Russian population of Abkhazia: geodemographic processes of the post-Soviet period

The author considers the main trends in the quantitative, spatial, settlement dynamics of the Russian population of Abkhazia in the 1990s and early 2020s. It is concluded that the period of sharp geodemographic transformation of the local Russian community occurred during the armed Georgian-Abkhazian conflict (1992–1993), during which the Russian population of the republic decreased several times. The post-war years (mid-second half of the 1990s) were associated with a partial restoration of the number and geography of the Russians within Abkhazia. Since the beginning of the XXI century, in the quantitative and spatial dynamics of the local Russian community, a period begins that can be conditionally designated as a geodemographic “plateau” - the number of the Russians stabilizes at the level of 21–23 thousand people. Since that time, the system of their settlement which tends to the coastal zone of the republic, has remained stable. The demographic epicenters of this system are Sukhumi and Gagra region, which account for about 70% of the Russian population of Abkhazia. Its geodemographic stability is explained by the systemic Russia-centricity of the Abkhazian society, the facilitated nature of population movement between the two countries, and the certain socio-economic stability of Abkhazia. The tourist and recreational factor was of independent importance – the year-round presence in the republic of a large number of Russian tourists, as well as Russian homeowners and labor migrants. In total, these groups outnumbered the local population (many times in many settlements), significantly determining the peculiarities of the social life of the republican society and continuously demographically “feeding” the local Russian community. This allowed the latter to increase its share in the structure of the Russian population of the entire South Caucasus from 9.4% to 15–16% in 2000–2023. By the mid-XXI century, this indicator can rise to 27–33%.