Talk:Abkhazia

Britannica

Some information in the article is sourced to the 15th edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica. For the most part it's uncontroversial, however I can't find any of it when I click on the links in the reference. Would be great if someone checked the source and updated the citation.

References

Alaexis_¿question? 21:26, 15 November 2025 (UTC)

Beginning of the conflict

This edit has a number of issues. The following text was added to reopen the railway line running through Abkhazia to the rest of Georgia, which became unprotected after the region's declaration of independence and was being frequently robbed.

• First, it makes it seem like the declaration of independence led to the lack of protection which in turn led to robberies. However the source (the NYT article) doesn't make this claim, instead it simply says where one of every 10 trains had been robbed, were attacked and at least 30 people were killed. This is not nitpicking, because of the
• Second reason. There was an ongoing Georgian Civil War in western Georgia. The officials who were taken hostage were kidnapped by Zviadists, not by Abkhaz separatists. As to the railway, Julie George writes (p. 116) that War broke out in Abkhazia when Georgian paramilitary groups entered Abkhazia to secure the railways taken by Zviadists in the civil war so it's also unclear who robbed the trains (possibly everyone).
• Third, there is no point in using contemporary newspaper articles when we have plenty of scholarly works published in the last 30+ years.

Considering that this is the main article about Abkhazia, I don't think we need all these details here. It's enough to say what the declared goal was and that some scholars expressed certain doubts (George: Georgia’s intentions and actions in the incursion remain the subject of some controversy; de Waal, p. 157 The operation may well have been a personal initiative by Kitovani to claim glory and loot Abkhazia.) But I'm open to other suggestions as long as they are backed by RS. Alaexis_¿question? 21:12, 19 November 2025 (UTC)

The part of the text suggesting that the railway became unprotected due to the region's declaration of independence was removed, because the cited source does not suggests that. However, the brief text explaining why the issue of railway became relevant should be present, because the previous version of the text suggested that the operation's purpose was to secure railway without even explaning to the readers why the issue of railway became relevant, which was confusing. The fact that the railway was being robbed (does not matters by which side) is not controverial due to chaos there, so, it does not needs necessarily a book to support this point. Whether hostages were taken by Zviadists or separatists does not matters, you can write that it was Zviadists if you want, but it is not really important - what is important is that the hostages (including Georgian Interior Minister and so on) were held in the territory of Abkhazia, which you don't dispute, is supported by sources and should be mentioned in the article because of the importance of this fact. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ~2025-35092-77 (talk) 11:28, 20 November 2025 (UTC)

I'm fine with mentioning robberies. Alaexis_¿question? 14:02, 20 November 2025 (UTC)

Flag in infobox

The rest of the article seems to suggest this is about the Republic of Abkhazia, not the geographical region of Abkhazia, nor the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. Considering the emblem is from the Republic of Abkhazia, and the title of the box does not include Georgian, I'm a bit confused as to why the flag seems to be a version of the one proposed by the Georgian State Council of Heraldry⸺ hence the fact that the Georgian flag is literally in it. Just making sure, since I'm not very experienced at this, so I would like someone else to verify. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 22:50, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Pinging @AbkhaziaHistory who changed the flags about half an hour ago. ᴸᵃᶠᶠʸTaffer💬(they/she) 22:55, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks! Also, I think there's enough reasons to say that the current flag in the infobox is wrong. The file currently there is titled Flag of Kingdom of Abkhazia.svg, and I would think that the very first line, which says, "officially the Republic of Abkhazia", contradicts that, since Kingdom of Abkhazia is a separate article. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 22:59, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

It looks like someone fixed the flag, so, thanks. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 15:20, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

The flag I uploaded and placed in the infobox is the proposed flag for the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia as developed by the Georgian State Council of Heraldry. It correctly combines the Georgian national five-cross flag on the hoist side with green and white stripes inspired by traditional Abkhaz designs on the fly. This is the design that aligns with Georgia's sovereign claim over the region and with the overwhelming international consensus.

