Sukhumi and Ocham-chireinJuly 1989 [51].
Nationalist feeling in Georgia rose with the country's own hopes for independence from Russian domination. A State Programme for the Georgian language was published in November 1988 [52] and was adopted by the Georgian Supreme Soviet on 19 August 1989 [53]. The law, which made the teaching of the Georgian language obligatory in all schools, and which required Georgian language and literature tests as pre-requisites for entry into higher education, raised fears of a renewed attempt at Georgianisation. On 25 August 1990, the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet, in the absence of its Georgian deputies, declared the state sovereignty of the Abkhazian SSR; but emphasised its willingness to enter into negotiations with the Georgian government for the formation of a federative relationship which would preserve Georgia's territorial integrity [54]. The following day the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR declared the decision invalid [55]. In December 1990 the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet elected the historian Vladislav Ardzinba as its Chairman.
A major catalyst of tensions between Abkhazia and Georgia was the 17 March 1991 all-union referendum on Gorbachev's 'new' (already into its second draft) Union Treaty (see Chapter 2). While 'Georgia' boycotted 
the vote [56], Abkhazia's non-Georgian population voted 'overwhelmingly' (with 98.6% in favour) to enter the proposed Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics [57]. By participating, Abkhazia had effectively separated itself from Georgia's bid for independence.
In negotiations with the Georgian government of Zviad Gamsakhur-dia, Abkhazian leaders proposed a two-chamber parliament for Abkhazia. One chamber would represent the entire electorate on the basis of proportional representation, the other would represent the various national groups constituting Abkhazia [58]. After protracted negotiations, the Abkhazian leaders agreed to a new election law in Abkhazia which allocated set numbers of parliament seats to each ethnic group. Of the 65 parliament seats, 28 were to be allocated to Abkhazians, 26 to Georgians and 11 to other nationalities. As an additional measure of protection for each of the minority groups, certain decisions were to be taken only with a qualified majority of 75%. In December 1991, a new parliament (Supreme Soviet) was elected on this basis [59].
Within months the parliament was paralysed and had divided into two blocks: that of Georgian deputies, on the one side, and Abkhazian, Armenian, Greek, Russian and other 'minority' deputies on the other [60]. Decisions taken by a majority were repeatedly rejected by the Georgian deputies. This led to a walk-out, on 30 June 1992, by Georgian deputies, who continued to meet in separate quarters [61].
On 21 February 1992, following the overthrow of President Gamsa-khurdia in a coup, the Georgian Military Council reinstated Georgia's 1921, pre-Bolshevik, constitution [62]. On 26 June 1992, Abkhazian President, Vladislav Ardzinba sent a draft treaty to the Georgian State Council which would have provided for federative/confederative relations between Abkhazia and Georgia and the maintenance of Georgia's territorial integrity. The draft contained provisions for the guarantee of rights to all minorities in the territories under Abkhazian and Georgian jurisdiction, and for rejection of use of military force to resolve differences. However, the State Council of Georgia did not reply [63]. Consequently, since no formal status was assigned to Abkhazia under the 1921 Georgian Constitution, on 23 July 1992, Abkhazia reinstated its former Constitution of 1925 [64]. According to Article 4 of the 1925 Constitution, Abkhazia was 'united with the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia on the basis of a special union-treaty'. The 1925 Abkhazian Constitution provided for a federative relationship between the 'two equal republics' of Abkhazia and Georgia. The Georgian Parliament immediately annulled the Abkhazian decision [65].
On 12 August 1992, the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet, again, sent an appeal to Eduard Shevardnadze (by now Chairman of the Georgian State Council) for negotiations on future federative relations between Abkhazia and Georgia [66]. In the appeal, the Abkhazian leadership proposed that discussions should address both the extent of powers and responsibilities of separate Abkhazian and Georgian governments, and future joint (i.e. federal) bodies. They also proposed discussions about the representative structure of union/federal bodies and the procedures for their formation, including the holding of elections.
Consultations between senior leaders of Abkhazia and Georgia continued, but were broken up, on the 14 August, when Shevardnadze sent units of the Georgian National Guard into the region [67].
Shevardnadze argued that the troops had been sent in to put an end to ongoing sabotage and looting, particularly on the railway line, and to look for Georgian officials kidnapped by supporters of ousted Georgian President, Zviad Gamsakhurdia [68]. A few days later, however, Georgian Defence Minister, Tengiz Kitovani claimed that the reason behind the military operation was to put a stop to the 'secessionist' Abkhazian administration of Vladislav Ardzinba [69].
