Tkvarcheli ( ka, ტყვარჩელი ; ab, Тҟəарчал, ''Tqwarchal''; Ткуарчал (Tkuarchal) russian: Ткварчели, ''Tkvarcheli'') is a town in
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
.
It is situated on the river
Ghalidzga (Aaldzga) and a railway connects it with
Ochamchire. Akarmara, an area within the town, is a
ghost town with abandoned apartments and factories which became uninhabited in the early 1990s due to the
War in Abkhazia (1992-93), and is home to just 35 residents today.
[Inal Khashi]
Tkuarchal, Abkhazia – a former coal capital trying to survive
05.09.2020 JAMnews
History
Coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
, which began in the area in 1935, grew in importance during the
Second World War, especially after the
Donbas
The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...
was lost during
the German invasion of the
Soviet Union. Tkvarcheli was given town status on 9 April 1942.
During the
War in Abkhazia (1992–93), Tkvarcheli withstood, through Russian military aid, a
siege by the Georgian forces. Since 1995, it has been the centre of the newly formed
Tkvarcheli District. On 27 September 2008, President
Sergei Bagapsh awarded it the honorary title of Hero City.
[
]
Industry
Coal-mining has been the town's main industry, although now the Soviet mines are closed and coal is quarried only by the Abkhaz-Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
Tamsaş company using the open pit method.[Abkhazia Today.](_blank)
''The International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...
Europe Report N°176, 15 September 2006''. Retrieved on September 30, 2007. ''Free registration needed to view full report'' and has arrested several vessels, loaded with coal from Tkvarcheli, in its territorial waters, a measure that has reportedly brought Tamsaş to the verge of bankruptcy.
Demography
The town's population was 21,744 in 1989. The three main ethnic groups were Abkhaz (42.3%), Russians (24.5%) and Georgians
The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
(23.4%). As a result of the War in Abkhazia the town's industries all but stopped and its population decreased greatly and was between 7,000 and 8,000 in 2004 according to some sources and only 4,800 according to others. At the time of the 2003 census, its population was 4,786. By the time of the 2011 census, it had increased to 5,013. Of these, 66.5% were Abkhaz, 17.4% Georgian, 9.7% Russian, 1.3% Ukrainian, 1.1% Armenian and 0.4% Greek.2011 Census results
/ref>
Gallery
File:Akarmara.jpg, View of the Akarmara ghost town near Tkvarcheli
File:Akarmaabandoned.jpg, View of an abandoned factory in Akarmara
File:Akarmaraghosttown.jpg, View of abandoned apartments in Akarmara
Notes
References
{{Administrative divisions of Abkhazia
Populated places in Tkvarcheli District
Sukhum Okrug