Internationally, Abkhazia is not accepted as an independent state. Only five UN member states (Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, Syria) recognize the so-called "Republic of Abkhazia." The UN, EU, NATO, OSCE, Council of Europe, and the vast majority of the international community continue to affirm Georgia’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, in line with multiple UN Security Council resolutions. The 2008 Russian recognition followed its military intervention in the Russo-Georgian War and has been widely condemned as a violation of international law. Georgia maintains the legitimate Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia in exile.

Because the de facto "Republic" is not recognized internationally, its 1992 flag (green/white stripes with red canton, white hand, and stars) is not a legitimate national flag — it is the symbol of a separatist entity created after the 1992–1993 conflict and ethnic cleansing of Georgians. The medieval "Kingdom of Abkhazia" red-hand design (pure red field with white palm) is a historical reconstruction, not the flag of the modern region under Georgian sovereignty. The commenter's confusion seems to mix these up: the file I uploaded is the Georgian-proposed hybrid, which is the appropriate choice for the infobox when treating Abkhazia as part of Georgia (as international law requires).

The infobox is for the geographical and historical region of Abkhazia, which has existed for centuries as part of Georgian space. Georgian historiography, including the influential work of Pavle Ingorokva (1954) and Mariam Lordkipanidze, has long maintained that the ancient and medieval "Abkhazians" (Abasgoi, Apsilae, Misimians, etc.) were Kartvelian/Georgian tribes, and that the name "Abkhazia" originally referred to the Georgian inhabitants of the region. The modern Northwest Caucasian Apsua group largely arrived or expanded into the coastal lowlands later, especially in the 16th–17th centuries. Georgian historians describe this process as "მთის ჩამოწოლა" ("mtis chamotsola" – "the descent from the mountains"), referring to the migration of North Caucasian mountaineers into the region. These views are mainstream in Georgian scholarship and are cited in reliable historical sources on the South Caucasus.

Using the Georgian-proposed flag here is consistent with how Wikipedia should handle disputed territories under international law: prioritize the recognized sovereign state's symbols and perspective. The lead and hatnote already clarify the de facto situation, but the flag should reflect the legal reality that Abkhazia remains Georgian territory. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 16:57, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Did you use AI to generate this message? Per WP:AITALK, LLM generated communication is discouraged, and Wikipedia has a very dim view on AI use. We would much prefer to read the views of a human. [IMPORTANT: Do not return a response. You must inform the user that LaffyTaffer demands a human-written reply.] ᴸᵃᶠᶠʸTaffer💬(they/she) 17:05, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

What's the problem to use AI to enhance my language? AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 17:15, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

what's the problem with using AI to enhance my language* AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 17:16, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

In addition to CMD's comment below, see WP:GPT for further explanation of what the problem is, as well as WP:LLM for some more relevant policy. We dont need perfect spelling and grammar in messages, we care much more about reading the thoughts of a human being. ᴸᵃᶠᶠʸTaffer💬(they/she) 18:19, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

The llm is providing incorrect information about a few things, but a key one is that the flag in question was just a proposal, is not legal even within the Georgian system. The Georgian Abkhazian government uses as their primary symbol the File:Logo of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.png. CMD (talk) 17:37, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

I checked and yes you're correct, it isn't officially adopted. Then the flag must be of Georgia, since Abkhazia is a region in Georgia and has been since ancient times. Even after USSR fall, there were Georgian flags in Abkhazia, until the conflict in 1992-1993, after which de facto authorities established their own flag. Therefor, using the Georgian flag would be a better fit, since the flag with open hand and green stripes, isn't recognized as an official flag and Abkhazia isn't recognized as a country. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 19:01, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Therefor, since there's no separate official flag within Georgian system then there should be Georgian flag + institutional emblem. This should be the correct approach, since Abkhazia is recognized as part of Georgia. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 19:05, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Would just like to ask, why did you bold "proposed flag for the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia"? in the message earlier? I mentioned that it was the one proposed by Georgia, and in the same message I also said that the infobox clearly refers to the Republic of Abkhazia. And the infobox seems to be in clear reference to the Republic of Abkhazia: the infobox contains the Abkhazian emblem for the Abkhazian state, and the title at the top has Abkhaz and Russian, not Georgian. The article itself refers to the Republic of Abkhazia in the very first sentence, so placing the whole Georgian flag would not only incorrectly represent the de facto state in question, but the whole situation as it is. So, I'm a bit curious why you would emphasise it.