On 30 September 1993, Abkhazian troops, with the assistance of other north Caucasian volunteers, expelled the Georgian forces from Abkhazia [70].
Ceasefire brokered in Moscow on 4 April 1994, according to paragraph 3 of the Declaration on Measures for a Political Settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict.

SOUTH OSSETIA
Tn the second half of the first millennium BC, the territory that is today South Ossetia (3900 sq km) became part of the Iberian (Kartli) state. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, an early feudal state was formed among the ancestors of the Ossetians - the Alani. However, invasions by the Mongol-Tatars, which began in the 1230s, and Tamerlane, in the late 14th century, forced the Ossetians to move to the mountain gorges of the Caucasus, whence they began settling the southern slopes of the mountains.
In 1801, South Ossetia joined the Russian Empire as part of Georgia. After the October Revolution of 1917, the Georgian Mensheviks formed a 'bourgeois' government, 'separating' South Ossetia from Russia. In August 1917, the Union of Revolutionary Working Peasants was established in the village of Ortevi. They took Tskhinvali, but were subsequently forced to retreat. The South Ossetian Organising Bureau of the RCP(B) was formed in the village of Java, on 30 July 1918, and by early 1919 local party committees had been set up throughout the region. The District Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) (ACP(B)) was elected on 12 June 1919, at the First (illegal) Conference of Bolshevik Organisations of South Ossetia. In October 1919, uprisings against the Mensheviks broke out in several areas. On 23 October, rebels in the Roka area proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power and began advancing toward Tskhinvali, but Menshevik forces suppressed the uprising. It was not to be until 8 June 1920 that Soviet power was gained throughout South Ossetia - managing to hold off a Menshevik offensive on 12 June. Following the overthrow of the Menshevik government in Georgia, in February 1921, the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast was formed, as part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic on 20 April 1922.
The Ossetian nationalist movement, Ademon Nykhas (Popular Shrine) was renewed in 1988. One of the earliest incidents that sparked tensions between Ossetians and Georgians was an open letter from its leader, Alan Chochiyev, to the Abkhaz people expressing support for their claims for independence from Georgia [72]. The focus of the movement in South Ossetia was a campaign to enhance the status of South Ossetia as an autonomous oblast. On 10 November 1989, an emergency session of the South Ossetian Oblast Soviet formally requested the Georgian Supreme Soviet to grant the region the status of Autonomous Republic [73]. This, along with, alleged, linguistic discrimination against Georgians, provoked further tension between the 'two' communities. In response, groups of Georgians held a series of 'friendship meetings' in South Ossetian villages to discuss the independence of Georgia and the rights of Georgians in South Ossetia. However, if anything, these only fuelled tensions [74].
On 23 November 1989, Georgians planned a march on Tskhinvali (capital of South Ossetia). The gathering of between 12-15000 was stopped from entering the city by Ossetians, along with militia and soldiers from the 8th regiment of the Soviet Army. Violence ensued for two days: hospitalising 140, and killing 6 [75].
The violence subsided, but South Ossetian demands for more autonomy intensified in the autumn of 1990. Georgia, preparing for its first multi-party elections [76], had adopted, in the August, a law banning parties whose activities were not Georgia-wide [77]. South Ossetia's Oblast Soviet, viewing this as an attempt to prevent Ademon Nykhas from participating in the elections, responded, on 20 September 1990, by adopting a resolution on South Ossetia's sovereignty as a democratic republic within the USSR [78]. In December the South Ossetians held elections for deputies to a republic supreme soviet, which under Georgian law had no legal foundation [79]. The Georgian government annulled the elections, and, on 11 December 1990, adopted a resolution abolishing the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast [80]. The Georgian government declared a state of emergency in the Tskhinvali and Java districts on 12 December [81].
On 7 January 1991, USSR President, Mikhail Gorbachev issued a decree that declared unconstitutional both Tskhinvali's sovereignty and Tbilisi's state of emergency declarations, and ordered all armed units except USSR MVD troops to withdraw from the Autonomous Oblast [82]. The Georgian government rejected Gorbachev's decree, calling it 'gross interference in Georgia's internal affairs and encroachment on its territorial integrity', and "refused to withdraw its police units [83].
