Occupying the northwest. corner of Transcaucasia, A. r. represents a mountainous country, two-thirds of which are covered with various forests, which are one of the main wealth of Azerbaijan. (boxwood, plane tree, beeches, etc.). In the northeast of A. p. passes the Caucasus Range. Its spurs - Gagrinsky, Bzybsky (or Chedymsky) and Kodorsky (or Panavsky), individual peaks of which exceed 3,700 m, are covered with eternal snows; crossing L. r. with S.-V. in the southwest, they gradually pass through a series of branches into a hilly region, and then into the Black Sea lowland, narrow in the middle and expanding in the northern and southern parts.

Population

Population. In the hilly and low-lying parts of the A. r. and the main mass of its population is concentrated. In 4 mountains. A. r. lives ok. 16% of the population, or 30.6 thousand people, of which 20 thousand people are in the center of the A. R. Sukhum (see), and the rest - in the cities: Gagra, Gudauta and Ochemchira (3.4 - 3.7 thousand inhabitants each). The main nationalities of the A. r. are (1926) Georgians (33.6%, of which 3/5 are Mingrelians), Abkhazians (27.8%), Armenians (12.8%) and Greeks (7.1%).

Climate

The lowland part of Abkhazia is characterized by a mild and humid subtropical climate (average temperature in January + 5 °, August + 24 °; precipitation per year - up to 1.700-1.800 mm); in the higher parts of the Abkhaz SSR, the temperature becomes lower, and at an altitude of more than 700 m the climate becomes temperate; at the heights - glaciers and glacial lakes.

Ways of communication

Ways of communication A. r. limited to two large highways along the Black Sea coast (Military Sukhumi road) and a number of small dirt and pack roads. Five mooring points of the A. R.: Sukhum, Gagra, Gudauta, Ochemchira, Psyr-tskha (New Athos) are completely unequipped - loading onto steamers is carried out from feluccas (Turkish boat), transporting goods and passengers from the shore to the steamer, storage facilities are small etc. The construction of the Black Sea railway started. the road (Tuapse-Akhal-Senaki) so far through A. r. does not pass; upon completion of the road, the Gagra-Zugdidi section, which passes almost entirely through the territory of the Abkhaz SSR, will measure 170 km.

Agriculture

In the village-hoz. in relation to climatic conditions, the low-lying part of the A. r. is a natural area for the cultivation of valuable horticultural and horticultural crops and highly profitable industrial plants of the subtropical zone. This is facilitated by the very small size of farms (1.3 dessiatines of cultivated land per farm), caused by the insignificance of the territory suitable for cultivation. However, under modern transport conditions and remoteness, A. p. from the market, the sowing of a number of crops and the cultivation of many fruits is for A. p. inaccessible. Of the industrial plants, tobacco was widely spread (main image, in the Sukhum district), occupying 10.2 tons of dess., or 26.0% of the total crop area in 1927. A. r. About 2/3 tobacco growers A. p. united in a powerful cooperative organization, the Abtabsoyuz, which harvests more than two-thirds of the total tobacco crop in Armenia. Viticulture (Gudautsky district) and gardening are widespread. Horticulture, cotton growing, sericulture and beekeeping are less developed. Grain farming is conducted in a very primitive way; corn, accounting for 42.6 thousand hectares, 71.6% of the total sown area and 99.8% of all cereals. His bread A. p. is not enough, they supplement it with imports from the North Caucasus.

At a low level, despite the presence of beautiful meadows, there is also animal husbandry, in which cattle predominate. A huge proportion of the peasantry of the A. r. conducts a semi-subsistence economy, and the marketability of the page - x. production is extremely low.

Industry

Industry A. R. very poorly developed: out of 11 qualified (with at least 30 workers or a mechanical engine with 16 workers) establishments, the largest are three sawmills (Gagrinsky, Zhaakvarsky, Kodorsky), the Sukhum factory of bent furniture, the Sukhum tobacco factory and the Gudautsky distillery.-rectified . plant. According to the data of 1927/28, 285 permanent workers are employed in the listed largest (planned) establishments. At present, near Gulripsh (near Sukhum), the first essential oil plant (of the Zhirkost trust) has been laid. It is planned to build a large plant for tanning extracts by the Leather Syndicate. Even less developed in A. p. mining, which are presented here Ch. arr. Tkvarcheli deposit with reserves of up to 300 million tons of stone. coal suitable for the production of metallurgical coke. Besides, in And. there are less significant deposits of lead, zinc, copper, iron, and other minerals.

Resorts

Cities and a number of settlements of the A. R.: Sukhum, Gagra, Gudauty, New Athos (Psyrtsha), Gulripshch, Ochemchira are excellent climatic stations and are known as resorts.

M. O. Galitsky.

public education

During the period of Soviet power, a large network of educational institutions grew, and in 1926/27 280 labor schools, 3 technical schools (agricultural, pedagogical, and chem.-zem.) and 1 vocational course (in Sukhum) were registered; in addition, there is a network of schools for the elimination of illiteracy and for the semi-literate (4), a Soviet party school, as well as libraries (10), reading huts (79) and clubs (11).

Story

Abazgi, the ancestors of the Abkhazians, in ancient times occupied a much larger area than the current A. r. On the Abkhazian coast of the Black Sea were trading Greek. colonies. Subsequently, aba zgi fell under the rule of neighboring Laz (see). Under Justinian, Abkhazia submitted to Byzantium, and its population was converted to Christianity. In the 15th century Abkhazia is subjugated by the Turks and its population gradually converts to Islam. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russians forced the Turks out of Abkhazia. As under the Turks, so at first under the Russians, Abkhazia retained its own internal administration, headed by the princely house of Shervashidze.

After the conquest of the Russian Zap. Caucasus in Abkhazia was renamed "to the Sukhum department" in the position of the military. governorship. In the 60s. part of the population took part in the uprising of Shamil (see) and after his defeat moved to Turkey. In the 70s. Abkhazians staged a series of uprisings. This caused new emigration to Turkey. Finally, their participation in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877 on the side of the Turks ended with the third and last emigration, as a result of which a number of regions of Abkhazia were completely depopulated. After that, the Abkhazians were declared a "guilty population" and subjected to harsh rule. After

Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic(abh. Aҧsnytәi ​​Avtonomtә Sovettә Socialist Republic , cargo. აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა listen)) is an autonomous republic within the Georgian SSR that existed from 1931 to 1992. The successor of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia, an independent republic within the USSR, which became part of the SSR of Georgia in 1927 (and through it in the TSFSR) and in 1931 lost its independence (became autonomy within the SSR of Georgia).

On August 25, 1990, Abkhazia was proclaimed sovereign Abkhazian Soviet Socialist Republic. which was inconsistent with the Constitution of the USSR. When Georgia announced the restoration of its independence in the spring, Abkhazia expressed a desire to remain in the USSR (the majority of its population participated in the referendum on the preservation of the USSR and did not participate in the referendum on the restoration of Georgia's independence) and intended to become part of a new union - the Union of Sovereign States (USG), the conclusion of which was frustrated as a result of the speech of the State Emergency Committee. After the formation of the CIS, and in connection with the refusal (until) of Georgia to become a member, the leadership of Abkhazia announced its desire to independently enter the CIS.

Republican newspapers were published in the Abkhaz ASSR "Soviet Abkhazia" (in Russian, since 1921), "Aҧsny ҟaҧsh" (in Abkhazian, since 1921), "Sabchota Abkhazeti" (in Georgian, since 1937), "Kokinos Kapnas" ( in Greek, in 1932-1938), "Mchita murutskhi" in Laz (1929-1938).

National composition

According to the 1989 census, the population was 525,061 people. namely:

• Georgians 239 872
• Abkhazians 93 267
• Armenians 76 541
• Russians 74 914
• Greeks 14,664
• Ukrainians 11 655
• Belarusians 2084
• Estonians 1466
• Jews 1426
• Ossetians 1165
• Tatars 1099

Organizational Bureau of the RCP(b) in Abkhazia, executive secretaries

• 1921 Agniashvili, Pyotr Semyonovich (1898-1937)
• 9.1921-1922 Svanidze, Nikolai Samsonovich (1895-1937)

Abkhaz Regional Committee of the CP(b) - CP of Georgia, responsible - 1st secretaries

• 1922-1923 executive secretary Akirtava, Nikolai Nikolaevich (1894-1937)
• 1923-1925 executive secretary Asribekov, Yervand Mikhailovich (1898-1937)
• 1925-1927 executive secretary of Sturua, Georgy Fedorovich (1884-1956)
• 1928-1929 executive secretary Amas, (Amirbekov) Alexander Semyonovich (1904-1938)
• 1929-1930 executive secretary Meladze, Pavel Grigorievich (−1937)
• 1930 - 5.1932 Ladaria's executive secretary, Vladimir Konstantinovich (1900-1937)
• 5.1932 - 1.1936 Ladaria, Vladimir Konstantinovich (1900-1937)
• 1.1936 - 1937 Agrba, Alexei Sergeevich (1897-1938)
• 1937 - 6.1938 and. about. Bechvaya, Kirill Georgievich (1903-)
• 6.1938 - 1940 Bechvaya, Kirill Georgievich (1903-)
• 1940 - 20.2.1943 Baramia, Mikhail Ivanovich (1905-)
• 20.2.1943 - 12.1951 Mgeladze, Akaki Ivanovich (1910-1980)
• 12.1951 - 21.4.1953 Getia, Shota Dmitrievich (1904-)
• 21.4 - 2.10.1953 Karchava, Grigory Zosimovich (1907-)
• 2.10.1953 - 1.1956 Gegeshidze, Georgy Andreevich (1924-1971)
• 1.1956 - 1958 Gotsiridze, Otar Davidovich (1919-)
• 1965-1975 Kobakhia, Valerian Osmanovich (1929-1992)
• 1975 - 2.1978 Khintba, Valery Mikhailovich
• 2.1978 - 6.4.1989 Adleiba, Boris Viktorovich (1931-)
• 6.4.1989 - 1991 Khishba, Vladimir Filippovich

CEC and SC

• February 1922-1922 Chairman of the Central Executive Committee Eshba, Efrem Alekseevich

• 1922-1923 Chairman of the Central Executive Committee Kartozia, Samson Alekseevich

• 1925 - 04/17/1930 Chairman of the CEC Chanba, Samson Yakovlevich

• 04/17/1930 - 12/28/1936 Chairman of the CEC Lakoba, Nestor Apollonovich

• 12/28/1936 - 02/1937 vacancy, and. about. Deputy Chairman of the CEC of the Abkhaz ASSR

• 17.02 - 09.1937 Chairman of the CEC Agrba, Alexei Sergeevich

• 11/02/1937 - 07/12/1938 Chairman of the CEC Rapava, Avksenty Narikievich

• 07/13/1938 - 04/07/1948 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet Delba, Mikhail Konstantinovich

• 04/07/19484 - 1958 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council Chochua, Andrey Maksimovich

• 1958-1978 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Shinkuba, Bagrat Vasilyevich

• 1978 - 12/24/1990 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Kobakhia, Valerian Osmanovich

• 12/24/1990 - 11/26/1994 Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ardzinba, Vladislav Grigorievich