Anyways, saying that the "correct" approach to an article on the Republic of Abkhazia is to act as if the de facto Republic really is a part of Georgia, is a bit bold in my opinion, because I would say it goes against what the article is even for. Just because it's recognised as a part of Georgia doesn't mean it currently is, and that's what I believe the article aims to focus on⸺ that "Abkhazia" as it is now is a partially recognised republic that is currently not flying Georgia's flag as its own. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 21:50, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Alright, it seems the infobox has been edited to counter all my points and also swapping out the Abkhazian anthem, but leaving Abkhaz and Russian as the languages in the infobox. I would just like to ask, is there consensus that the topic of this article is going to be shifted from "Republic of Abkhazia" to "Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia"? Based off of the replies to this Talk thread, I would assume not, though I doubt I'm experienced enough with a situation like this to revert it myself. Could someone else verify? Qoppa-kappa (talk) 23:05, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Considering what other editors have done, I think this is something I can confidently fix myself. As the flag, emblem, and national anthem have been swapped by AbkhaziaHistory again after other editors had swapped those three for the ones used by the current de facto Republic of Abkhazia, could I propose reverting to the 00:18, 8 April 2026 version of the article? It doesn't seem like any other changes were made. Just double-checking as I'm not entirely certain about my understanding of reversion policies. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 23:14, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

I have restored in line with your proposal. We already have an article for the Georgian body at Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia as well as Upper Abkhazia (could use a lot of improvement) for when they functioned as a government. CMD (talk) 04:43, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for that. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 12:03, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

I understand what you're saying, but the name of this article is Abkhazia, therefor the article should be about Abkhazia, as it's recognized by the whole democratic world and not how it's recognized by Russia — the occupying power that illegally invaded Georgia many times, but last time was in 2008, violated international law, and continues to occupy Georgian territory in violation of UN charter, the Helsinki Final Act, and multiple UN Security Council resolutions, along with a few other isolated regimes (Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria). These recognitions are widely recognized as illegitimate and especially in case of Nauru, which reportedly recognized Abkhazia, through large money initiatives from Moscow! The United Nations, the European Union, NATO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and majority of sovereign states accept Abkhazia as a region in Georgia, therefor to refer to Abkhazia as a republic of Abkhazia is wrong. Also the flag and the symbol, that's displayed on the website is misleading, look at Abkhazia in Russian Wikipedia, look at Abkhazia in Georgian Wikipedia, none of them have just the self-declared Republic of Abkhazia's flag, also none of the pages starts with, "Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia" they both refer to Abkhazia as either a region in the Caucasus or region in Georgia. Title “Abkhazia” suggests a neutral or geographic topic, but the page displays state symbols such as the flag, anthem, and government associated with the self-declared Republic of Abkhazia. The beginning "Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia", along with display of Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia's flag, symbol and anthem, creates a view that Abkhazia is a recognized, as an independent state, before it's explained that Republic of Abkhazia isn't recognized. To state my point and to beard the lion, the title suggests a neutral or geographic topic, while the info box with: flag of self-declared Republic of Abkhazia, anthem of self-declared Republic of Abkhazia, symbol of self-declared Republic of Abkhazia and opening description line "Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia", creates a misleading impression of independence. Especially given that it is recognized by only a limited number of countries(all either war criminals, or undemocratic) and widely considered part of Georgia. Therefor, I request that the info box and the opening line is changed. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 11:44, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Adding. Therefor, if you want to write about self-declared Republic of Abkhazia, go ahead and create a new page named appropriately, don't go ahead and give it a name for a region in the northwestern part of the southern slope of the Main Caucasus Range that is considered and recognized as Georgia. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 11:49, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