Chaos and urban warfare raged in Tskhinvali for the following three weeks. After informal negotiations with the USSR MVD, the Georgian militia withdrew from Tskhinvali on 26 January 1991 [84]: the armed conflict, however, continued sporadically throughout 1991. Soon after the overthrow of Gamsakhurdia on 19 January 1992, the South Ossetians participated in a referendum on the independence of South Ossetia from Georgia, in which the vast majority of voters favoured independence (from Georgia) and unification with Russia [85]. The Georgian government vehemently objected to the resolution which it considered a clear infringement of the territorial integrity of Georgia [86].
Ceasefire brokered on 24 June 1992, according to the terms of the Sochi Agreement [87].

NOTES
[1] L. Hannikainen, 'Self-Determination and Autonomy in International Law', in: M.
Suksi (ed.), Autonomy: Applications and Implications, The Hague, Kluwer Law
International, 1998, 79-95 at 84-85. 
[2] The sacking of Shusha by Azeri forces resulted in the burning of hundreds of
homes.
According to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Third Edition, 1970), these events contributed to the death of 2096 of the city's population. Subsequently, only a few Armenian families remained. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 17, London, Collier Macmillan, 1973, p. 301. 
[3] See A.L. Altstadt, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule, Stanford, California, Hoover Institution Press, 1992, p. 102. 
[4] It is interesting to note the words of Anastas Mikoyan, member of the Transcaucasus Regional Party Committee (Zakraikom), in a report he wrote to Lenin dated 22 May 1919: 'The unification of Karabagh to Armenia would mean, for the population of Karabagh, deprivation of their source of life in Baku and being tied to Erevan, with which they have never had any kind of connection'.
[5] See C.J. Walker, Armenia and Karabagh: The Struggle for Unity, London, Minority Rights Group, 1991, p. 105.
[6] Ibid, p. 106.
[7] Ibid, p. 107.
[8] On 27 June, the Political Bureau of the Azerbaijan Communist Party voted to refuse to hand over Mountainous Karabakh to Armenia on the grounds that the economy of the region was more closely linked to Azerbaijan.
[9] Four votes were taken: 1) Karabakh, in its entirety, should go to the Azerbaijan SSR (3 in favour, 4 against); 2) a plebiscite of both nationalities should be held in Karabakh (2 in favour, number against not given); 3) the mountainous part of Karabakh should be given to Armenia (4 in favour, number against not given); and 4) a plebiscite should be conducted of the Armenian population only (5 in favour, number against not given). Resolutions 3 and 4 were carried, see: A.L. Altstadt, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule (Stanford, California, Hoover Institution Press, 1992), p. 271, Footnote 79.
[10] According to Obrazovanie (Education) (p. 92), the vote was carried with four votes in favour, there were three abstentions. Ten were present. Ibid, p. 118.
[11] See A.L. Altstadt, 'Nagorno-Karabakh - 'Apple of Discord' in the Azerbaijan SSR', Central Asian Survey, 1 (1988) pp. 63-78 at 66.
[12] The Treaty of Kars, signed by the government of Turkey and the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian Soviet Socialist Republics, on 13 October 1921, placed Nakhichevan, formerly claimed by Armenia, under the protection of Azerbaijan. Article 5 provided: 'Le Gouvernement Turc et les Gouvernements des Soviet d'Armenie et d'Azerbaidjan sont d'accord que la region de Nahilchevan, dans les limites specifiees par PAnnexe III du present traite, constitue un territorie autonome sous la protection d'Azerbaidjan'. Original French text can be found at: <http://www.mfa.gov.tn80/GRUPT/ermel.php>
[13] On 1 August, Khankende replaced Shusha as the capital of Karabakh.
[14] Its name was changed to Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1937.
[15] It should be noted, however, that the proximate and overwhelmingly Armenian-populated districts of Shamkor, Khanlar, Dashkesan and Shaumian (to the north) had not been incorporated into the Autonomous Oblast.
[16] See S. Goldenberg, Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post-Soviet Disorder, London, Zed Books, 1994, p. 161.
[17] Ibid,pp. 139 and 161.
[18] Armenian Center for National and International Studies, Nagomo-Karabagh - A White Paper, Yerevan, Armenian Center for National and International Studies, 1997, p. 6.
[19] See D.M. Lang and C.J. Walker, The Armenians, London, Minority Rights Group, revised edition, 1987, p. 12.