RK, SNK and SM

• 02.1921 - 02.1922 Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee Eshba, Efrem Alekseevich

• 02.1922 - 28.12.1936 Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Lakoba, Nestor Apollonovich

• 07/14/1938 - 11/23/1938 Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars View this template – And today our teacher said that there is no soul at all, and all the talk about it is just an invention of the priests in order to “undermine the happy psyche of a Soviet person” ... Why are they lying to us, dad? I blurted out in one breath.
  “Because this whole world in which we live here is built precisely on a lie ...” Father answered very calmly. - Even the word - SOUL - is gradually disappearing from circulation. Or rather, they “leave” him ... Look, they used to say: heartbreaking, heart to soul, heart warmer, heartbreaking, soulful, open the soul, etc. And now it is being replaced - painful, friendly, padded jacket, sympathetic, need ... Soon there will be no soul left in the Russian language ... And the language itself has become different - mean, faceless, dead ... I know you didn’t notice, Svetlenkaya Dad smiled softly. - But this is only because you were already born with him the way he is today ... And before he was unusually bright, handsome, rich! .. Truly sincere ... Now sometimes I don’t feel like writing, - dad was silent for a few seconds, thinking about something of his own, and immediately added indignantly. – How can I express my “I” if they send me a list (!), Which words can be used, and which are “a relic of the bourgeois system” ... Wildness ...
  “Then, is it better to study on your own than to go to school?” I asked puzzled.
  - No, my little man, you need to go to school. And without giving me a chance to protest, he continued. - At school, they give you the "grains" of your foundation - mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, etc., which I simply would not have had time to teach you at home. And without these “seeds”, unfortunately, you won’t be able to grow your “mental harvest”... – Dad smiled. – But first you will definitely have to thoroughly “sift” these “seeds” from the husks and rotten seeds ... And then what your “harvest” will turn out to be will depend only on you yourself ... Life is a complicated thing, you see .. And sometimes it's not so easy to stay on the surface ... without going to the bottom. But there's nowhere to go, right? - Dad patted me on the head again, for some reason he was sad ... - So think - whether to be one of those who are told how you should live or be one of those who think for themselves and look for their own path .. True, for this they beat on the head very thoroughly, but on the other hand, you will always wear it proudly raised. So think carefully before you decide what you like best...
  - Why, when I say what I think at school, the teacher calls me an upstart? It's so insulting!.. I never try to be the first to answer, on the contrary, I prefer when they don't touch me... But if they ask, I have to answer, right, right? And for some reason, very often they don’t like my answers ... What can I do, dad?
  - Well, this, again, is the same question - do you want to be yourself or do you want to say what is required of you and live in peace? Again, you have to choose... But they don't like your answers because they don't always match those they have already prepared, and which are always the same for everyone.
  - How are they the same? I can't think the way they want to...? People can't think the same?!
  “You are mistaken, my Light One… That’s exactly what they want – that we all think and act the same… That’s the whole morality…”
  – But this is wrong, dad! .. – I was indignant.
  - And you take a closer look at your school friends - do they often say something different from what is written? - I was embarrassed ... he was again, as always, right. “That's because their parents teach them to be just good and obedient students and get good grades. But they don’t teach them to think... Perhaps because they didn’t think much themselves... Or maybe also because fear has already taken root too deeply in them... So move your convolutions, my Svetlenkaya, to find for yourself, what is more important to you - your grades, or your own thinking.
  – Is it really possible to be afraid to think, dad?.. After all, no one hears our thoughts?.. Why then be afraid?
  “They won’t hear you… But each mature thought forms your consciousness, Svetlenkaya.” And when your thoughts change, you change with them too... And if your thoughts are correct, then someone may very, very much not like them. Not all people like to think, you see. A lot of people prefer to put it on the shoulders of others, like you, while they themselves remain only "executors" of other people's desires for the rest of their lives. And happiness for them if the same “thinkers” do not fight for power, because then it’s not real human values ​​that come into play, but lies, bragging, violence, and even crime, if they want to get rid of those who think with them " out of place…” Therefore, thinking can be very dangerous, my Light One. And everything depends only on whether you will be afraid of it or prefer your human honor to fear ...
  I climbed up to my father on the sofa and curled up next to him, imitating the (very dissatisfied) Grishka. Next to dad, I always felt very secure and peaceful. It seemed that nothing bad could get to us, just as nothing bad could happen to me when I was next to him. Which, of course, could not be said about the disheveled Grishka, since he also adored the hours spent with dad and could not stand it when someone invaded these hours ... He hissed at me very unfriendly and showed with his whole appearance that it was better I wish I could get out of here as soon as possible... I laughed and decided to leave him to quietly enjoy such a dear pleasure for him, and she went to warm up a little - to play snowballs in the yard with the neighbor's guys.
  I was counting the days and hours until my tenth birthday, feeling almost "totally grown up", but, to my great shame, I was not able to forget my "birthday surprise" for a minute, which, of course, is nothing. nothing positive added to my very “adulthood” ...
  I, like all children in the world, adored gifts ... And now for days on end I wondered what it could be, what, in my grandmother’s opinion, I should have “really liked” with such confidence? ..
  But the wait was not so long, and very soon it was fully confirmed that it was very worth doing it ...
  Finally, my "birthday" morning was cold, sparkling and sunny, as befits a real holiday. The air “burst” from the cold with colored stars and literally “ringed”, forcing pedestrians to move faster than usual ... All of us, going out into the yard, were breathtaking, and steam literally poured from “everything living” around, funny making everyone look like multi-colored steam locomotives hurrying in different directions...
  After breakfast, I simply could not sit still and followed my mother with a “tail”, waiting for when I would finally see my long-awaited “surprise”. To my great surprise, my mother went with me to the neighbor's house and knocked on the door ... Despite the fact that our neighbor was a very pleasant person, what relation she could have to my birthday remained a mystery to me ...

(Ancnyt∋i Avtonomt∋ Sovett∋ Socialist∋ Republic)

Abkhazia, self-name Apsny ("Country of the soul"). As part of the Georgian SSR. It was formed on March 4, 1921. The area is 8.6 thousand square meters. km 2 The population is 481 thousand people (1969, estimate; 405 thousand people according to the 1959 census). In A. - 6 districts, 6 cities, 3 urban-type settlements. The capital is the city of Sukhumi. (cm. map ).

Political system. The Abkhaz ASSR is a socialist state of workers and peasants, an autonomous Soviet socialist republic. The current Constitution was adopted on August 2, 1937 by the 8th All-Abkhazian Congress of Soviets. The highest organs of state power are the unicameral Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, elected for four years at the rate of 1 deputy out of 3,000 inhabitants, and its Presidium. The Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan forms the government, the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan. The Abkhaz ASSR is represented in the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR by 11 deputies. Local bodies of state power - city, district, settlement and rural Soviets of Working People's Deputies, elected by the population for 2 years. The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan elects for a period of 5 years the Supreme Court of the Abkhaz ASSR, consisting of two judicial boards (for criminal and civil cases) and the Presidium of the Supreme Court. The Prosecutor of the Abkhaz ASSR is appointed by the Prosecutor General of the USSR for a term of 5 years.

Nature. A. is located in the northwestern part of Transcaucasia, in the southwest. washed by the Black Sea. The coast is little indented, in many places there are wide pebble beaches. Sea expanses, subtropical vegetation, plantations of tea, tobacco, citrus fruits, dense forests, turbulent rivers and the peaks of the Greater Caucasus give A. extraordinary picturesqueness. Most of the territory of Armenia is occupied by spurs of the southern slope of the Main, or Dividing Range, which limits Azerbaijan from the north (height up to 4046 m, Mount Dombay-Ulgen). Its spurs are the Gagra, Bzyb, Abkhaz and Kodori ranges. Passes leading through the Main Range to Azerbaijan are Klukhorsky (2781 m), Marukh (2739 m) and others.S Yu.-V. In A. comes, gradually narrowing, the Colchis lowland. A narrow strip of lowland stretches along the coast to S.-3. from the river Kodori. Between mountains and lowlands there is a belt of hilly foothills. In Armenia, karst phenomena are developed (the caves of Abrskila, Anakopia, and others).

In the lowlands and foothills, the climate is warm, humid subtropical, in the mountains - humid, moderately warm and cold. The average January temperature in the subtropical zone is from 4 to 7°C, in the mountains from 2 to -2°C; July respectively 22-24°C and 18-16°C. Average annual rainfall: 1300-1500 mm in the lowlands and foothills, up to 2000-2400 mm in the mountains. The frost-free period in the coastal zone is 250-300 days. In the mountains, snow cover is established for 2-3 months; there are many glaciers in the ridge part of the Main Range.

The rivers belong to the Black Sea basin. The most significant of them - Kodori, Bzyb, Kelasuri, Gumista - are full of water, rich in hydropower (potential hydropower resources are over 3.5 million tons). kW). The rivers are fed mainly by rain and snow and spring-summer floods. In the mountains - the lakes Ritsa and Amtkel.

On the lowlands and in the foothills, marsh, subtropical podzolic, red earth and yellow earth soils are combined. In the mountains up to a height of 1700 m - humus-calcareous and brown forest soils, and above - soddy and soddy-peaty mountain-meadow soils. The flora of A. includes more than 2,000 plant species. Forests cover more than 55% of the area of ​​​​A. In the Black Sea zone, the most developed for cultivated vegetation (subtropical, technical, fruit and ornamental crops, grain crops, etc.), and in the gorges there are separate massifs of broad-leaved forests (hornbeam, hornbeam, oak, chestnut etc.) and olshanikov. On Cape Pitsunda, a grove of relic Pitsunda pine has been preserved. In the mountains, beech trees predominate (in some places with boxwood in the second tier), on the upper part of the slopes - fir and spruce forests. Since 2000 m and above - subalpine crooked forests, alpine meadows and rocky-gravel vegetation. In the forests there are a bear, a wild boar, a lynx, a red deer, a roe deer, a tour; in the highlands - chamois, Caucasian black grouse; in the lowlands - a jackal; in rivers and lakes - trout, salmon, carp, pike perch, etc. Reserves - Ritsinsky, Gumistsky, Pitsundsky.

A. A. Mints.

Population. A. inhabits more than 10 peoples. Among them, according to the 1959 census, Abkhazians accounted for 61.2 thousand people, Georgians 158.2 thousand people, Russians 86.7 thousand people, Armenians 64.4 thousand people; Ukrainians, Greeks, Jews, Belarusians, Estonians, and others also live. The average density is 56 people per 1 km 2(1969). The population of Azerbaijan increased by 269,000 people from 1926 to 1969. The most densely populated are the coastal plain and foothills, where all cities are located and most of the rural population lives (150-200 people per 1 km 2), 93% of the total population is concentrated here. A significant part of the mountainous regions (above 1000 m) does not have a permanent population, some settlements are located in mountain hollows and along river valleys. In 1969 the urban population was 42% (15% in 1926). Cities (1969, thousand inhabitants): Sukhumi (92), Tkvarcheli (30), Gagra (22), Ochamchira (18), Gudauta (15), Gali (11).