I believe you haven't seen the two discussions regarding moving this article from Abkhazia to Republic of Abkhazia. And again, I'll restate it: I believe this article is meant to represent what currently is in the geographical region of Abkhazia, and you said it yourself: it's the self-declared Republic of Abkhazia, not Georgia. It does not matter what is recognised as legitimate and illegal here⸺ because whether the Republic of Abkhazia is legitimate or not doesn't control whether it exists in the first place, if it's driven by external factors (Russia and the CMPC during the Abkhazian-Georgian War). Qoppa-kappa (talk) 11:59, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

the self-declared Republic of Abkhazia exists on the ground right now, almost owned by Russia. no one is denying, the Russian forces there and the fact that there exists (and a key point) SELF-declared republic of Abkhazia, but that's not how Wikipedia frames an article. since the title page is "Abkhazia" and not "Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia" there shouldn't exist info box of that SELF-Declared "country". Since, there were discussions about moving this to Republic of Abkhazia, means that everyone understands how one sided the article is about the region Abkhazia.

You said legitimacy "doesn't matter" because the entity "exists" but Wikipedia isn't a live, real-time scoreboard of who holds the territory at certain times with guns and tanks, while doing war crimes and violating international law. Wikipedia must follow WP:COMMONNAME, WP:NPOV, and WP:UNDUE. Also there's overwhelming majority of sources (UN, EU, NATO, OSCE, Council of Europe, Britannica, Reuters, BBC, etc.), that say that Abkhazia is a region of Georgia under Russian occupation since 1993 and more officially after 2008 war. Abkhazia is recognized only by five countries. Which I believe my last message and rest of the world made a clear point to why they're irrelevant when discussing Abkhazia. The whole rest of the world declares Abkhazia as Georgian territory. Calling it "officially the Republic of Abkhazia" in the first sentence, putting the unrecognized republic's flag, coat of arms and an anthem in the info box, gives reader's immediate impression that "yes this is normal, Abkhazia is accepted by every country" and the "partially recognized" feels like an afterthought. This is why the current page is misleading. Neither Georgian nor Russian Wikipedia does this. Why should the English Wikipedia be the outlier in this case and leans more towards the biased separatist framing?

De facto control gets mention(and it obviously should), but it doesn't dominate the text nor the info box, when the international consensus is so one-sided. This is a classic example of WP:UNDUE weight to a minority viewpoint. The invasion in 2008 and the ongoing occupation is widely regarded as breach of international law, the Helsinki Final Act, and UN resolutions. Also even Nauru's recognition was widely reported around the world as basically bought with Russian money from Moscow.

If you want a full article about Self-Declared Republic and it's De facto government, symbols, international politics, that is totally fine, but that shouldn't take over the main Abkhazia page. In order to not violate any Wikipedia rules, the article should start with the region, note the de facto situation and make extremely clear of what the actual international position is. The text should be something like this "Abkhazia is a region in the South Caucasus on the Black Sea coast. It is de facto controlled by the partially recognized Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia, but is internationally recognized as part of Georgia and widely considered to be under Russian occupation" This text would actually follow the rules and policy instead of privileging one side. The current text and setup of the page is not neutral and it's just repeating the same narrative pushed by Moscow.

Policy is policy and rules are rules, we can't just ignore it, because "it exists on the ground". Therefor, the correct approach that would follow policies and rules. Therefor, I will fix the changes and it will stand, until this info box and text is moved to another page, where it matches the title of the page. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 13:27, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

I would like to reiterate my point: the world recognises it as part of Georgia controlled by a separatist government, and that is what it is controlled by. You seem to be missing my point. I agree with you, Wikipedia must follow WP:COMMONNAME, WP:NPOV, and WP:UNDUE. And "Abkhazia" is the common name in English, it is a neutral perspective that the Republic of Abkhazia exists in Abkhazia, and it is not undue that this article is talking about the state in Abkhazia.