[20] The history of Nagorno-Karabakh is disputed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Each claim that the region historically belongs to them. According to Azeri historians, Karabakh was originally part of Caucasian Albania, an early Christian state west of the Caspian with its own separate Christian Church, and that this state was a predecessor to modern Azerbaijan. Armenian historians claim that as early as the 4th century BC, the region was part of a great Armenian kingdom, a province known as Artsakh.
It should be noted that the name 'Gharabagh' (transliteration from the Armenian) comes from the Turkish: 'ghara' (kara) meaning 'dark' or 'black', and 'bagh' (bahce) meaning 'vineyard' or 'garden'. 'Nagornyy' (transliteration from the Russian) means 'mountainous'. 
[21] See A.L. Altstadt, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identify Under Russian Rule, Stanford, California, Hoover Institution Press, 1992, pp. 195 and 293, footnote 16. 
[22] Aganbegiyan's speech was reported in L'Hutnaniie on 18 November 1987. 
[23] They noted that in the same way as Azerbaijan had relinquished its claim to Zangezur, so Armenians should accept that Karabakh would remain a part of Azerbaijan: not that Karabakh was Armenian in the first place. See A.L. Altstadt, The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule, Stanford, California, Hoover Institution Press, 1992, pp. 195-196. 
[24] See (Combined Reports) (SU/0084 B/l, 25 Feb. 1988): 'Razumovskiy visits Nagorno-Karabakh to discuss extremists'activities'. 
[25] For text see (Izvestia, Moscow, in Russian, 19 June 1988, p. 2) (Current Digest of the Soviet Press, vol. XL, no. 25, 1988, p. 7) 
[26] See (Izvestiya, Moscow, in Russian, morning edition, 17 June 1988) (SU/0181 B/12, 18 June 1988): 'Armenian Supreme Soviet on Nagornyy Karabakh'. 
[27] Article 78 of the USSR Constitution of 1977 stated: The territory of a Union Republic may not be altered without its consent. The boundaries between Union Republics may be altered by mutual agreement of the Republics concerned, subject to ratification by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics', see: H. Hannum (ed.)5 Documents on Autonomy and Minority Rights, Dordrecht, Martinus NijhofT, 1993,
pp. 743-753 at 747. 
[28] For text see (Tass, Moscow, in English, 1405 gmt, 19 July 1988) (SU/0209 B/5, 21 July 1988). 
[29] Resolution entitled: 'The means for accelerating social-economic development in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijani SSR for 1988-95'. see (Soviet Television, Moscow, in Russian, 1800 gml, 24 March 1988) (SU/0110 B/l, 26 March 1988): Tolitburo meeting: party recruitment, grain production,
Nagorno-Karabakh, foreign economic activity, Gorbachev's visit to Yugoslavia'. 
[30] See (Moscow Home Service, Moscow, in Russian, 1600 gmt, 18 Jan. 1989) (SU/0364 B/4, 21 Jan. 1989): "Reaction in Nagornyy Karabakh to Presidium Decree'. 
[31] For text see (Tass. Moscow, in Russian, 1842 gmt, 28 Nov. 1989) (SU/0627 C/l, 30 Nov. 1989) 
[32] For text see (Tass, Moscow, in Russian, 1910 gmt, 15Jan. 1990) (SU/0664 B/l, 17
Jan. 1990) 
[33] Viktor Polyanichko, (at the time) head of the interim administration in the North Ossetian (Prigorodnyy Rayon) state of emergency zone, was assassinated, in North Ossetia, on 2 August 1993. see (Combined Reports) (SU/1758 B/2, 4 August 1993): 'Allegations on responsibility for killings in North Osetia'. 
[34] See (Tass, Moscow, in Russian, 1659 gmt, 30 August 1991) (SU/1165 I, 31 August 1991): 'Azerbaijan declares independence'. 
[35] See (Combined Reports) (SU/1241 B/6, 28 Nov. 1991): 'Azerbaijan abolishes Nagornyy Karabakh'.
[36] Armenian Center for National and International Studies, Nagorno-Karabagh - A White Paper, Yerevan, Armenian Center for National and International Studies,1997, p. 8. 
[37] For text see (Yerevan International Service, Yerevan, in Armenian, 1630 gmt, 3 Dec. 1989) (SU/0632 B/l, 6 Dec. 1989). 