Historical essay. The first traces of man on the territory of modern Armenia date back to the early Paleolithic. Archaeological sites of the 2nd half of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC e. testify to the presence here of agriculture, cattle breeding and crafts, processing of copper and bronze, and then iron. At the beginning of the 1st millennium, an urban-type settlement arose in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bmodern Sukhumi. The first information about the ancestors of the Abkhazian people dates back to the Late Bronze Age. In the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. in A. begins the process of decomposition of the primitive communal system and the formation of a class society. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. Armenia was part of the Kingdom of Colchis (See Kingdom of Colchis). Greek colonies such as Dioscuria, Pitiunt, and others arose on the coast of Africa. At the end of the second century. BC e. A. was subordinate to the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator, and from 65 AD. e. - the Romans, who created the fortress of Sebastopolis on the site of Dioscuria. By the end of the 1st c. n. e. tribal formations of the early feudal type (principalities of the Apsils, Abazgs, and Sanigs) developed on the territory of Azerbaijan; during the 4th-6th centuries. Byzantium gradually subjugated the whole of Armenia. In the first half of the 6th c. Christianity was introduced into Armenia as the official religion. In the 6th c. feudal relations developed. By the 8th c. the Abkhaz people were mainly consolidated. In the 80s. 8th c. the ruler A. Leon II achieves the liberation of the country from the power of Byzantium and unites all of Western Georgia under the name of the Abkhazian kingdom (See Abkhazian kingdom) with the capital initially in Anakopia, and then in Kutaisi. It reaches its highest development in the 9th-10th centuries. and takes an active part in the struggle for the unification of all Georgia. In the 2nd half of the 10th c. Armenia became part of united feudal Georgia. In the coastal part of Armenia, the population was mainly engaged in agriculture. Increased trade with overseas countries. An ancient trade route from Transcaucasia to Kievan Rus passed along the Black Sea coast. Cattle breeding predominated in the mountainous part. In the highlands, primitive communal relations still persisted. Significant flourishing in the 11-13 centuries. reached feudal culture. Byzantine cultural influence is gradually replaced by Georgian. In the context of the political collapse of feudal Georgia, Azerbaijan at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. separated into an independent principality. However, since the 2nd half of the 16th century. A., like all of Western Georgia, became dependent on Turkey, which sought to destroy the material and spiritual culture of the Abkhaz people, forcibly plant the religion of Islam among the population. The persistent resistance of the population A. This policy often took the form of open armed uprisings (in 1725, 1728, 1733, 1771, 1806, and others). A. saw the possibility of getting rid of the Turkish yoke in rapprochement with Russia, which was formalized in 1810 by an act of official accession to the Russian Empire. The nominal ruler of A. remained the feudal lord - ah.

The development of the economy was hindered by the colonialist policy of tsarism; nevertheless, Armenia’s accession to Russia, which freed it from the dominion of extremely backward Turkey, and its involvement in the all-Russian market system facilitated Azerbaijan’s transition to higher forms of economic and social life and created opportunities for penetration into Azerbaijan. advanced Russian culture, the introduction of the people of A. to the Russian liberation movement.

In 1864, Russian administration was introduced in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan was turned into the "Sukhumi military department." Officials of the tsarist military-administrative apparatus relied on the local feudal nobility. The instrument of tsarist colonialism in Armenia was the Orthodox Church, which pursued a policy of restoring Christianity. In Armenia, the struggle of the popular masses against feudal and colonial oppression grew. The largest was the Abkhaz uprising of 1866 . In 1870, serfdom was abolished in Azerbaijan, but the peasants remained temporarily liable almost until the Great October Socialist Revolution. A grave consequence of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78 (See Russian-Turkish wars of the 17-19 centuries) was the forcible eviction by the Turks of a significant part of the Abkhaz people to Turkey (makhadzhirstvo). In 1877 there were more than 78,000 inhabitants in Azerbaijan; by the end of that year, about 46,000 remained.

In the post-reform period, Armenia was gradually drawn into the mainstream of capitalist relations. In the 90s. the first highway Novorossiysk - Sukhumi - Batumi was built. Turnovers of external and internal markets grew. Tobacco growing has become the leading branch of agriculture. At the beginning of the 20th century The large landowners of Azerbaijan had more than 135,000 acres of land, while the peasants had only 72,000 acres. At that time there were about 400 small, mostly handicraft industrial enterprises in Azerbaijan, employing only 1,030 people.

Late 19th - early 20th centuries F. Kh. Eshba, D. I. Gulia, A. M. Chochua, and others were noted for the activity of prominent Abkhaz educators and educators. In 1902–03, the first Social Democratic organizations arose in Azerbaijan. In 1903, on the initiative of A. G. Tsulukidze, the Sukhum Social Democratic Group of the Batumi Committee of the RSDLP took shape. The revolutionary movement of 1905-1907 in Azerbaijan was led by the Caucasian Union Committee of the RSDLP. In 1905, armed detachments of revolutionary peasants, the Red Hundreds, began to be formed (in Gudauta, Gagra, and the Gali region); In November 1905, a people's militia was organized in Sukhumi. An armed uprising in November-December 1905 was being prepared by the Bolsheviks, headed by GK Ordzhonikidze. In Sukhumi, Gudauta, and Gagra in December 1905, power was actually in the hands of the working people, but revolutionary uprisings were suppressed by the tsarist troops.

Since 1916, a military group of Bolsheviks was active in Sukhumi, which, after the February Revolution of 1917, had a great influence on the soldiers. In May 1917, the District Committee of the RSDLP(b) was created, headed by E. A. Eshba. From the very beginning, the leadership of the Sukhum Soviet was seized by the Mensheviks. But in some districts of Armenia the soviets were Bolshevik. Beginning in November 1917, the power of the local bodies of the counterrevolutionary Menshevik Transcaucasian Commissariat was established in Azerbaijan. In March 1918, under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, the working people of Azerbaijan rose in an armed uprising, on April 8 Sukhumi was occupied, and Soviet power was proclaimed. But on May 17, 1918, after stubborn fighting, the armed forces of the counterrevolutionary Transcaucasian Seim entered Sukhumi. In February-March 1921, the working people of Azerbaijan, together with the working people of all Georgia, raised an armed uprising supported by the Red Army. A revolutionary committee was created in Azerbaijan (E. A. Eshba, N. A. Lakoba, and N. N. Akirtava). On March 4, 1921, Sukhumi became Soviet, and on the same day Soviet power was proclaimed in Azerbaijan. On March 4 and 10, the leaders of the revolutionary committee of Azerbaijan telegraphed V. I. Lenin about the victory of the socialist revolution in Azerbaijan. On March 28, in Batumi, at a meeting of representatives of the Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), representatives of Georgia and Azerbaijan, a decision was made to recognize Azerbaijan as an independent socialist Soviet republic . On March 31, the revolutionary committee of A. by radiogram informed V. I. Lenin, I. V. Stalin and G. V. Chicherin about this event. In May 1921, the Revolutionary Committee of Georgia issued a declaration of independence for the Socialist Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, and on December 16, 1921, on the basis of the "Union Treaty between the SSR of Georgia and the SSR of Abkhazia," Azerbaijan became part of the Georgian SSR; then December 13, 1922 - in the ZSFSR as part of the Georgian SSR. On December 30, 1922, Armenia, as part of the ZSFSR, became part of the USSR. On April 1, 1925, the first Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted. In February 1931, Azerbaijan became part of the Georgian SSR as an autonomous republic.

In April 1921, the Revolutionary Committee of Georgia issued a Decree on Land. On its basis, the nationalization of the land and the distribution of the former landowners' and privately owned lands (over 44 thousand acres) were carried out. Industry was nationalized and other revolutionary economic transformations were carried out.

During the years of the prewar five-year plans, a developed industry was created in Azerbaijan: in 1940, state and cooperative industry produced products worth 91.5 million rubles. in the prices of 1926-27 (in 1914, products were produced for 185.5 thousand rubles; in 1924-25 for 805 thousand rubles). Diversified collective-farm and state-farm agriculture arose; by 1940, 93.8 percent of the peasant farms had been collectivized. A cultural revolution took place: illiteracy was eliminated; the tribal and feudal remnants that existed here earlier have basically disappeared; national cadres of the working class and intelligentsia have grown; higher educational institutions, scientific and research institutions, libraries, clubs, etc., which were absent before, were created. Abkhaz literature and art achieved significant development. On March 15, 1935, A. was awarded the Order of Lenin for achievements in agriculture and industry. On August 2, 1937, the 8th All-Abkhazian Congress of Soviets of Abkhazia approved the new Constitution of the Abkhaz ASSR, which reflected the victory of socialism in the republic. The Abkhazian people consolidated into a socialist nation.

During the Great Patriotic War in August-September 1942, fascist German troops tried to break into Armenia from the north through the passes of the Main Range of the Greater Caucasus, occupied the high-mountainous Abkhazian village of Pskhu, but were stopped and then driven back by the Soviet Army. workers BUT. showed courage and heroism at the front and in the rear. 20 sons of A. were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" in Azerbaijan was awarded to 8,776 people and the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45" to 32,102 people.

In the postwar period, the economy and culture of Armenia continued to develop. In 1968, the gross industrial output of the republic increased by 5.2 times in comparison with 1940. The material and cultural standard of living of the people has increased significantly. In A. 264 Hero of Socialist Labor (1969).

G. A. Dzidzaria.

National economy. In the USSR, tobacco is one of the main bases for high-quality tobacco growing, tea growing, and citrus growing. Health resorts and tourism are of great importance in the economy of Armenia.

The industry of Azerbaijan was entirely created after the establishment of Soviet power. Energy is based on the use of local fuel (coal) and hydropower. On the river Gumista - Sukhumi hydroelectric power station. In 1968, 810 million tons were produced. kWh electricity (155 million kWh in 1940). Azerbaijan has deposits of coal (Tkvarchelskoye), polymetals, mercury (Avadkhara), and barite (Pitsikvarskoye and Apshrinskoye). In 1968, 939 thousand tons were mined. t coal (229 thous. t in 1940) - about 40% of coal production in the Georgian SSR, most of it is processed into concentrate and exported to the Rustavi Metallurgical Plant for coke production. An important role is played by the processing of agricultural raw materials, which are largely associated with the subtropical complex - tea (Gali, Achigvara, Okumi, Ochamchira, Akhali-Kindgi, Dranda, Gudauta, etc.), tobacco (Sukhumi, Gudauta, Ochamchira, Gantiadi, etc.). .), as well as the wine, essential oil, canning, meat, dairy, and fish industries. Tea production (long leaf primary processing) in 1968 amounted to 9.5 thousand tons. t(1.2 thousand t in 1940), canned food 13.5 million conventional cans (2.1 million conventional cans in 1940). There are leather and footwear (Sukhumi), clothing (Sukhumi, Gudauta, Ochamchira), woodworking (Kodori, Sukhumi, Bzyb, etc.), instrument-making and metalworking (Sukhumi) industries, and building materials production (Sukhumi, Tkvarcheli, Bzyb, etc.).

Agriculture. A. is distinguished by tea growing, tobacco growing, and the cultivation of citrus fruits, essential oil plants, and tung. Viticulture, fruit growing, vegetable growing, grain farming and animal husbandry are developed.

