Vanda|s of the end of the kkth century by Lrmo|ay k Adzh|ndzha|

uurlng Lhe SovleL perlod Abkhazla was a communlsL colony of a unlLary Ceorgla 1he colonlal reglme of Lhe
Ceorglan meLropolls ln Abkhazla was dlfferenL from all oLher forms of LoLallLarlan sLrucLures slnce here Lhe
colonlal pollcy was dlrecLed only agalnsL eLhnlc Abkhazlans ln Lhe 1930s Lhe mosL educaLed and consclous
represenLaLlves of Lhe Abkhazlan naLlon were execuLed Lhe Abkhazlan scrlpL was replaced by Lhe Ceorglan
one Leachlng aL Abkhazlan schools was changed lnLo Lhe Ceorglan language and lL was sLrlcLly forbldden Lo
Leach Abkhazlan hlsLory aL schools All Abkhazlan Loponyms were LoLally georglanlzed Abkhazlan hlsLory was
falslfled and arLlflclally ascrlbed Lo Ceorglan hlsLory Abkhazlan names underwenL LoLal georglanlzaLlon 8uL
whaL ls more lmporLanL a greaL number of Ceorglans mosLly from wesLern reglons and Lhe lnLerlor of
Ceorgla were ln an organlzed way reseLLled ln Abkhazla (Lhrough a speclal body AbkhazlanspereselensLrol
whlch was creaLed for Lhls purpose) When Lhe whole SovleL counLry was selflessly flghLlng agalnsL fasclsm and
was puLLlng all lLs resources lnLo Lhe fronL Abkhazla was sufferlng Ceorglan colonlzaLlon Pouses wlLh very
comforLable faclllLles for Lhose days were bullL for Lhe seLLlers ColonlzaLlon ln a more concealed way lasLed Llll
1992 1he colonlal auLhorlLles dld everyLhlng Lhey could Lo asslmllaLe Lhe Abkhazlans who consequenLly
became an lnslgnlflcanL mlnorlLy ln Lhelr own moLherland 8y Lhe 1980s Lhe Abkhazlans consLlLuLed only 17
of Lhe LoLal populaLlon of Lhe counLry
1he Ceorglan war of aggresslon agalnsL Lhe Abkhazlans ln 19921993 became Lhe apogee of Lhe colonlal pollcy
of Ceorgla ln Abkhazla 1hls war was of a speclflc characLer as well 8y Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe war because of Lhe
sysLemaLlc asslmllaLlon of Abkhazla by Lhe Ceorglan slde Lhe number of Ceorglans equaled Lhe LoLal number of
all oLher eLhnlc groups Abkhazlans Armenlans 8usslans Creeks !ews and oLhers 1he Ceorglan dlaspora ln
Abkhazla as a llfLh column succumbed Lo lnLenslve nazl propaganda Look up arms (ln some cases volunLary
ln some forclbly) and parLlclpaLed ln Lhe war supporLlng Lhe Ceorglan occupaLlon forces 1hese qulsllngs
foughL agalnsL Lhelr nelghbours acqualnLances coworkers and compaLrloLs 1herefore clvll war ln Abkhazla
ln whlch nelghbours kllled each oLher lasLed 14 monLhs Cruel and lnhumane behavlour by Lhe Ceorglan
occupaLlon forces ls demonsLraLed by Lhe sLaLemenL of Lhe Commander ln Chlef of Lhe Ceorglan army Ceorgl
karkarashvlll LhaL he ls ready Lo sacrlflce Lhe llves of one hundred Lhousand Ceorglans ln order Lo desLroy all
Lhe Abkhazlans"
War ls war lL ls always accompanled by cruelLy ln[usLlce and of course crlmes 8uL Lhls war wlLnessed one
evenL whlch has no analogues ln Lhe hlsLory of all wars aL all Llmes AL Lhe lnlLlaLlve of Lhe sclenLlsLs from