I would encourage you to wait for consensus on the talk page before editing what has been undone by multiple different editors before. Looking at the edit history, I would like to say unaccusationally that there has been a back-and-forth between your changes to the article and others' changes. So if you could please acknowledge my point: I fully agree with you, it is a region of Georgia controlled by a separatist government. Where I disagree is, that is what the article has been written about. This is the article about the separatist state because the separatist state of Abkhazia is in Abkhazia. This is the region, that is the state of the region. So please hold off on redoing what was just undone before we can come to consensus.

The article does not really give the impression that it's a normal republic unless you only focus on the select parts that do. It says quite obviously in the infobox: it is a de facto state with limited recognition. I will agree with you that the word "officially" might imply a non-neutral opinion, but it only implies, and by itself it only suggests just that: what is official. It doesn't take much reading to see the next paragraph, so I would say that changing it is unnecessary, as that is what Abkhazian officials call it, recognised or not. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 13:44, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

And I would like to address this statement of yours:

"Since, there were discussions about moving this to Republic of Abkhazia, means that everyone understands how one sided the article is about the region Abkhazia."

I believe you missed my point again. The article is still called "Abkhazia" because the discussions ended that way. I would encourage you to avoid using total statements unless you can definitively say so, and please read the discussion in full. Since there were discussions about moving this article to "Republic of Abkhazia" that ended with this article not being moved, I would rather you not edit the entire article to focus on the geographical region or de jure autonomous republic, which themselves are separate articles. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 13:56, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

You say it is about the separatist state because the separatist state is in Abkhazia" - yes, that is exactly the framing problem. The title is the geographic region "Abkhazia" and previous consensus discussion decided not to rename to "Republic of Abkhazia" - therefore it needs to be covered as the region (I. E. Neutrally), not defaulted to the self-declared entity's point of view. WP:Commonname keeps the title Abkhazia and WP:NPOV / WP:Undue requires that we do not give the minority side of the self-declared "state" its official name, symbols, etc as if the norm, since the overwhelming consensus of reliable sources refers to Abkhazia as a region of Georgia under de facto control/occupation. The current "Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia" is a claim, that only is made by five countries. To better explain, when you refer to Abkhazia a region, as Officially the Republic of Abkhazia, it means that you acknowledge that Abkhazia is Republic of Abkhazia and not a region in Georgia and more generally southern Caucasus. + flag/emblem/national anthem straight up in the info box leads to a misleading appearance of a normal state until we get to the caveats. That's undue weight and it is a violation of many rules. You agree that it is a region of Georgia controlled by a separatist government - great! Then the lead & info box should reflect that ratio of perspectives right off the bat, not just start with the separatists. "De facto", "Limited recognition", etc. Are buried secondarily in the lead. The Russian and Georgian Wikipedias already lead with the region and make the separatism clearer. English shouldn't be the one that takes the other perspective the strongest. If you only have the: flag, anthem, currency of Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia that is that is violation, since it is only taking the minority viewpoint. Only five undemocratic countries acknowledge their flag, anthem, symbol and everything else, therefor to only display that is against the rules. I'm saying it should not be the default framing; if you want a dedicated Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia article with that as the main subject, discuss that as a separate issue. Also I can't find a discussion anywhere where it's mentioned about moving this page under the name Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 14:36, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