In 1969 Abkhazia had 133 collective farms and 22 state farms (citrus farms, tea farms, etc.). The sown area was 39.8 thousand hectares. ha(59.7 thousand ha in 1940), the area of ​​perennial plantations (tea and citrus plantations, orchards, vineyards) is 34.1 thousand hectares. ha. Under the culture of tea 13.7 thous. ha(9 thousand ha in 1940), mainly in the southeastern part of the republic; Azerbaijan produces 15% of the tea leaves in the USSR (38,300 tons). t in 1968). For the production of high-quality yellow tobaccos (in 1968 the sown area was more than 6,000 ha). ha, collection of 5.9 thousand. t) A. occupies a leading place in the Georgian SSR; the main massifs are in the northwestern and central regions of the foothill-hilly strip. Citrus fruits (3.3 thous. ha) are cultivated in the foothills and hilly areas. Fruit growing (12.1 thous. ha) and viticulture (5.0 thous. ha) are common in many areas of the coastal strip. From grain crops, mainly corn is sown (24.5 thousand hectares). ha). Potatoes and vegetables and gourds (2.2 thous. ha in 1968) - in the foothills and around large resorts.

In the lowlands, flood control in the lower reaches of rivers and the drainage of individual swamps are of great importance. In 1968, the area of ​​drained land was 24,500 hectares. ha.

Livestock breeding is dominated by dairy and dairy-meat cattle, pigs, goats, and poultry. In the flat zone, where there is little natural fodder land, stall and stall-camp keeping of livestock is practiced. Part of the livestock is driven away in the summer to subalpine and alpine pastures. Livestock as of January 1, 1969 (thousand): cattle 142, sheep and goats 41.6, pigs 56.6. Sericulture and beekeeping are developed.

State purchases of agricultural products in 1968 (thous. t): tea leaves (varietal) 38.3 (6.5 in 1940), fruits 15.4, incl. citrus fruits 4.6, tobacco 5.9, livestock and poultry [in live weight (the term "live weight" is common)] 3.4 (1.4 in 1940), milk and dairy products (in terms of milk) 5.5 (0.9 in 1940), eggs (million pieces) 26.1 (1 million pieces in 1940), cocoons 4.4.

In the Black Sea - fishing (mullet, horse mackerel, etc.).

Transport. The Tuapse-Sukhumi-Samtredia electrified railway line and the Novorossiysk-Sukhumi-Batumi highway pass along the seaside strip of Azerbaijan. The deep mountainous regions are served by the railway line Ochamchira - Tkvarcheli and the highways Bzyb - Avadkhara, Sukhumi - Klukhorsky pass, etc. Sea transportation is carried out through the port of Sukhumi and the port points of Gagra, Gudauta, New Athos, Ochamchira. Union airlines pass through Sukhumi.

Tobacco, tea, fruits, including citrus fruits, wine, and essential oils are exported from Azerbaijan; they import grain, meat and dairy products, sugar, etc.

The well-being of the people on the basis of the growth of the national income of the republic is steadily increasing. The volume of retail trade turnover in 1968 compared with 1950 (in comparable prices) increased 3.2 times. In 1968, state and cooperative enterprises and organizations (excluding collective farms), as well as workers and employees in cities and rural areas, put into operation 74,300 tons. m 2 total (usable) area. In addition, collective farms, collective farmers and rural intelligentsia built 555 residential buildings. The social insurance and pension funds are growing, and the real incomes of the population are increasing.

A. A. Mints.

healthcare. In 1913 there were 4 hospitals in Azerbaijan (with 92 beds) and 9 doctors. At the beginning of 1969, there were 1,391 doctors in Azerbaijan (403 in 1940), 4,100 paramedical personnel (909 in 1940), 63 hospital institutions (with 4,300 beds), and 242 institutions providing outpatient care. outpatient care for the population. On the coast of the Black Sea, protected from the north-east. mountains of the Greater Caucasus, for several dozen km there are climatic resorts of federal significance - Sukhumi, Gagra, Gudauta, New Athos, Gulripshi, Pitsunda, Leselidze. In the mountainous regions there are outlets of mineral springs used for medicinal purposes (Tkvarcheli, Ritsa-Avadkhara, etc.). At the beginning of 1969 there were 36 sanatorium-and-spa institutions (for 11,400 beds). Tourism is developing successfully. Comfortable tourist centers (open all year round), boarding houses and campsites have been created, summer shelters have been created on Avadkhara and at the Klukhor Pass. It is planned to build cable cars to the Iverskaya mountain in New Athos, to the Sukhumi mountain in Sukhumi.

Public education and cultural and educational institutions. Before the Great October Socialist Revolution, the literacy of the population was about 10%. In the 1914–15 academic year, Azerbaijan had a total of 150 elementary schools (7,600 students), 4 higher elementary schools (0,600 students), and 2 secondary schools (0,500 students). There were no secondary specialized and higher educational institutions. During the years of Soviet power, illiteracy was eliminated in Azerbaijan, and universal compulsory education was introduced. In 1968, about 10,000 children were being brought up in 193 preschool institutions. In the 1968/69 academic year there were 162 elementary schools (5 thousand students), 129 eight-year schools (19.8 thousand students) and 146 secondary schools (72.9 thousand students), 38 schools for working and rural youth (over 5 2 thousand students), 8 houses of pioneers and schoolchildren, 10 children's sports schools, 3 stations for young technicians and young naturalists. About 3 thousand students studied in 6 secondary specialized educational institutions (industrial and agricultural technical schools, medical, musical, cultural and educational and art schools) and a vocational school. At the Institute of Subtropical Economy and the Pedagogical Institute. Gorky had 7.9 thousand students. In 1968, the graduates of specialists of medium and higher qualifications amounted to more than 1,800 people.

In A. there are (1968): Abkhaz State Museum. D. I. Gulia (Sukhumi), Pitsunda Museum-Exhibition, Museum of Abkhaz Weapons (Gagra), 290 public libraries, 194 club institutions, 147 film installations. See also sections Music and Theater.

Scientific institutions. In the republic in 1968 there were 15 scientific institutions, including the Abkhaz Institute of Language, Literature and History. D. I. Gulia of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, the Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences (with a monkey nursery), the Abkhaz branch of the Scientific Research Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy of the Ministry of Health of the Georgian SSR, the Sukhumi branch of the All-Union Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops, the Sukhumi Botanical Garden, etc. In Sukhumi the only research institute of tourism in the USSR was created.

In 1969 there were more than 700 scientific workers in higher education institutions and research institutions, including 27 doctors and about 300 candidates of sciences. Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR I. G. Gverdtsiteli (physics), Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR A. A. Kolakovskii (botany), Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences B. A. Lapin, Doctors of Historical Sciences, professors 3. V. Anchabadze, G. A. Dzidzaria, Sh. Inal-Ipa; doctor of medical sciences, professor S. Ya. Arshba, professor A. L. Grigelia (medicine) and other prominent scientists.

Printing and broadcasting. In 1968, the Alashara (Light) publishing house published 80 books and pamphlets with a total circulation of 237,000 copies. 3 republican newspapers are published - "Apsny Kapsh" ("Red Abkhazia", ​​since 1921) in the Abkhaz language, "Sabchota Abkhazeti" ("Soviet Abkhazia", ​​since 1937) in Georgian, "Soviet Abkhazia" (since 1921) in Russian - a total one-time circulation of 57 thousand copies (1968). The literary-artistic and socio-political magazine "Alashara" ("Light", since 1955), the magazine for children "Amtsabz" ("Flame", since 1957) are published - both in the Abkhaz language.

The Republican Radio broadcasts in the Abkhaz, Georgian and Russian languages; radio and TV programs are relayed from Moscow, Tbilisi, Sochi.

Literature . Folklore was one of the sources that nourished the Abkhaz fiction from the moment of its inception. Many genres are represented in Abkhazian folklore - from heroic epic tales about Nart heroes and Abrskil to lyrical songs and wise aphorisms. The first attempt to compile the Abkhaz alphabet on a Russian graphic basis was made in 1862 by the Russian linguist P. K. Uslar. The first Abkhaz primer was published in 1865. In 1892, the updated and corrected Abkhazian Alphabet was published, compiled by D. I. Gulia and K. D. Machavariani. The founder of fiction was the national poet of Abkhazia D. I. Gulia; in 1912 he published his first poetry collection Poems and Ditties. In 1919, the first Abkhaz newspaper Apsny (ed. D. I. Gulia) began to appear, around which young writers gathered. In 1919, D. I. Gulia wrote the story “Under an Alien Sky”, which marked the beginning of Abkhazian prose. In 1920, S. Ya. Chanba published the first Abkhazian drama, The Makhajirs; the poet I. Kogonia began his creative activity. In his best poems, published in 1925 ("Abataa Beslan", "Navey and Mzauch", "Khmydzh the hunter", "Zoskhan Achba and the sons of Beslan Zhanaa"), he reflected the heroism of folk life. After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan in 1921, conditions were created for the development of realistic literature, and a transition to syllabo-tonic versification was outlined. In the 30-40s. Abkhazian writers created works that received wide recognition: the novel "Kamachich" (1940) and the drama "Ghosts" (1946) by D. I. Gulia; the story "Seydyk" (1934) by S. Ya. Chanby; "The Birth of the Collective Farm" Forward "" (1931) V. V. Agrba: novels: "Temyr" (1937), "Women's Honor" (1949) I. G. Papaskiri. Later, a book of stories "Alamys" (1961) by M. A. Lakerbay appeared; poems, poems, stories by L. Kvitsinia, Sh. Tsvizhba, L. Labakhua, K. Agumaa, D. Darsalia, S. Kuchberia, M. Khashba, P. Chkadua; poems, poems and novels in verse "My Countrymen" (1950), "Song of the Rock" (1958) by the national poet of Abkhazia B. Shinkuba; works by I. Tarba, A. Lasuria, A. Dzhonua, Ch. Dzhonua, K. Lomia, K. Chachkhalia, M. Papaskiri, G. Gublia, V. Ankvaba, A. Adzhinzhal. Many works of G. Gulia, who writes in Russian, are devoted to the life of the Abkhazian people. N. Tarba, A. Gogua, Sh. Chkadua, and D. Akhuba emerged from the literary youth. For children they write: D. Tapagua, G. Papaskiri and others. Sh. Inal-Ipa, H. Bgazhba, M. Delba, Sh. Salakaia and others work in the field of criticism. Many works of Russian, Georgian and Western European classics. In collaboration with the Abkhazian writers, a group of talented writers writing in Georgian, Russian and Armenian works - Sh. Akobiya, A. Dzhidaryan, L. Lyubchenko and others.