1blllsl Lhe Ceorglan occupaLlon mlllLary and clvll leadershlp ln Sukhum wlLhouL any mlllLary necesslLy far from
Lhe fronL llne and ln Lhe cenLre of Lhe occupled clLy commlLLed an unprecedenLed crlme Cn 22nd CcLober
1992 aL four pm Ceorglan soldlers slmulLaneously seL Lwo bulldlngs on flre Lhe Abkhazlan SLaLe Archlve and
Lhe lnsLlLuLe of PumanlLles ln several days boLh bulldlngs burnL Lo ashes!!! Slnce Lhere ls no precedenL for
such a crlme ln world hlsLory l would llke Lo Lell Lhe reader ln deLall how lL happened 1here were wlLnesses
who saw represenLaLlves of Lhe Ceorglan occupaLlon auLhorlLles carrylng gasollne cans lnLo Lhe bulldlngs of
Lhe SLaLe Archlve Lhe SLaLe 1heaLre 1he SLaLe Museum and Lhe Abkhazlan lnsLlLuLe before Lhe 22nd of
CcLober ln order Lo commlL arson ln Lhe fuLure
Powever Lhe bulldlngs of Lhe SLaLe 1heaLre and Lhe SLaLe Museum were saved aL Lhe lnslsLence of Lwo
Ceorglans Cne Ceorglan acLor named !alanl convlnced Lhe arsonlsLs LhaL Lhere was no polnL ln burnlng Lhe
LheaLre bulldlng slnce only Lhe Ceorglan acLors remalned Lhere and LhaL Lhe Abkhazlan Lroupe had escaped Lo
CudauLa and would never come back and so on 1he museum bulldlng was rescued due Lo Lhe facL LhaL a
Ceorglan named Akhalala who also had lnfluence on Lhe occupaLlon auLhorlLles llved ln Lhe aparLmenL
bulldlng nexL Lo Lhe museum Akhalala managed Lo convlnce Lhe arsonlsLs LhaL ln Lhe evenL of burnlng Lhe
museum bulldlng Lhe house he llved ln would burn as well 8uL leL us Lake a look aL Lhe arson lLself
AfLer Lwo monLhs of occupaLlon of Sukhum by Lhe Ceorglan SLaLe Councll forces on CcLober 22nd 1992 armed
soldlers hlghranklng mlllLary offlcers and clvll servanLs appeared near Lhe bulldlngs of Lhe SLaLe Archlve and
Lhe lnsLlLuLe AL Lwo slmulLaneous commands Lhe soldlers enLered Lhese Lwo bulldlngs and seL Lhem on flre
When flre appeared and Lhe smoke wenL up people began Lo approach Lhe bulldlng and Lo express Lhelr
ouLrage As a resulL Lhe soldlers opened flre Lo dlsperse Lhe angry crowd lor example near Lhe lnsLlLuLe
bulldlng Lhey wounded a sLaff member of Lhe museum archeologlsL nlcolal Shenkao LvenLually Lhe crowd
was all dlspersed
Concernlng Lhe SLaLe Archlve 8ulldlng Lhe flre was exLlngulshed by Lhe resldenLs of Lhe nelghbourlng blocks
When Lhe Ceorglan leadershlp enqulred abouL Lhls Lhey senL Lhelr soldlers Lo Lhe arson slLe and as ln Lhe
slLuaLlon aL Lhe lnsLlLuLe Lhe soldlers dlspersed Lhe crowd wlLh machlne gun shoLs Cn Lhe slLe of Lhe SLaLe
Archlve Lhe soldlers were Lurnlng up Lhe ashes wlLh long lron hooks Lo make sure LhaL no slngle sheeL of
archlve maLerlal was lefL 1he Ceorglan mlllLary performed Lhe shameful Lask asslgned Lo Lhem by Lhelr
leadershlp for several days Lwo bulldlngs of unlversal lmporLance were burnL ln occupled Sukhum far from
Lhe fronL llne!!!