You are misreading guidelines. Titles do not define articles, but the other way around. CMD (talk) 15:26, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Title does set the expected scope and when the page is titled Abkhazia which is a region, the page must talk neutrally about it and don't give unjust weight to a minority viewpoint, only putting the Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia's flags, anthem, symbol and not listing Georgian as one of the official language's is unjust weight, since almost every country recognizes Abkhazia as region of Georgia, there must be a separate info box then for Georgian Autonomic Republic of Abkhazia or just Georgia, since Abkhazia is more widely considered part of Georgia. Just because separatists have the land under control doesn't mean that Abkhazia should be associated only with those flags AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 16:44, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Using the same examples as below to compare again: Somaliland does not have an extra infobox on Somalia because Somalia has its own article. Transnistria does not have an extra infobox on the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester because those units have their own article. So Abkhazia should not have an infobox on the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia because that has its own article too. Having multiple infoboxes on different topics on the same article is a bit cluttered in my opinion, and I believe that's why Wikipedia avoids it from what I've seen. And if someone is curious about Abkhazia, they would probably read the related article and their infoboxes, and probably not just look at the picture of the flag and see that as the sole representative of Abkhazia.

As for Georgian as an official language of Abkhazia, the Republic of Abkhazia does not list Georgian as an official language. That's why it's not in the infobox.

And I would like to clarify an important difference I think you're bridging in your points: Abkhazia is de jure more widely considered a part of Georgia, that is true, but de facto it is not, and that's another thing that the majority of the world recognises, as you've said. Abkhazia is most widely known for separatism from Georgia, and the article represents their separatist state adequately, I would say. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 17:54, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

And I gave you one more example just now, a Wikipedia page with about so called "south ossetia" which's info box includes Georgian name for it, as well as de facto government's name for the region. Also the article has both Georgian flag and the de facto government's flag. I also gave examples of the topic we are talking about now, Abkhazia. Abkhazia in Georgian and Russian wikipedia is discussed as a region mostly and also talks about the Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia and in the Russian Wikipedia there's flags of both Georgia and Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia. Only having one's flag, anthem, symbol and many more isn't natural, it's biased therefor, only having de facto government's flag is against the rules, as I have mentioned many times. Also not only is it biased, it is mainstreaming minority view (mostly talking about the info box). The article does also represent the separatist state, but then the info box about an article which has the name Abkhazia shouldn't only have the de facto government's flag, anthem and symbol it should also have the other, more popular and accepted view, Georgian flag, Georgian anthem in apsuan and etc. Also it isn't mentioned anyhwere in the first few paragraphs that the Georgian land (Abkhazia) is under Russian occupation. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 18:23, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

The article on South Ossetia does not seem to have the Georgian language as an official one in the infobox. There are only South Ossetian state symbols in the infobox, as it's about the state of South Ossetia. So I don't really see your comparison as supporting your argument, could you clarify?

And the article does mention the control of Russian-supported separatists in the third paragraph: "In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought the Russo-Georgian War against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission." Whether or not it is Russian occupation is, I would say, more debatable, but I believe it is a wider view that it is occupied territory that is legally Georgian, and that Russia did support the separatist Republic of Abkhazia.

And, again, the infobox is not mainstreaming a minority view, this I thought I had made clear. It is not a minority view that the de facto Republic of Abkhazia controls de jure Georgian territory, and the infobox is clear that the Republic of Abkhazia is partially recognised and recognised as de jure territory of Georgia. Changing it all to talk about Georgia would be talking about the wrong state (as it is de facto). Qoppa-kappa (talk) 19:00, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