I. K. Tarba.

Architecture and fine arts. Dolmens of the Bronze Age (2nd half of the 3rd - early 2nd millennium BC), traces of Cyclopean structures, remains of ancient and early medieval civil and defensive structures (ruins of the cities of Dioscuria - Sebastopolis, Anakopia, Pitiunta, 160 km Abkhaz wall, etc.). With the adoption of Christianity (6th century), Byzantine influences penetrated into Armenia. In the cult architecture of the 6th-8th centuries, which is distinguished by the geometric simplicity of forms (the church of the ancient fortress in Gagra, the one-apse basilica in New Athos), at the same time, local building traditions (the use of rough squares of stone) are manifested. During the epoch of the Abkhazian (late 8th-10th centuries) and Georgian (10th-13th centuries) kingdoms, the medieval architecture of Azerbaijan reached its peak. The buildings of this time are characterized by restrained rigor and a variety of forms, avarice of carved decor (basilicas in Ambar, Gantiadi, slender domed basilicas in Mokva and Lykhny, cross-domed churches in Dranda, New Athos, Agu-Bedia, Pitsunda, etc.). By the 11th-12th centuries. include a palace in Bedia, a single-span arched bridge on the Beslet River, and a number of fortifications (the Bagrat castle in Sukhumi, etc.). During the period of feudal fragmentation (14th-16th centuries) and Turkish expansion (16th - early 19th centuries), construction was sharply reduced; mainly fortresses and castles are erected. With the accession to Russia (1810) and the development of capitalism (late 19th - early 20th centuries), the growth of coastal cities began, the construction of industrial and administrative buildings, private dachas, villas, hotels and sanatoriums (a hotel and a palace in Gagra, Aloisi's house in Sukhumi, sanatorium in Gulripshi).

In socialist Azerbaijan, cities are being reconstructed and beautified, and monuments are being restored. The House of the Government of the Abkhaz ASSR (1932-39, architect V. A. Schuko, V. G. Gelfreikh), the Abkhazia Hotel (1938, architect Yu. S. Golubev, Yu. V. Schuko), the railway station ( 1951, architect L. and L. Mushkudiani), Institute of Subtropical Economy (1968, architect D. Kipshidze, O. Paichadze, K. Tsulaya). Since the early 1960s standard housing construction began. The project for the redevelopment of Sukhumi was approved (1968). Marine station under construction (1969). Resort construction began on the coast: in New Athos, Gudauta, Gagra (rest house of the Council of Ministers of the Georgian SSR, 1935, architect N. P. Severov; sanatorium "Ukraine", 1936, architect Y. A. Steinberg; rest house named after 17- 1st Party Congress, 1952, architect A. Alkhazov; rest house "Russia", 1969, architect Yu. Sh. Davitashvili, G. Jabua). In 1959-67, a new resort complex was created in Pitsunda (a group of architects headed by M. V. Posokhin).

In the folk architecture of Armenia, wicker and wooden dwellings with hipped and pyramidal roofs that are rectangular or round in plan (akuaskia, apatskha, amhara, abora, and others) dating back to ancient times, are preserved. A 2-storey dwelling is widespread (the lower floor is stone, the upper one is wooden) with a gallery along the facade. The construction of well-maintained stone buildings is expanding on state and collective farms.

The fine and decorative arts have been developing in Armenia since ancient times. The most ancient works of small plastic art (figurines of people and animals, mainly dogs, sheep and rams, made of clay and bronze), samples of ornamented ceramics, artistic metal products (bronze axes, buckles, bracelets, clasps, decorated with sculptural sculptures) date back to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. and engraved images of animals). Unique are the bronze rhyton from the village of Bambora (beginning of the 1st millennium BC), the marble relief stele (5th century BC) from Sukhumi, the early Byzantine mosaic from Pitsunda (4th-5th centuries), chased gold chalice II century. from the village of Bedia, miniatures of the Mokva and Pitsunda gospels of the early 14th century, frescoes of the 14th-16th centuries. in the temples of Lykhna, Pitsunda, etc.

The art studio, opened in 1918 in Sukhumi by the first professional Abkhazian artist A. K. Shervashidze (Chachba), played an important role in the development of modern fine art in Azerbaijan, as well as the work of the artists A. I. Sadkevich, V. S. Kontarev, and O. A. Segal, LN Nevsky and others. In 1935 an art school was opened in Sukhumi, and in 1937 a college. Fine arts have been further developed. Painters (I. P. Tsomaia, V. F. Evropina, N. O. Tabukashvili, V. Ya. Shcheglov, O. V. Brendel, Kh. and revolutionary themes, still lifes, landscapes. Easel and illustrative graphics (V. D. Bubnova, C. V. Kukuladze, V. Meskhi, etc.), portrait and monumental sculpture (A. I. Razmadze, M. E. Eshba, V. E. Iuanba, B. G. Gogoberidze, Yu. V. Chkadua). Weaving, carving on wood, bone and horn, chasing and engraving on metal, embroidery with gold and silver threads, weaving of patterned belts are developed in decorative and applied folk art.

Z.S. Arshba, A.K. Cacia.

Music. Abkhazian folk music is polyphonic. The two- and three-part songs of the Abkhaz are unusually original. Among the samples of folk art there are many songs, the musical structure of which testifies to their ancient origin. These include cult songs, a large number of hunting and labor songs. A special place in the Abkhazian musical folklore is occupied by the historical and heroic epic, which vividly reflected the harsh and courageous life of the people and their character. The new way of life and attitude are expressed in modern folk songs. Among the Abkhazian musical instruments are ayumaa (corner harp), akhimaa (a zither-type instrument, a trapezoidal frame with strings), akhertsa (two-stringed bowed instrument), acharpan (a type of flute), etc. In Abkhazian songs, the instrument is usually an accompaniment, but in national folklore there are also examples of instrumental music.

Abkhazian folk songs were recorded by K. Dzidzaria, K. Kovach, I. Lakerbai, D. N. Shvedov, A. M. Balanchivadze, Sh. The following operas were created on the basis of Abkhazian folk art: Shvedov's Exiles (staged in 1940, Moscow, WTO Ensemble, excerpts), Balanchivadze's Mzia (staged in 1950, Tbilisi), symphonic, chamber-instrumental and vocal works.

After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan (1921), professional musical culture developed intensively. In 1930, the State Music College and Music School were opened in Sukhumi, under which the Folk Choir under the direction of P. Pantsulai, a symphony and brass band, and the State String Quartet soon began to function. In 1966, the Opera Studio was organized at the music school. The Abkhaz State Philharmonic Society, the State Song and Dance Ensemble of A., the choir, the symphony orchestra, the House of Folk Art with its only choir of centennial folk singers in the world are doing a lot of creative work. Developed amateur art (ensemble "Apsny-67", etc.)

ABKHAZ AUTONOMOUS SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC

Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Ansnyt "and Avtonomt" Sovett "Socialist" Republic), Abkhazia, self-name Apsny ("Country of the soul"). As part of the Georgian SSR. It was formed on March 4, 1921. Area 8.6 thousand km2 Population 481 thousand people (1969 estimate; 405 thousand people according to the 1959 census). In A. - 6 districts, 6 cities, 3 urban-type settlements. The capital is the city of Sukhumi. (see map).

Political system. The Abkhaz ASSR is a socialist state of workers and peasants, an autonomous Soviet socialist republic. The current Constitution was adopted on August 2, 1937 by the 8th All-Abkhazian Congress of Soviets. The highest organs of state power are the unicameral Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, elected for four years at the rate of 1 deputy out of 3,000 inhabitants, and its Presidium. The Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan forms the government, the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan. The Abkhaz ASSR is represented in the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR by 11 deputies. Local bodies of state power - city, district, settlement and rural Soviets of Working People's Deputies, elected by the population for 2 years. The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan elects for a period of 5 years the Supreme Court of the Abkhaz ASSR, consisting of two judicial boards (for criminal and civil cases) and the Presidium of the Supreme Court. The Prosecutor of the Abkhaz ASSR is appointed by the Prosecutor General of the USSR for a term of 5 years.

Nature. A. is located in the northwestern part of Transcaucasia, in the southwest. washed by the Black Sea. The coast is little indented, in many places there are wide pebble beaches. Sea expanses, subtropical vegetation, plantations of tea, tobacco, citrus fruits, dense forests, turbulent rivers and the peaks of the Greater Caucasus give A. extraordinary picturesqueness. Most of the territory of Armenia is occupied by spurs of the southern slope of the Main, or Watershed, range, which limits Azerbaijan from the north (up to 4,046 m high, Mount Dombay-Ulgen). Its spurs are the Gagra, Bzyb, Abkhaz and Kodori ranges. The Klukhor (2,781 m) and Marukh (2,739 m) passes lead to Azerbaijan through the Main Range. In A. comes, gradually narrowing, the Colchis lowland. A narrow strip of lowland stretches along the coast to S.-3. from the river Kodori. Between mountains and lowlands there is a belt of hilly foothills. In Armenia, karst phenomena are developed (the caves of Abrskila, Anakopia, and others).

In the lowlands and foothills, the climate is warm, humid subtropical, in the mountains - humid, moderately warm and cold. The average January temperature in the subtropical zone is from 4 to 7|C, in the mountains from 2 to -2|C; July 22-24|C and 18-16|C, respectively. Average annual rainfall: 1300-1500 mm in the lowlands and foothills, up to 2000-2400 mm in the mountains. The frost-free period in the coastal zone is 250-300 days. In the mountains, snow cover is established for 2-3 months; there are many glaciers in the ridge part of the Main Range.

The rivers belong to the Black Sea basin. The most significant of them - Kodori, Bzyb, Kelasuri, Gumista - are full of water, rich in hydropower (potential hydropower resources are over 3.5 million kW). The rivers are fed mainly by rain and snow and spring-summer floods. In the mountains - the lakes Ritsa and Amtkel.

On the lowlands and in the foothills, marsh, subtropical podzolic, red earth and yellow earth soils are combined. In the mountains up to a height of 1700 m - humus-carbonate and brown forest soils, and above - soddy and soddy-peaty mountain-meadow soils. The flora of A. includes more than 2,000 plant species. Forests cover more than 55% of the area of ​​​​A. In the Black Sea zone, the most developed for cultivated vegetation (subtropical, technical, fruit and ornamental crops, grain crops, etc.), and in the gorges there are separate massifs of broad-leaved forests (hornbeam, hornbeam, oak, chestnut etc.) and olshanikov. On Cape Pitsunda, a grove of relic Pitsunda pine has been preserved. In the mountains, beech trees predominate (in some places with boxwood in the second tier), on the upper part of the slopes - fir and spruce forests. From 2000 m and above - subalpine crooked forests, alpine meadows and rocky-gravel vegetation. In the forests there are a bear, a wild boar, a lynx, a red deer, a roe deer, a tour; in the highlands - chamois, Caucasian black grouse; in the lowlands - a jackal; in rivers and lakes - trout, salmon, carp, pike perch, etc. Reserves - Ritsinsky, Gumistsky, Pitsundsky.

A. A. Mints.

Population. A. inhabits more than 10 peoples. Among them, according to the 1959 census, there were 61.2 thousand Abkhazians, 158.2 thousand Georgians, 86.7 thousand Russians, and 64.4 thousand Armenians; Ukrainians, Greeks, Jews, Byelorussians, Estonians, and others also live. The average density is 56 people per 1 km2 (1969). The population of Azerbaijan increased by 269,000 people from 1926 to 1969. The most densely populated are the coastal plain and foothills, where all cities are located and most of the rural population lives (150-200 people per 1 km2), 93% of the total population is concentrated here. A significant part of the mountainous regions (above 1000 m) does not have a permanent population, some settlements are located in mountain hollows and along river valleys. In 1969 the urban population was 42% (15% in 1926). Cities (1969, thousand inhabitants): Sukhumi (92), Tkvarcheli (30), Gagra (22), Ochamchira (18), Gudauta (15), Gali (11).