8y Lhe way l would llke Lo noLe LhaL before Lhe bulldlngs were burnL l had been ln Sukhum and had an
opporLunlLy Lo go lnslde Lhe lnsLlLuLe bulldlng All doors had been broke open and all bookshelves had been
flred aL 1he carLrldge cases were scaLLered on Lhe floor LmpLy boLLles of wlne were scaLLered all over 1he
vandals had apparenLly celebraLed Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of Lhelr barbarlan plan As soon as l managed Lo cross
Lhe CumlsLa 8lver whlch represenLed Lhe fronLal llne aL LhaL Llme l wroLe an arLlcle abouL Lhls and publlshed lL
ln Lhe local newspaper

umlLry Culla Abkhazlan 8esearch lnsLlLuLe of PlsLory Language and LlLeraLure

As Lo Lhe lnformaLlon abouL Lhls crlme lL was all perverLed by Lhe Ceorglan propaganda 1blllsl ldeologlcal machlne
prompLly and cynlcally lnformed Lhe whole world LhaL Lhe Lwo bulldlng had been burnL by Lhe Abkhazlans!!! 1wo days afLer
Lhls barbarlan crlme aL Lhe meeLlng of Ceorglan arllamenL aLLended by Shevardnadze and forelgn guesLs rofessor
Alekseldze reporLed Lo Lhe audlLorlum LhaL Lhe Abkhazlans became so lnsane LhaL Lhey noL only play fooLball uslng heads
of execuLed Ceorglans as balls buL Lhey also burn Lhelr own academlc lnsLlLuLlons ln order Lo blame Ceorglans for Lhls
Pe also added 1hank Cod we reporLed Lo Lhe world academlc cenLers lncludlng unLSCC abouL Lhls vandallsm
commlLLed by Lhe Abkhazlans
llrsLly how could Lhey reporL abouL Lhls Lo Lhe world on Lhe Lhlrd day afLer Lhe arson when Lhese bulldlngs especlally Lhe
SLaLe Archlve were burnlng Lhree more days?
Secondly how could Lhe Abkhazlans burn Lhelr academlc lnsLlLuLlon bulldlngs ln Sukhum lf no Abkhazlans (excepL for some
collaboraLlonlsLs servlng Lhe occupanLs) cold freely move around Lhe clLy sLreeLs and everybody was checked and
conLrolled by Lhe occupaLlon forces 8uL LhaL ls noL all Cne 8usslanlanguage Ceorglan wrlLer who llved ln Moscow and
was Lhe edlLor of Lhe uruzhba narodov (eoples' frlendshlp) magazlne spread Lhe fable LhaL Lhe Abkhazlans burnL Lhelr
own academlc cenLers because Lhere were documenLs provlng LhaL Lhe Abkhazlans descenL from Lhe Ceorglans lL ls
dlfflculL Lo say whaL ls more cynlcal such sLaLemenLs or Lhe acL of arson of Lhe academlc lnsLlLuLlons!!!
unforLunaLely very few people ouLslde Abkhazla know abouL Lhls barbarlan crlme eople slmply refuse Lo belleve ln lL
1he maln reason for Lhls ls Lhe lle Ceorglans spread globally abouL Lhe Abkhazlans lL ls proved by Lhe case LhaL happened
Lo me ln 2002 aL Lhe SeparaLlsm and lederallsm secLlon of Lhe lnsLlLuLe of LLhnology of Lhe 8usslan lederaLlon Academy
of Sclences where l was lnvlLed When lL was my Lurn Lo dellver my reporL l sald LhaL l represenL Lhe lnsLlLuLe whlch had
been burnL by Lhe Ceorglan occupanL durlng Lhe war on CcLober 22nd 1992 Many of Lhose presenL percelved my words
as an unfalr lnsulL of Lhe Ceorglan naLlon AL Lhe requesL of Lhe dlrecLor of Lhe lnsLlLuLe v1lshkov one of Lhe sclenLlsLs
shamed me saylng LhaL ?ou Lhe Abkhazlans Lhlnk LhaL we wlll belleve you when you spread such fables 8uL we know
LhaL Lhe Ceorglans do noL burn academlc bulldlngs eLc l found myself ln a very embarrasslng slLuaLlon And Lhen l asked
Lhe former sclenLlflc assoclaLe of our lnsLlLuLe CLezhava (eLhnlc Ceorglan) who aL LhaL momenL was worklng aL Lhe
lnsLlLuLe of Lhe LLhnology Ceorgl laLonovlch do you also Lhlnk LhaL l lle? AfLer all you were worklng Lhere aL LhaL Llme
Pe sald ?ou are rlghL Lrmolay l Lell Lhem Lhe same Lhlng buL Lhey do noL belleve me WhaL can be done ln Lhls
slLuaLlon? 1oLal decepLlon up Lo unLSCC had lLs resulL 1he commlLLed crlme had no analogues ln Lhe world hlsLory 1he
acLlons of Lhe Ceorglan occupanLs can only be compared Lo Lhe arson of Lhe 1emple of ArLemls aL Lphesus by PerosLraLus
ln 336 8C!
