The Sochi conflict was a three-party armed conflict which involved the counterrevolutionary White Russian forces,

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and the

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, tr) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia (country), Georgia, which exist ...

, each of which sought control over the strategic

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

town of

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. The conflict was fought as a part of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

and lasted with varying success from June 1918 to May 1919, and ended through

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

mediation.

Background

Georgian claims came from the fact that the area was politically dominated by the medieval

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

at the height of its prestige and strength, and then came under the rule of a successor, the

Kingdom of Imereti The Kingdom of Imereti ( ka, იმერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, I ...

and, eventually, the Principality of Abkhazia. The area of increasing tourist interest, part of this region was detached by the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

's decree of December 25, 1904, from the Sukhumi district (

Kutais Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia (country), Georgia throughout most of its ...

) to become part of the Black Sea Governorate. The region was inhabited by a significant number of

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

and

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

. According to Peter Kenez, "The collapse of the Turkish front, which resulted directly from the fall of the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

, meant a great danger to this area: Georgians and Armenians, traditional enemies of the Turks, remained defenseless. Politicians formed a

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

, the

Transcaucasian Commissariat The Transcaucasian Commissariat was established at Tbilisi on 15 November 1917, as the first government of the independent Transcaucasia following the October Revolution in Petrograd. The Commissariat decided to strengthen the Georgian–Armenia ...

, with the participation of Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Russians in order to cope with the immediate problems of the area and to organize some sort of defense." After the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...

, each member of the federation declared their own independence. Kenez states, "Whatever the Georgian Mensheviks felt about the Germans, the Republic desperately needed their help; they were the only force with the means to restrain the Turks. Indeed the German Command pressured the Turks into accepting a reasonable treaty with Georgia. German troops soon arrived and took possession of the most important roads and railways." The Russian general

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...

and his colleagues insisted, however, that the border between Georgia (though not yet recognized by either White or Soviet leadership) and the White-controlled Kuban People's Republic should be that between the former Russian governorates of Kutais and Black Sea, i.e. slightly in the north to the Bzyb River.

Conflict

The conflict was preceded by a pro-

revolt in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

. In March 1918, local Bolsheviks in Abkhazia under the leadership of Nestor Lakoba, a close associate of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, capitalized on agrarian disturbances and, supported by the revolutionary peasant militias, ''kiaraz'', won power in Sukhumi in April 1918. The

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR; 22 April – 28 May 1918) was a short-lived sovereign state, state in the Caucasus that included most of the territory of the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (coun ...

, which claimed the region as its part, sanctioned the suppression of the revolt and, on May 17, the National Guard of Georgia ousted the Bolshevik commune in Sukhumi. Another revolt took place in June 1918 that made the local Abkhazian government, Abkhaz People's Council, which emerged after the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

in Russia, to request aid from the

and join it as an autonomous entity (June 8, 1918). A Georgian force under Major General Giorgi Mazniashvili was deployed in the region and joined by Abkhaz cavalry provided by local nobility. Mazniashvili repulsed a Bolshevik offensive from

late in June. The Georgians armed the

Kuban Cossacks Kuban Cossacks (; ), or Kubanians (, ''kubantsy''; , ''kubantsi''), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of different major groups of Cossacks who were re-settled to the western Norther ...

, and prevented a Red Army advance south along the Black Sea coast. By the middle of July the Georgians had occupied

Tuapse Tuapse (; , Ṫuapsă ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse is a sea port and the northern center of a resort zone which extends sou ...

. Mazniashvili was soon ordered to take control of the Tuapse-

Maykop Maykop is the capital city of Adygea, Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River. It borders Maykopsky District, from which it is administratively and municipally independent, to the east and south; Giaginsky District to the north, ...

railway line, the Caspian oil pipeline, and Sochi. Denikin sent E.V. Maslovskii as

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

's representative. Kenez states, "The first month in the history of the relations between the Volunteer Army and Georgia was the best." The Volunteer Army helped stop a Bolshevik advance on Tuapse, after the Georgians retreated to Sochi. On September 18, a Council for Sochi (a legislature formed by the local

Menshevik The Mensheviks ('the Minority') were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Mensheviks held more moderate and reformist ...

s and SRs in August) declared the unification of the city and its district to the

as a "temporary measure" against the threats from both

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 ...

and Denikin. The annexation by Georgia followed immediately and caused an acute protest from the leaders of the White forces. On September 25–26, 1918, the Volunteer Army met in Ekaterinodar with the a Georgian delegation consisting of E. P. Gegechkori, foreign minister, and General G. I. Mazniashvili. The main issue discussed at the conference was the possession of Sochi. However, negotiatians broke off without an agreement after heated exchanges. According to Kenez, "The Ekaterinodar meeting set the pattern for future relations. The history of these relations is a dreary series of bitter exchanges, border skirmishes, and at times even large-scale fighting." On February 6, 1919, the Georgian troops were forced back to the Bzyb river with their commander General Konyev (Koniashvili), and his staff captured by the Russians at

Gagra Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Russian language, Russian and ) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia (country), Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Ga ...

. Georgia sent reinforcements, but the

representatives intervened establishing a demarcation line along the Bzyb. The captured Georgian officers were released. On March 14, 1919, a Georgian delegation presented at Paris peace conference a project of the borders of the country in which it demanded a part of the former Black Sea province up to the small river Makopse 14 km southeast to the town Tuapse. The negotiations, however, yielded no results. On April 12, 1919, a

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

-based Georgian People's Guard and army units under General Mazniashvili launched a counteroffensive. Avoiding the British peacekeeping posts at the Bzyb river, they retook Gagra after a bloody clash and, in cooperation with the "Green" Russian guerillas, moved to the Mekhadiri river. The British intervention however halted the Georgian advance. A new demarcation line was established south to Adler, on the Psou River. Along the border, a British expeditionary force took positions to prevent further outbreak of the war. On May 23–24, Georgian, Russian Volunteers' and British representatives met in

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 ( ...

to find a peace resolution. Actually, this was the end of the conflict. Occasional skirmishes occurred, however, until the late 1919. The establishment of the current official Russian-Georgian border along the Psou was perhaps the main outcome of the Sochi conflict. The new border was de jure recognized by the

Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(May 1920) and the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

(January 1921).

Bibliography

*R. H. Ullman, ''Britain and the Russian Civil War'' (Princeton, 1968), pp. 219–20
Georgian-Abkhaz relations in 1918–1921
article by A. Menteshashvili

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Caucasus map within the Russian Empire as of 1882

Sochi conflict in literature