Historical essay. The first traces of man on the territory of modern Armenia date back to the Early Paleolithic. Archaeological sites of the 2nd half of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC e. testify to the presence here of agriculture, cattle breeding and crafts, processing of copper and bronze, and then iron. At the beginning of the 1st millennium, an urban-type settlement arose in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bmodern Sukhumi. The first information about the ancestors of the Abkhazian people dates back to the Late Bronze Age. In the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. in A. begins the process of decomposition of the primitive communal system and the formation of a class society. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. A. was part of the Colchis kingdom. Greek colonies such as Dioscuria, Pitiunt, and others arose on the coast of Africa. At the end of the second century. BC e. A. was subordinate to the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator, and from 65 AD. e. - the Romans, who created the fortress of Sebastopolis on the site of Dioscuria. By the end of the 1st c. n. e. tribal formations of the early feudal type (principalities of the Apsils, Abazgs, and Sanigs) developed on the territory of Azerbaijan; during the 4th-6th centuries. Byzantium gradually subjugated the whole of Armenia. In the first half of the 6th c. Christianity was introduced into Armenia as the official religion. In the 6th c. feudal relations developed. By the 8th c. the Abkhaz people were mainly consolidated. In the 80s. 8th c. the ruler A. Leon II achieves the liberation of the country from the power of Byzantium and unites all of Western Georgia under the name of the Abkhazian kingdom with the capital initially in Anakopia, and then in Kutaisi. It reaches its highest development in the 9th-10th centuries. and takes an active part in the struggle for the unification of all Georgia. In the 2nd half of the 10th c. Armenia became part of united feudal Georgia. In the coastal part of Armenia, the population was mainly engaged in agriculture. Increased trade with overseas countries. An ancient trade route from Transcaucasia to Kievan Rus passed along the Black Sea coast. Cattle breeding predominated in the mountainous part. In the highlands, primitive communal relations still persisted. Significant flourishing in the 11-13 centuries. reached feudal culture. Byzantine cultural influence is gradually replaced by Georgian. In the context of the political collapse of feudal Georgia, Azerbaijan at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. separated into an independent principality. However, since the 2nd half of the 16th century. A., like all of Western Georgia, became dependent on Turkey, which sought to destroy the material and spiritual culture of the Abkhaz people, forcibly plant the religion of Islam among the population. The staunch resistance of the population of Armenia to this policy often took the form of open armed uprisings (in 1725, 1728, 1733, 1771, 1806, etc. ). A. saw the possibility of getting rid of the Turkish yoke in rapprochement with Russia, which was formalized in 1810 by an act of official accession to the Russian Empire. The nominal ruler of A. remained the feudal lord - ah.

The development of the economy was hindered by the colonialist policy of tsarism; nevertheless, Armenia’s accession to Russia, which freed it from the dominion of extremely backward Turkey, and its involvement in the all-Russian market system facilitated Azerbaijan’s transition to higher forms of economic and social life and created opportunities for penetration into Azerbaijan. advanced Russian culture, the introduction of the people of A. to the Russian liberation movement.

In 1864, Russian administration was introduced in A., and A. turned into the "Sukhumi military department." Officials of the tsarist military-administrative apparatus relied on the local feudal nobility. The instrument of tsarist colonialism in Armenia was the Orthodox Church, which pursued a policy of restoring Christianity. In Armenia, the struggle of the popular masses against feudal and colonial oppression grew. The largest was the Abkhaz uprising of 1866. In 1870, serfdom was abolished in Azerbaijan, but the peasants remained temporarily liable almost until the Great October Socialist Revolution. A serious consequence of the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78 was the forcible eviction by the Turks of a significant part of the Abkhazian people to Turkey (makhadzhirstvo). In 1877 there were more than 78,000 inhabitants in Azerbaijan; by the end of that year, about 46,000 remained.

In the post-reform period, Armenia was gradually drawn into the mainstream of capitalist relations. In the 90s. the first highway Novorossiysk - Sukhumi - Batumi was built. Turnovers of external and internal markets grew. Tobacco growing has become the leading branch of agriculture. At the beginning of the 20th century The large landowners of Azerbaijan had more than 135,000 acres of land, while the peasants had only 72,000 acres. At that time there were about 400 small, mostly handicraft industrial enterprises in Azerbaijan, employing only 1,030 people.

Late 19th - early 20th centuries F. Kh. Eshba, D. I. Gulia, A. M. Chochua, and others were noted for the activity of prominent Abkhaz educators and educators. In 1902–03, the first Social Democratic organizations arose in Azerbaijan. In 1903, on the initiative of A. G. Tsulukidze, the Sukhum Social Democratic Group of the Batumi Committee of the RSDLP took shape. The revolutionary movement of 1905-1907 in Azerbaijan was led by the Caucasian Union Committee of the RSDLP. In 1905, armed detachments of revolutionary peasants, the Red Hundreds, began to be formed (in Gudauta, Gagra, and the Gali region); In November 1905, a people's militia was organized in Sukhumi. An armed uprising in November-December 1905 was being prepared by the Bolsheviks, headed by GK Ordzhonikidze. In Sukhumi, Gudauta, and Gagra in December 1905, power was actually in the hands of the working people, but revolutionary uprisings were suppressed by the tsarist troops.

Since 1916, a military group of Bolsheviks was active in Sukhumi, which, after the February Revolution of 1917, had a great influence on the soldiers. In May 1917, the District Committee of the RSDLP(b) was created, headed by E. A. Eshba. From the very beginning, the leadership of the Sukhum Soviet was seized by the Mensheviks. But in some districts of Armenia the soviets were Bolshevik. Beginning in November 1917, the power of the local bodies of the counter-revolutionary Menshevik Transcaucasian Commissariat was established in Azerbaijan. In March 1918, under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, the working people of Azerbaijan rose in an armed uprising, on April 8 Sukhumi was occupied, and Soviet power was proclaimed. But on May 17, 1918, after stubborn fighting, the armed forces of the counter-revolutionary Transcaucasian Seim entered Sukhumi. In February-March 1921, the working people of Azerbaijan, together with the working people of all Georgia, raised an armed uprising supported by the Red Army. A revolutionary committee was created in Azerbaijan (E. A. Eshba, N. A. Lakoba, and N. N. Akirtava). On March 4, 1921, Sukhumi became Soviet, and on the same day Soviet power was proclaimed in Azerbaijan. On March 4 and 10, the leaders of the revolutionary committee of Azerbaijan telegraphed V. I. Lenin about the victory of the socialist revolution in Azerbaijan. On March 28, in Batumi, at a meeting of representatives of the Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), representatives of Georgia and Azerbaijan, a decision was made to recognize Azerbaijan as an independent socialist Soviet republic . On March 31, the revolutionary committee of A. by radiogram informed V. I. Lenin, I. V. Stalin and G. V. Chicherin about this event. In May 1921, the Revolutionary Committee of Georgia issued a declaration of independence for the Socialist Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, and on December 16, 1921, on the basis of the "Union Treaty between the SSR of Georgia and the SSR of Abkhazia," Azerbaijan became part of the Georgian SSR; then December 13, 1922 - in the ZSFSR as part of the Georgian SSR. On December 30, 1922, Armenia, as part of the ZSFSR, became part of the USSR. On April 1, 1925, the first Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted. In February 1931, Azerbaijan became part of the Georgian SSR as an autonomous republic.

In April 1921, the Revolutionary Committee of Georgia issued a Decree on Land. On its basis, the nationalization of the land and the distribution of the former landowners' and privately owned lands (over 44 thousand acres) were carried out. Industry was nationalized and other revolutionary economic transformations were carried out.

During the years of the prewar five-year plans, a developed industry was created in Azerbaijan: in 1940, state and cooperative industry produced products worth 91.5 million rubles. in the prices of 1926-27 (in 1914, products were produced for 185.5 thousand rubles; in 1924-25 for 805 thousand rubles). Diversified collective-farm and state-farm agriculture arose; by 1940, 93.8 percent of the peasant farms had been collectivized. A cultural revolution took place: illiteracy was eliminated; the tribal and feudal remnants that existed here earlier have basically disappeared; national cadres of the working class and intelligentsia have grown; higher educational institutions, scientific and research institutions, libraries, clubs, etc., which were absent before, were created. Abkhaz literature and art achieved significant development. On March 15, 1935, A. was awarded the Order of Lenin for achievements in agriculture and industry. On August 2, 1937, the 8th All-Abkhazian Congress of Soviets of Abkhazia approved the new Constitution of the Abkhaz ASSR, which reflected the victory of socialism in the republic. The Abkhazian people consolidated into a socialist nation.

During the Great Patriotic War in August-September 1942, fascist German troops tried to break into Armenia from the north through the passes of the Main Range of the Greater Caucasus, occupied the high-mountainous Abkhazian village of Pskhu, but were stopped and then driven back by the Soviet Army. The working people of Azerbaijan displayed courage and heroism at the front and in the rear. 20 sons of A. were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" in Azerbaijan was awarded to 8,776 people and the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45" to 32,102 people.

In the postwar period, the economy and culture of Armenia continued to develop. In 1968, the gross industrial output of the republic increased by 5.2 times in comparison with 1940. The material and cultural standard of living of the people has increased significantly. In A. 264 Hero of Socialist Labor (1969).

G. A. Dzidzaria.

National economy. In the USSR, tobacco is one of the main bases for high-quality tobacco growing, tea growing, and citrus growing. Health resorts and tourism are of great importance in the economy of Armenia.

The industry of Azerbaijan was entirely created after the establishment of Soviet power. Energy is based on the use of local fuel (coal) and hydropower. On the river Gumista - Sukhumi hydroelectric power station. In 1968, 810 million kWh of electricity was generated (155 million kWh in 1940). Azerbaijan has deposits of coal (Tkvarchelskoye), polymetals, mercury (Avadkhara), and barite (Pitsikvarskoye and Apshrinskoye). In 1968, 939,000 tons of coal were mined (229,000 tons in 1940)—about 40 percent of the Georgian SSR's coal output; An important role is played by the processing of agricultural raw materials, which are largely associated with the subtropical complex - tea (Gali, Achigvara, Okumi, Ochamchira, Akhali-Kindgi, Dranda, Gudauta, etc.), tobacco (Sukhumi, Gudauta, Ochamchira, Gantiadi, etc.). .), as well as the wine, essential oil, canning, meat, dairy, and fish industries. The production of tea (long leaf primary processing) in 1968 amounted to 9.5 thousand tons (1.2 thousand tons in 1940), canned food 13.5 million conventional cans (2.1 million conventional cans in 1940). There are leather and footwear (Sukhumi), clothing (Sukhumi, Gudauta, Ochamchira), woodworking (Kodori, Sukhumi, Bzyb, etc.), instrument-making and metalworking (Sukhumi) industries, and building materials production (Sukhumi, Tkvarcheli, Bzyb, etc.).

Agriculture. A. is distinguished by tea growing, tobacco growing, and the cultivation of citrus fruits, essential oil plants, and tung. Viticulture, fruit growing, vegetable growing, grain farming and animal husbandry are developed.