And whaL an lrremedlable damage was done Lo Abkhazla? Mllllons of pages of unlque havlng no dupllcaLes hlsLorlc
lnformaLlonal documenLs relaLed Lo Lhe perlod aL leasL from Lhe Llme when Abkhazla [olned 8ussla (1810) up Lo Lhe end of
1970s have been burnL Lo ashes and are losL forever 1hese documenLs covered all spheres of Lhe llfe of Abkhazla 1he
Archlve conLalned unlque maLerlals noL only abouL Abkhazla buL also abouL Lhe norLh Caucasus Ceorgla lLself 8ussla
1urkey and oLher counLrles 1hls vandallsm harmed noL only hlsLorlcal researchers buL also all clLlzens of Abkhazla who
were noL able Lo cerLlfy some facLs from Lhelr llves lf Lhlnk abouL Lhe sclenLlsLs Lhey were deprlved of Lhe opporLunlLy Lo
use archlval daLabase and lL meanL a real caLasLrophe for Lhem

Lrmolay Adzhlndzhal and Abesalom Lepsaya hoLo by v A Chlrlkba
8efore Lhe war l had been researchlng Lhe hlsLory of ChrlsLlanlLy ln Abkhazla and l had Lo work aL Lhe SLaLe
Archlve of Abkhazla many Llmes l remember several large rooms whlch were fllled up Lo celllng by Lhe huge
amounL of maLerlals and Lhls was only on Lhe hlsLory of rellglon And Lhere were so many oLher maLerlals! ln
Lhe Abkhazlans lnsLlLuLe bulldlng Lhere were also many maLerlals on Lhe resulLs of Lhe fleld expedlLlons
especlally unpubllshed monographs arLlcles and collecLed reporLs and oLher works by eLhnographers
hlsLorlans archeologlsLs and so on l am ouLraged by Lhe calm aLLlLude Lo Lhls evenL of many academlclans
who had worked aL Lhe lnsLlLuLe lLself and by Lhe lack of adequaLe reacLlon from Lhe lnLellecLuals 1hey
apparenLly do noL fully reallze lrreparableness and gravlLy of Lhe consequences of Lhls crlme 8ecause Loday
Lhe Abkhazlans are Lhe only naLlon ln Lhe world LhaL has been dlvesLed archlve unforLunaLely by Lhls day
Lhere have been no lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhls Lerrlble crlme and whaL ls more none of our sclenLlsLs (lncludlng Lhe
former researchers of Lhe lnsLlLuLe) have wrlLLen a speclal arLlcle abouL Lhls! 1hank Lo Lhe wesLern
academlclan 1homas ue Waal who came Lo Abkhazla Lo meeL wlLh Lhe former dlrecLor of Lhe SLaLe Archlve
nlcolal lonldl AfLer Lhls meeLlng he wroLe and publlshed an arLlcle LlLled Abkhazlas archlve flre of war ashes
of hlsLory
AfLer Lhe deoccupaLlon of Sukhum l many Llmes came Lo Lhe slLe of arson and was looklng wlLh Lears aL Lhe
ashes of my own hlsLory l was agonlzlng over Lhe way Lo Lell Lhe world abouL Lhls Lerrlble crlme 1here ls a
famous palnLlng 1he ApoLheosls of War by vvereschagln ln whlch a klp of human sculls ls deplcLed lnsplred
by Lhls palnLlng l made an ashy klp and broughL Lhere a phoLographer (an offlcer of Lhe MlnlsLry of Lhe lnLerlor)
and we made several snapshoLs wlLh Lhe researchers of Lhe SLaLe Archlve unforLunaLely l have noL goL Lhe
negaLlves yeL l sLlll have one phoLo unforLunaLely l do noL remember Lhe name of Lhe phoLographer l puL Lhe