[38] For text see (Armenian Radio, Yerevan, in Armenian. 1730 gmt, 2 Sep. 1991) (SU/
1170 B/13, 6 Sep. 1991).
[39] For text see (Tass World Service, in Russian, 1806 gmt, 27 Nov. 1991) (SU/1242 Cl/1,29 Nov. 1991) [40] The following question was asked: 'Do you agree to the formation of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic within the structure of the USSR or its legal successor'. (Armenpress, Yerevan, in Armenian, 1215 gmt, 10 Dec. 1991) (SU/1253 B/12, 12 Dec. 1991). see (Combined Reports) (SU/1253 B/12, 12 Dec. 1991) 
[41] See (Russian Radio, Moscow, in Russian, 2200 gmt, 13 Dec. 1991) (SU/1256 B/9,
16 Dec. 1991) 
[42] See (Radio Yerevan, Yerevan, in Armenian, 1630 gmt, 6 Jan. 1992) (SU/1272 B/8, 8
Jan. 1992): 'Nagornyy Karabakh parliament appeals for recognition'. 
[43] See (ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow. World Service, in English, 1956 gmt, 23
Sep. 1992) (SU/1496 Cl/2, 26 Sep. 1992): 'Armenian President addresses UN
General Assembly'. 
[44] See (Moscow, ITAR-TASS, in English, 1816 gmt, 21 Dec. 1994) (FBIS-SOV-94-
246): 'Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament institutes Presidency1. 
[45] See (Combined Reports) (SU/1995 F/l, 12 May 1994): 'Russian envoy Kazimirov on Karabakh peace settlement'. 
[46] The history and current state of the Mingrelian people is a hotly disputed matter in Georgia. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Third Edition, 1970) describes them as follows: 'Georgians who in the past occupied the central and foothill regions of  ancient Colchis; they now live in the right-bank regions of the Rioni River and the basins of the Khobi. Inguri and other rivers [i.e. western Georgia], and in tightly
knit groups in Abkhazia and a number of other regions (oblasts) of the Georgian SSR. The Georgian Mingrelian tribes, together with the Kart, Svan, and other tribes, in ancient times constituted the basis for the formation of the Georgian people. The Mingrelians now speak Georgian, although they still speak Mingrelian
in the home; until recently, they also preserved distinctive features of Mingrelian culture and way of life'. Great Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 15, London, Collier Macrnillan, 1973, p. 668. 
[47] For text see Komiitytsia Sotsialisticheskoy Soveiskoy Respublikiy Abkhaziiy, Su-
khum, 1992. 
[48] Georgian, a Kartvelian language, belongs to a separate linguistic family to Abkhaz,
an Iberio-Caucasian language. 
[49] See (Combined reports) (SU/0425 I, 4 April 1989): 'Demand in Abkhazia for secession from Georgia rejected'. 
[50] See (Izvestiya, Moscow, in Russian, 1 April 1989) (SU/0425 B/2, 4 April 1989): 'Georgian rejection of Abkhazian secession demands'. 
[51] See (Tass, Moscow, in English, 1354 gmt, 16 July 1989) (SU/0511 B/l, 18 July 1989): 'Georgian-Abkhaz fighting in Sukhumi'; and successive reports until (SU/
0519, 27 July 1989) 
[52] See (Moscow Home Service, Moscow, in Russian, 12 Nov. 1988) (SU/0309 I, 15
Nov. 1988): 'A draft state programme on the Georgian language'. 
[53] See (Moscow Home Service, Moscow, in Russian, 19 August 1989) (SU/0540 I. 21
August 1989): 'Stale programme on Georgian language adopted'. 
[54] See (Combined Reports) (SU/0853 I, 27 August 1990): 'Abkhaz sovereignty
declaration leads to protest action'. 
[55] See (Tass, Moscow, in Russian, 1416 gmt, 27 August 1990) (SU/0855 B/3, 29 August 1990): 'Georgia declares Abkhaz sovereignty decision invalid". 
[56] See (Tass, Moscow, in English, 1814 gmt, 28 Feb. 1991) (SU/1010 B/l, 2 March 1991): 'Georgia not to participate in Union Referendum'.

FINAL REMARKS
The outbreak of hostilities in Abkhazia is 'simple' to identify: 14 August 1992. I believe it is impossible, however, to identify quite when the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia started - so long had they been smouldering/periodically flaring-up (and 'down').
I have deliberately avoided discussing the course of the respective conflicts. I do not believe it to be germane to the work.

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