In 1969 Abkhazia had 133 collective farms and 22 state farms (citrus farms, tea farms, etc.). The sown area was 39.8 thousand ha (59.7 thousand ha in 1940), the area of ​​perennial plantations (tea and citrus plantations, orchards, vineyards) was 34.1 thousand ha. Under the cultivation of tea 13.7 thousand hectares (9 thousand hectares in 1940), mainly in the southeastern part of the republic; Azerbaijan produces 15 percent of the tea leaves in the USSR (38,300 tons in 1968). Azerbaijan occupies a leading position in the Georgian SSR in the production of high-quality yellow tobacco (in 1968 the sown area was more than 6,000 hectares; the yield was 5,900 tons). the main massifs are in the northwestern and central regions of the foothill-hilly strip. Citrus fruits (3.3 thousand hectares) are cultivated in the foothills and hilly areas. Fruit growing (12.1 thousand hectares) and viticulture (5.0 thousand hectares) are widespread in many areas of the coastal strip. From grain crops, corn is sown mainly (24.5 thousand hectares). Potatoes and vegetable and gourd crops (2,200 ha in 1968) are found in the foothills and around large resorts.

In the lowlands, flood control in the lower reaches of rivers and the drainage of individual swamps are of great importance. In 1968 the area of ​​drained land was 24,500 ha.

Livestock breeding is dominated by dairy and dairy-meat cattle, pigs, goats, and poultry. In the flat zone, where there is little natural fodder land, stall and stall-camp keeping of livestock is practiced. Part of the livestock is driven away in the summer to subalpine and alpine pastures. Livestock as of January 1, 1969 (thousand): cattle 142, sheep and goats 41.6, pigs 56.6. Sericulture and beekeeping are developed.

State purchases of agricultural products in 1968 (thousand tons): tea leaves (varietal) 38.3 (6.5 in 1940), fruits 15.4, incl. citrus fruits 4.6, tobacco 5.9, livestock and poultry [in live weight (the term "live weight" is common)] 3.4 (1.4 in 1940), milk and dairy products (in terms of milk) 5.5 (0.9 in 1940), eggs (million pieces) 26.1 (1 million pieces in 1940), cocoons 4.4.

In the Black Sea - fishing (mullet, horse mackerel, etc.).

Transport. The Tuapse-Sukhumi-Samtredia electrified railway line and the Novorossiysk-Sukhumi-Batumi highway pass along the seaside strip of Azerbaijan. The deep mountainous regions are served by the railway line Ochamchira - Tkvarcheli and the highways Bzyb - Avadkhara, Sukhumi - Klukhorsky pass, etc. Sea transportation is carried out through the port of Sukhumi and the port points of Gagra, Gudauta, New Athos, Ochamchira. Union airlines pass through Sukhumi.

Tobacco, tea, fruits, including citrus fruits, wine, and essential oils are exported from Azerbaijan; they import grain, meat and dairy products, sugar, etc.

The well-being of the people on the basis of the growth of the national income of the republic is steadily increasing. The volume of retail trade turnover in 1968 compared with 1950 (in comparable prices) increased 3.2 times. In 1968, state and cooperative enterprises and organizations (excluding collective farms), as well as workers and employees in cities and rural areas, put into operation 74,300 m2 of total (useful) area. In addition, collective farms, collective farmers and rural intelligentsia built 555 residential buildings. The social insurance and pension funds are growing, and the real incomes of the population are increasing.

A. A. Mints.

Healthcare. In 1913 there were 4 hospitals in Azerbaijan (with 92 beds) and 9 doctors. At the beginning of 1969, there were 1,391 doctors in Azerbaijan (403 in 1940), 4,100 paramedical personnel (909 in 1940), 63 hospital institutions (with 4,300 beds), and 242 institutions providing outpatient care. outpatient care for the population. On the coast of the Black Sea, protected from the north-east. mountains of the Greater Caucasus, for several tens of kilometers there are climatic resorts of federal significance - Sukhumi, Gagra, Gudauta, New Athos, Gulripshi, Pitsunda, Leselidze. In the mountainous regions there are outlets of mineral springs used for medicinal purposes (Tkvarcheli, Ritsa-Avadkhara, etc.). At the beginning of 1969 there were 36 sanatorium-and-spa institutions (for 11,400 beds). Tourism is developing successfully. Comfortable tourist centers (open all year round), boarding houses and campsites have been created, summer shelters have been created on Avadkhara and at the Klukhor Pass. It is planned to build cable cars to the Iverskaya mountain in New Athos, to the Sukhumi mountain in Sukhumi.

Public education and cultural and educational institutions. Before the Great October Socialist Revolution, the literacy of the population was about 10%. In the 1914–15 academic year, Azerbaijan had a total of 150 elementary schools (7,600 students), 4 higher elementary schools (0,600 students), and 2 secondary schools (0,500 students). There were no secondary specialized and higher educational institutions. During the years of Soviet power, illiteracy was eliminated in Azerbaijan, and universal compulsory education was introduced. In 1968, about 10,000 children were being brought up in 193 preschool institutions. In the 1968/69 academic year there were 162 elementary schools (5 thousand students), 129 eight-year schools (19.8 thousand students) and 146 secondary schools (72.9 thousand students), 38 schools for working and rural youth (over 5 2 thousand students), 8 houses of pioneers and schoolchildren, 10 children's sports schools, 3 stations for young technicians and young naturalists. About 3 thousand students studied in 6 secondary specialized educational institutions (industrial and agricultural technical schools, medical, musical, cultural and educational and art schools) and a vocational school. At the Institute of Subtropical Economy and the Pedagogical Institute. Gorky had 7.9 thousand students. In 1968, the graduates of specialists of medium and higher qualifications amounted to more than 1,800 people.

In A. there are (1968): Abkhaz State Museum. D. I. Gulia (Sukhumi), Pitsunda Museum-Exhibition, Museum of Abkhaz Weapons (Gagra), 290 public libraries, 194 club institutions, 147 film installations. See also sections Music and Theater.

Scientific institutions. In the republic in 1968 there were 15 scientific institutions, including the Abkhaz Institute of Language, Literature and History. D. I. Gulia of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, the Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences (with a monkey nursery), the Abkhaz branch of the Scientific Research Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy of the Ministry of Health of the Georgian SSR, the Sukhumi branch of the All-Union Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops, the Sukhumi Botanical Garden, etc. In Sukhumi the only research institute of tourism in the USSR was created.

In 1969 there were more than 700 scientific workers in higher education institutions and research institutions, including 27 doctors and about 300 candidates of sciences. Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR I. G. Gverdtsiteli (physics), Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR A. A. Kolakovskii (botany), Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences B. A. Lapin, Doctors of Historical Sciences, professors 3 . V. Anchabadze, G. A. Dzidzaria, Sh. Inal-Ipa; doctor of medical sciences, professor S. Ya. Arshba, professor A. L. Grigelia (medicine) and other prominent scientists.

Printing and broadcasting. In 1968 the Alashara (Light) publishing house published 80 books and pamphlets with a total circulation of 237,000 copies. 3 republican newspapers are published - "Apsny Kapsh" ("Red Abkhazia", ​​since 1921) in the Abkhaz language, "Sabchota Abkhazeti" ("Soviet Abkhazia", ​​since 1937) in Georgian, "Soviet Abkhazia" (since 1921) in Russian - a total one-time circulation of 57 thousand copies (1968). The literary-artistic and socio-political magazine "Alashara" ("Light", since 1955), the magazine for children "Amtsabz" ("Flame", since 1957) are published - both in the Abkhaz language.

The Republican Radio broadcasts in the Abkhaz, Georgian and Russian languages; radio and TV programs are relayed from Moscow, Tbilisi, Sochi.

Literature. Folklore was one of the sources that nourished the Abkhaz fiction from the moment of its inception. Many genres are represented in Abkhazian folklore - from heroic epic tales about Nart heroes and Abrskil to lyrical songs and wise aphorisms. The first attempt to compile the Abkhaz alphabet on a Russian graphic basis was made in 1862 by the Russian linguist P. K. Uslar. The first Abkhaz primer was published in 1865. In 1892, an updated and corrected "Abkhazian alphabet" was published, compiled by D. I. Gulia and K. D. Machavariani. The founder of fiction was the national poet of Abkhazia D. I. Gulia; in 1912 he published his first poetry collection Poems and Ditties. In 1919, the first Abkhaz newspaper Apsny (ed. D. I. Gulia) began to appear, around which young writers gathered. In 1919, D. I. Gulia wrote the story "Under an Alien Sky", which marked the beginning of Abkhazian prose. In 1920, S. Ya. Chanba published the first Abkhazian drama, Makhajirs; the poet I. Kogonia began his creative activity. In his best poems, published in 1925 ("Abataa Beslan", "Navey and Mzauch", "Khmydzh the hunter", "Zoskhan Achba and the sons of Beslan Zhanaa"), he reflected the heroism of folk life. After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan in 1921, conditions were created for the development of realistic literature, and a transition to syllabo-tonic versification was outlined. In the 30-40s. Abkhazian writers created works that received wide recognition: the novel "Kamachich" (1940) and the drama "Ghosts" (1946) by D. I. Gulia; the story "Seydyk" (1934) by S. Ya. Chanba; "The Birth of the Collective Farm" Forward "" (1931) V. V. Agrba: novels: "Temyr" (1937), "Women's Honor" (1949) I. G. Papaskiri. Later, a book of stories "Alamys" (1961) by M. A. Lakerbay appeared; poems, poems, stories by L. Kvitsinia, Sh. Tsvizhba, L. Labakhua, K. Agumaa, D. Darsalia, S. Kuchberia, M. Khashba, P. Chkadua; poems, poems and novels in verse "My Countrymen" (1950), "Song of the Rock" (1958) by the national poet of Abkhazia B. Shinkuba; works by I. Tarba, A. Lasuria, A. Dzhonua, Ch. Dzhonua, K. Lomia, K. Chachkhalia, M. Papaskiri, G. Gublia, V. Ankvaba, A. Adzhinzhal. Many works of G. Gulia, who writes in Russian, are devoted to the life of the Abkhazian people. N. Tarba, A. Gogua, Sh. Chkadua, and D. Akhuba emerged from the literary youth. For children they write: D. Tapagua, G. Papaskiri and others. Sh. Inal-Ipa, H. Bgazhba, M. Delba, Sh. Salakaia and others work in the field of criticism. Many works of Russian, Georgian and Western European classics. In collaboration with the Abkhazian writers, a group of talented writers writing in Georgian, Russian and Armenian works - Sh. Akobiya, A. Dzhidaryan, L. Lyubchenko and others.