ashes of Lhe Archlve lnLo small plasLlc bags wlLh lnscrlpLlons Ashes of Lhe Abkhazlans archlve burnL by Lhe
Ceorglan vandals ln Abkhazlans 8usslan and Lngllsh and dlsLrlbuLed Lhem Lo dlfferenL museum 1hrough
aula Carb and Margery larrar l senL Lhe bags Lo Lhe uSA ln dlfferenL newspapers l publlshed arLlcles abouL
Lhe arson of Lhese bulldlngs named vandallsm khaLyn of Lhe Abkhazlans Sclence Chauvlnlsm and
vandallsm Cn Lhe Cenoclde of Lhe Abkhazlans naLlon 8ecognlLlon of Abkhazla and lnLernaLlonal Law
(kursk 2008) and so on l also wroLe abouL Lhls facL ln my book Abkhazlan 8econqulsLa and lnLernaLlonal Law
My research arLlcle on Lhls lssue named Cn Cne AspecL of Lhe lnformaLlonal 8lackouL was publlshed ln
8usslan and Lngllsh ln Lhe collecLlon book of Lhe lnLernaLlonal sLudy group (LdlLed by vShkhagba)
l do noL know how dlfferenL people reacLed Lo Lhls acL buL as an Abkhazlan l was ouLraged by Lhls helnous
crlme Lo Lhe very rooLs of my belng l have spoken Lo many people abouL Lhls and have repeaLedly wrlLLen LhaL
our rosecuLor Cenerals Cfflce musL open Lhe crlmlnal case and conducL Lhorough lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhls crlme
unforLunaLely our lnLellecLuals have noL reacLed Lo my words and arLlcles ln 2006 l flled a clalm Lo Lhe
ALLorneyCeneral of Lhe 8epubllc of Abkhazla 1he wordlng of my clalm was supporLed by lnLernaLlonal legal
acLs arLlcularly l wroLe Clobal lnformaLlonal communlLy ls Lhe basls of Lhe presenL clvlllzaLlon Access Lo
lnformaLlon ls a unlversal rlghL of all people sclenLlflc pollLlcal educaLlonal legal lndusLrlal developmenL ls
lmposslble wlLhouL lL 1hus lnformaLlon and communlcaLlon Lechnology (lC1) are consldered Lo be Lhe
foundaLlon of progress Moreover Lhe maln program of unLSCC lnformaLlon for Lveryone Cklnawa CharLer
and oLher lnLer naLlonal documenLs sLaLe LhaL access Lo lnformaLlon ls one of Lhe baslc human rlghLs
Powever we Lhe classlcal scholars of Abkhazla have been deprlved of Lhe rlghL Lo use archlve daLabase on
hlsLory culLure and Lhe way of llfe of our counLry because our naLlonal archlve was dellberaLely burnL by our
enemles ln 1992 And lL ls we Abkhazlan scholars who feel Lhe lack of lrreplaceable archlval maLerlals whlch
conLalned comprehenslve lnformaLlon on Lhe anclenL and recenL hlsLory of our naLlon! uue Lo my leLLer Lhe
crlmlnal case was launched 8uL afLer some Llme Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon was suspended AfLer Lhe 1skhlnval evenLs
ln 2008 l addressed Lhe rosecuLor Cenerals Cfflce of Lhe counLry wlLh Lhe requesL Lo seek help from Lhe
8usslan lederaLlon ln locaLlng ldenLlfylng and punlshlng Lhe crlmlnals Powever Lhe case has seen no progress
slnce Lhen! 1hough as l know Lhe rosecuLor Cenerals Cfflces of Lhe 8epubllc of Abkhazla and Lhe 8usslan
lederaLlon made an agreemenL on Lhe posslblllLy of [olnL lnvesLlgaLlons of grave crlmes l Lhlnk LhaL [olnL
