The Communist Party of Abkhazia (CPA) ( ab, Аԥсны Акомунисттә Апартиа; ka, აფხაზეთის კომუნისტური პარტია) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in Abkhazia. The party leader is Lev Shamba.

History

The CPA was founded in March 1921 with the demand of a separate Abkhaz Soviet Republic. It was then led by Efrem Eshba. Eshba had formed a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

military-revolutionary committee in

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

in the summer of 1918. Eshba's group demanded direct integration of Abkhazia into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. During the Soviet period, the CPA was a part of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In 1988, the CPA demanded Abkhaz secession. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the CPA was refounded as an independent party on 4 March 1995. In the nineties, it was led by Enver Kapba. During the first Presidential election of Abkhazia, in 1999, it supported President Ardzinba (who ran unopposed). During the Ardzinba era, it functioned as a

loyal opposition Loyal opposition in terms of politics, refers to specific political concepts that are related to the opposition parties of a particular political system. In many Westminster-style parliamentary systems of government, the loyal opposition indicate ...

party. The CPA maintains close contacts with communist groups in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It is affiliated to the

Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP–CPSU), abbr. СКП–КПСС is a federation of communist parties in the post-Soviet states founded in 1993. Gennady Zyuganov has been the organisation's chairman sinc ...

. However, unlike many of the other communist organisations in the region, the CPA has denounced the political legacy of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

. The CPA planned to hold its 8th congress on 30 October 2013, and Lev Shamba announced that he planned to resign as leader, which he had been for eight years, but he was still Chairman by the time of the Party's twentieth anniversary in 2015. On 29 February 2016, the Communist Party became a founding member of the Council for the National Unity of the Republic of Abkhazia, uniting political forces that were neither pro-government nor pro-opposition.

References

External links

1921 establishments in Abkhazia 1995 establishments in Abkhazia Abkhazia Communist parties in Georgia (country) Communist parties in the former Soviet Union Political parties established in 1921 Political parties established in 1995 Political parties in Abkhazia {{Georgia-party-stub