I. K. Tarba.

Architecture and fine arts. Dolmens of the Bronze Age (2nd half of the 3rd - early 2nd millennium BC), traces of Cyclopean structures, remains of ancient and early medieval civil and defensive structures (ruins of the cities of Dioscuria - Sebastopolis, Anakopia, Pitiunta, 160 km of the Abkhaz wall, etc.). With the adoption of Christianity (6th century), Byzantine influences penetrated into Armenia. In the cult architecture of the 6th-8th centuries, which is distinguished by the geometric simplicity of forms (the church of the ancient fortress in Gagra, the one-apse basilica in New Athos), at the same time, local building traditions (the use of rough squares of stone) are manifested. During the epoch of the Abkhazian (late 8th-10th centuries) and Georgian (10th-13th centuries) kingdoms, the medieval architecture of Azerbaijan reached its peak. The buildings of this time are characterized by restrained rigor and a variety of forms, avarice of carved decor (basilicas in Ambar, Gantiadi, slender domed basilicas in Mokva and Lykhny, cross-domed churches in Dranda, New Athos, Agu-Bedia, Pitsunda, etc.). By the 11th-12th centuries. include a palace in Bedia, a single-span arched bridge on the Beslet River, and a number of fortifications (the Bagrat castle in Sukhumi, etc.). During the period of feudal fragmentation (14th-16th centuries) and Turkish expansion (16th - early 19th centuries), construction was sharply reduced; mainly fortresses and castles are erected. With the accession to Russia (1810) and the development of capitalism (late 19th - early 20th centuries), the growth of coastal cities began, the construction of industrial and administrative buildings, private dachas, villas, hotels and sanatoriums (a hotel and a palace in Gagra, Aloisi's house in Sukhumi, sanatorium in Gulripshi).

In socialist Azerbaijan, cities are being reconstructed and beautified, and monuments are being restored. The Government House of the Abkhaz ASSR (1932-39, architect V. A. Schuko, V. G. Gelfreikh), the Abkhazia Hotel (1938, architect Yu. S. Golubev, Yu. V. Schuko), and the railway station ( 1951, architect L. and L. Mushkudiani), Institute of Subtropical Economy (1968, architect D. Kipshidze, O. Paichadze, K. Tsulaya). Since the early 1960s standard housing construction began. The project for the redevelopment of Sukhumi was approved (1968). Marine station under construction (1969). Resort construction began on the coast: in New Athos, Gudauta, Gagra (rest house of the Council of Ministers of the Georgian SSR, 1935, architect N. P. Severov; sanatorium "Ukraine", 1936, architect Y. A. Steinberg; rest house named after 17- 1st Party Congress, 1952, architect A. Alkhazov; rest house "Russia", 1969, architect Yu. Sh. Davitashvili, G. Jabua). In 1959-67, a new resort complex was created in Pitsunda (a group of architects headed by M. V. Posokhin).

In the folk architecture of Armenia, wicker and wooden dwellings with hipped and pyramidal roofs that are rectangular or round in plan (akuaskia, apatskha, amhara, abora, and others) dating back to ancient times, are preserved. A 2-storey dwelling is widespread (the lower floor is stone, the upper one is wooden) with a gallery along the facade. The construction of well-maintained stone buildings is expanding on state and collective farms.

The fine and decorative arts have been developing in Armenia since ancient times. The most ancient works of small plastic art (figurines of people and animals, mainly dogs, sheep and rams, made of clay and bronze), samples of ornamented ceramics, artistic metal products (bronze axes, buckles, bracelets, clasps, decorated with sculptural sculptures) date back to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. and engraved images of animals). Unique are the bronze rhyton from the village of Bambora (beginning of the 1st millennium BC), the marble relief stele (5th century BC) from Sukhumi, the early Byzantine mosaic from Pitsunda (4th-5th centuries), chased gold chalice II century. from the village of Bedia, miniatures of the Mokva and Pitsunda gospels of the early 14th century, frescoes of the 14th-16th centuries. in the temples of Lykhna, Pitsunda, etc.

The art studio, opened in 1918 in Sukhumi by the first professional Abkhazian artist A. K. Shervashidze (Chachba), played an important role in the development of modern fine art in Azerbaijan, as well as the work of the artists A. I. Sadkevich, V. S. Kontarev, and O. A. Segal, LN Nevsky and others. In 1935 an art school was opened in Sukhumi, and in 1937 a college. Fine arts have been further developed. Painters (I. P. Tsomaia, V. F. Evropina, N. O. Tabukashvili, V. Ya. Shcheglov, O. V. Brendel, Kh. and revolutionary themes, still lifes, landscapes. Easel and illustrative graphics (V. D. Bubnova, C. V. Kukuladze, V. Meskhi, etc.), portrait and monumental sculpture (A. I. Razmadze, M. E. Eshba, V. E. Iuanba, B. G. Gogoberidze, Yu. V. Chkadua). Weaving, carving on wood, bone and horn, chasing and engraving on metal, embroidery with gold and silver threads, weaving of patterned belts are developed in decorative and applied folk art.

Z.S. Arshba, A.K. Cacia.

Music. Abkhazian folk music is polyphonic. The two- and three-part songs of the Abkhaz are unusually original. Among the samples of folk art there are many songs, the musical structure of which testifies to their ancient origin. These include cult songs, a large number of hunting and labor songs. A special place in the Abkhazian musical folklore is occupied by the historical and heroic epic, which vividly reflected the harsh and courageous life of the people and their character. The new way of life and attitude are expressed in modern folk songs. Among the Abkhazian musical instruments are ayumaa (corner harp), akhimaa (a zither-type instrument, a trapezoidal frame with strings), akhertsa (two-stringed bowed instrument), acharpan (a type of flute), etc. In Abkhazian songs, the instrument is usually an accompaniment, but in national folklore there are also examples of instrumental music.

Abkhazian folk songs were recorded by K. Dzidzaria, K. Kovach, I. Lakerbai, D. N. Shvedov, A. M. Balanchivadze, Sh. The following operas were created on the basis of Abkhazian folk art: Shvedov's "Exiles" (staged in 1940, Moscow, WTO Ensemble, excerpts), Balanchivadze's "Mziya" (staged in 1950, Tbilisi), symphonic, chamber-instrumental and vocal works.

After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan (1921), professional musical culture developed intensively. In 1930, the State Music College and Music School were opened in Sukhumi, under which the Folk Choir under the direction of P. Pantsulai, a symphony and brass band, and the State String Quartet soon began to function. In 1966, the Opera Studio was organized at the music school. The Abkhaz State Philharmonic Society, the State Song and Dance Ensemble of A., the choir, the symphony orchestra, the House of Folk Art with its only choir of centennial folk singers in the world are doing a lot of creative work. Amateur art is developed (ensemble "Apsny-67", etc.)

S.P. Ketsba, I.E. Kortua.

Theatre. The origins of the Abkhaz theatrical culture are in folk games, rituals, oral folk art (performances by satirical singers - akhdzyrtvyu comedians - Kecheks, etc.). Since 1915, amateur performances have been staged in Sukhumi. In 1918, at the initiative of the poet D. I. Gulia, a literary and dramatic circle was created at the Sukhumi Teachers' Seminary. After the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan (1921), a theater troupe began to work under the direction of. D. I. Gulia. In 1928, the Abkhaz sector of the Sukhum Theater was opened. In 1930, classes began in Sukhumi at the newly created Abkhaz drama studio, on the basis of which the Abkhaz national theater was opened in the same year. In subsequent years, the theater included national dramaturgy, dramatizations of folk tales and legends, and plays dedicated to the present (dramatists S. Ya. Chanba, V. V. Agrba, Sh. A. Pachalia, and others) in the repertoire. Classical drama is staged (Shakespeare, Gogol, Gorky). Among the works of the theater: "Ghosts" by D. I. Gulia, "Danakai" by M. A. Lakerbay, "My best role" by M. A. Lakerbay and V. K. Krakht, "Your Uncle Misha" by G. D. Mdivani , "Before sunrise" G. A. Gabunia, "In the dead of old" D. Kh. Darsalia. Among the theater workers: People's Artists of the Georgian SSR and the Abkhaz ASSR A.R. and R.M. Agrba, A. B. Argun-Konoshok, M. I. Zukhba, L. Sh. Kaslandzia, Sh. A. Pachalia, E. 3 . Shakirbay, M. A. Kove, artistic director and director of the drama theater N. R. Eshba. A Georgian troupe works in the theater (People's Artists of the Georgian SSR: M. D. Chubinidze, V. V. Ninidze, L. D. Chedia, and others). In 1967 the theater was named after S. Chanba.

Lit .: Abkhaz ASSR, Tb., 1961; Georgia, M., 1967 (series "Soviet Union"); Kuftireva N. S., Lashkhiya Sh. V., Mgeladze K. G., Nature of Abkhazia, Sukhumi, 1961; Bgazhba M. T., Plant resources of Abkhazia and their use, Sukhumi, 1964; Kuprava A., Saaria B., Apsny aeconomics and aculture and ryshetkakachra, Akua, 1967; Zamyatnin S. N., Paleolithic of Abkhazia, Sukhumi, 1937; Zvanba S. T., Ethnographic studies, Sukhumi, 1955; Essays on the history of the Abkhaz ASSR, parts 1-2, Sukhumi, 1960-64; Anchabadze 3 . V., From the history of medieval Abkhazia (VI-XVII centuries), Sukhumi, 1959; Antelava I. G., Essays on the history of Abkhazia in the 17th-18th centuries, 2nd ed., Sukhumi, 1951; Dzidzaria G. A., National economy and social relations in Abkhazia in the 19th century, Sukhumi, 1958; his own, Accession of Abkhazia to Russia and its historical significance, Sukhumi, 1960; From the history of revolutionary events in Abkhazia in 1905-1907. Sat. Art., Sukhumi, 1955; Struggle for October in Abkhazia. Collection of documents and materials 1917-1921, Sukhumi, 1967; Under the banner of October, Sukhumi, 1968; Abshilava A. A. Sons of Abkhazia - Heroes of the Soviet Union, Sukhumi, 1961; Gogokhiya Sh. D., Health care in Abkhazia, Sukhumi, 1966; Grigolia A. L., Gagra group of resorts, M., 1956; Anthology of Abkhaz poetry, M., 1958; Abkhaz stories, M., 1962; Abkhaz literature. Brief essay, Sukhumi, 1968; Bgazhba H., Zelinsky K., Dmitry Gulia, M., 1965; Ancya Lakukua, vols. 1-2, Akya, 1965-68; Salakaya Sh., Abkhaz folk heroic epic, Tbilisi, 1966; Anshba A., Questions of the poetics of the Abkhazian Nart epic, M., 1966; Inal-Ipa Sh., Notes on the development of Abkhazian literature, Sukhumi, 1967; his own, Abkhazians, 2nd ed., Sukhumi, 1965; Adzhindzhal I. A., Dwellings of the Abkhazians, Sukhumi, 1957; Adzinba I. E., Architectural monuments of Abkhazia, Sukhumi. 1958; Anchabadze 3 . V., History and culture of Ancient Abkhazia, M., 1964; Pachulia V.P., In the land of the Golden Fleece, M., 1968; his own, In Ancient but Eternally Young Abkhazia, Sukhumi, 1969; Kovach K., 101 Abkhaz folk songs (with historical reference), M., 1929; his own, Songs of the Kador Abkhazians, Sukhumi, 1930; Kortua I. E., Abkhaz folk songs and musical instruments, Sukhumi, 1959; his own, Abkhazian folk song, M., 1965; Darsalia V. V., Abkhazian Soviet dramaturgy, Tb., 1968; Lakerbay M., Essays on the history of the Abkhaz theatrical art, 2nd ed., Sukhumi, 1962.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB. 2012

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