Abkhazlan8usslan lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhls crlme would beneflL 8ussla as well slnce Lhe Ceorglans now proclalm
everywhere LhaL allegedly 1he 8usslans recognlzed Abkhazla ln order Lo enslave lL! and so on And Lhe
declslon of Lhls courL would show Lo Lhe world Lhe real face of Ceorgla ln Lurn lL would hasLen Lhe recognlLlon
of Abkhazla be Lhe lnLernaLlonal communlLy especlally be Lhe un 1he Lhlng ls LhaL Lhey have very llLLle offlclal
lnformaLlon abouL Lhe evenLs ln Abkhazla 1he reason for Lhls ls LhaL mendaclous global lnformaLlon lndusLry
of Ceorgla sLlll domlnaLes ln Lhe cyberspace noL Lo menLlon LhaL Abkhazla ls noL dolng anyLhlng ln Lhls regard
l would also llke Lo sLress LhaL lnformaLlon securlLy ls even more lmporLanL for a counLry Lhan economlc or any
oLher securlLy of a sLaLe
l Lhlnk LhaL our lnLellecLuals as well as our governmenL should reallze all Lhe gravlLy of Lhe consequences of Lhls
crlme for our naLlon and sLaLe And whaL ls mosL lmporLanL Lhls crlme should be crlmlnaLed (deslrably by Lhe
lnLernaLlonal courL) 1he perlod of llmlLaLlon should noL be an obsLacle here as Lhls crlme was of a unlversal
characLer lL looks very sLrange LhaL Lhls crlme has noL been condemned yeL! lL does noL make sense LhaL
even person who burns a hen house geLs a Lerm and here Lhe SLaLe Archlve and Lhe SLaLe 8esearchSclenLlflc
lnsLlLuLe were burnL 1herefore l am deeply convlnced LhaL Lhls case requlres lnvesLlgaLlon
ln concluslon l would llke once agaln Lo call Lhe reader Lo comprehend whaL really happened ln Lhe occupled
Sukhum ln CcLober 1992 lL was a [olnL dellberaLe declslon of Ceorglan hlsLorlans and offlclals Lo seL on flre
and Lo Lurn lnLo ashes ln Lhe face of Lhe day Lhe archlve of Lhe whole naLlon ls such crlme accepLable even ln
ones LhoughLs? l am afrald LhaL an unlnformed leader would ask wheLher such crlme could happen?
1herefore lL ls necessary Lo conducL a Lhorough lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhls crlme lf Lhe facL of crlme ls conflrmed
many declslonmakers of Lhe lnLernaLlonal communlLy wlll know Lhe LruLh abouL Lhe AbkhazlansCeorglans
relaLlons Moreover because of Lhe unprecedenLed and unlque naLure of Lhls crlme CcLober 22 should be
proclalmed Lhe uay of Lhe Cenoclde of Lhe Abkhazlans Sclence and a memorable Alley of Lhe Cenoclde of
Sclence should be opened aL Lhe quay ln Sukhum where Lhe burnL lnsLlLuLe had been slLuaLed And Lhe mosL
lmporLanL Lhlng ls LhaL Lhe declslon of Lhe lnLernaLlonal courL should obllge Ceorgla Lo reLurn Lo Abkhazla all
Lhe archlval maLerlals kepL ln 1blllsl kuLalsl CelaLl and oLher clLles lL would help Lo resLore Lhe archlve Lo
some exLenL
Lk Adzhlndzhal
A sclenLlsL of Lhe PlsLory ueparLmenL of Lhe burnL Abkhazlan lnsLlLuLe for PumanlLarlan 8esearches of Lhe
Academy of Sclence of Lhe 8epubllc of Abkhazla
hLLp//wwwabkhazworldcom/arLlcles/confllcL/311vandalsxxLhcenLuryadzhlndzhalhLml

Lk Adzhlndzhal