Abasha ( ka, აბაშა) is a town in western

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

with a population of 4,941. It is situated between the rivers of

Abasha Abasha ( ka, აბაშა) is a town in western Georgia (country), Georgia with a population of 4,941. It is situated between the rivers of Abasha (river), Abasha and Noghela, at 23m Above mean sea level, above sea level and is located some t ...

and Noghela, at 23m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

and is located some to the west of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. The settlement of ''Abasha'' acquired the status of a town in 1964 and currently functions as an administrative center of the

Abasha Municipality Abasha ( ka, აბაშის მუნიციპალიტეტი) is a district of Georgia, in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. Its main town is Abasha. Population: 22,341 (2014 census) Area: 323 km2 Sights House Museum of fa ...

within the

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti ( Georgian: სამეგრელო-ზემო სვანეთი ) is a region (Mkhare) in western Georgia with a population of 308,358 (2021) and a surface of . The region has Zugdidi as its administrative center ...

region. The headquarters of the

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

Eparchy of Chkondidi is also located in Abasha. The modern history of Abasha is primarily associated with a resonant

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era economic experiment introduced by the Georgian

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

party chief

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia (country), Georgi ...

in the 1970s. In 1971, Shevardnadze grouped all regional agricultural institutions, including the

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

, into a single management association. At the same time, those who worked on the land received material and financial preference. The move facilitated local initiative and coordination and led to a rapid increase in agricultural production in the previously very poor Abasha District. It had been the first private enterprise in the Soviet Union since

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. Early in the 1980s, the "Abasha experiment" was expanded, with varying degrees of success, to other regions of Georgia. Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition'', page 312.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

Name

The word "Abasha" comes from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. According to a legend, the Arabs wanted to cross the river, but it was swollen and they shouted at one another "Aba-sha" i.e. "retreat". According to the memoir by Juansher, a 23,000 Abyssinian

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

man of Ethiopian origin in the

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...

's army in the 8th century drowned in one river, and the other river seized 35,000 horses. Due to that one river was named

and the other one

Tskhenistsqali The Tskhenistsqali ( ka, ცხენისწყალი, ''Cxenisċqali'' , also: ''Tskhenistskali'') is a river in northern Georgia (country), Georgia. Its source is in the main range of the Caucasus Mountains, in the easternmost part of the ...

People from Abasha

Konstantine Gamsakhurdia Konstantine Gamsakhurdia ( ka, კონსტანტინე გამსახურდია, tr) (May 3, 1893 – July 17, 1975) was a Georgians, Georgian writer and public figure. Educated and first published in Germany, he married West ...

(1893–1975), a Georgian writer * Akaki Khoshtaria (1873–1932), a Georgian entrepreneur, socialite, and philanthropist *

Radish Tordia Radish Tordia ( ka, რადიშ თორდია) (born 21 August 1936) is a Georgian painter of figurative art. He works in oil painting, with particular emphasis on colouristic features. His preferred subject is women, who he regards as ...

(born 1936), a Georgian painter *

Giorgi Kvilitaia Giorgi Kvilitaia () ( ka, გიორგი ქვილითაია, tr, , born 1 October 1993) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot First Division club Aris Limassol and the Georgia national team. C ...

(born 1993), a Georgian professional football player, currently active for

K.A.A. Gent Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (; English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Gent or by their nickname ' (), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football tea ...

* Revaz Nadareishvili Born: June 21, 1991 (age 28 years), Abasha, Georgia. a Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler. He won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman 98 kg event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in which he was eliminated in the round of 16 by Elis Guri.

References

External links

Administration of Abasha
Cities and towns in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Kutaisi Governorate {{Georgia-geo-stub

Name

People from Abasha

See also

References

External links