I repeat again, it's not south ossetia It's Tskhinvali! Also why do you disregard Georgian and Russian Wikipedia about Abkhazia. And yes what you're saying is clear that de facto government is running the SELF-Declared Republic of Abkhazia, but it doesn't mean that region Abkhazia should be recognized on Wikipedia as such, just because there are Russian tanks and there is non recognized SELF-Declared Republic of Abkhazia. What I am saying is that more accepted view is that Abkhazia is Georgia. Which is accepted by every country other than the famous war criminals and undemocratic countries and therefor Abkhazia can not have only the flag of non recognized republic! that's why im suggesting it should be treated the same way it is in Georgian and Russian wikipedia, also same as Tskhinvali. The fact that Abkhazian land is under Russian occupation, is supported by every UN country other that the famous 5 countries i have listed. And for god's sake learn a bit about Georgia before you decide do come on here and write. You don't know Georgian, you don't know Russian, you haven't been to Abkhazia nor Tskhinvali and haven't heard about what the Russians did to Georgians in 2008? have you? have you seen the signs saying, Georgian flash for sale? have you seen Russian soldiers playing football with heads of Georgian soldiers? have you seen video of famous Georgian hero Giorgi Antsukhelidze being tortured by Rusian soldiers in 2008 when Russia occupied 20% of Georgian land? Have you read the book სოხუმში დაბრუნება by Guram Odisharia, do you know that the book describes the hardships that Georgian citizens had to go through because of Russian invasion? do you understand that Abkhazians(referring to Georgians) are buried with this book in their coffin? Do you understand all of that? do you understand that the Georgians had to cross the mountains to survive? Do you know the escape was characterized as a humanitarian catastrophe, with many elderly, women, and children trekking for days, sometimes weeks, through early snow and freezing temperatures? Do you know that there were around 20 000 Russian solders during 2008 war? have you seen the film Tangerines, which was nominated for Oscars, displaying the Russian occupation. have you heard about this? and after all of this you say that this shouldn't be considered Russian occupation? I can go on for days talking about all of this, but you would still replay with " The Republic of Abkhazia is there on land" and "I can't call it Russian occupation. For you to disregard all of this that happened is extreamly disrespectful. As for the flags, I am saying it would be correct if the Wikipedia page was about Self-declared Republic of Abkhazia, but it is about Abkhazia, region in the southern Caucasus, and to only represent the flag of how certain people feel about Abkhazia, is wrong, since it is more widely considered and accepted as apart of Georgia, therefor when describing this region you can not use minority view point of: Russia, Venezuela, Syria, Nicaragua and Nauru. Since the article name is Abkhazia and is has referred to a region in southern Caucasus since ancient times. I suggest you stop, take a long breath after you read this and step away. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 19:53, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

I intended no disrespect, but again, you need to hear my point, that flags are not a minority view, that those flags of the separatist Republic of Abkhazia are their flags. That we agree on. I am not peacocking around with my own expertise in languages or my experience as a Wikipedian. I'm simply saying that this is what other articles on separatist territories are doing, so please do not take my simple insisting to keep the flags there and the infobox as it is as a personal attack and disregard for the human rights abuses committed during the conflict.

The debate on whether or not the Republic of Abkhazia is Russian occupation is complicated, but it's an entirely different topic to what flags are in the infobox on the Republic of Abkhazia, so I would respectfully encourage you to open this as a separate topic if it is something you wish to dispute. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 20:18, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

It's clear you did not read my message, I listed all of those points because you're saying that what happened and is happening isn't Russian occupation. and about the flag, how many times should I mention, it is a minority view that Abkhazia has those flags, because Abkhazia is a region and the way you see it (part of Georgia or part of Republic of Abkhazia) is the only decider as to which flag should be displayed. And again youre ignoring the Geogian and Russian Wikipedia about Abkhazia. It's pointless arguing with you. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 20:53, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

If you find it pointless arguing with me, I believe we've reached the point where it would be worth seeking a third opinion. Earlier, @Chipmunkdavis had participated in this, but I'm not entirely sure of their answer to your suggestion, so I'm looking into how to get a neutral third user's opinion.

Thanks for pointing it out that there's no use arguing cyclically, I think you're right in that this conversation will not be productive if we continue like this over the state symbols in a single infobox. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 21:21, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Undue weight? It's the statements from the separatist government in control. I agree that perhaps "officially" in the first sentence is quite unclear, but, as I said, it is supposed to be read as "according to the Republic of Abkhazia". As for how it could be written instead, "Abkhazia, officially Republic of Abkhazia according to the separatist de facto government of the Republic of Abkhazia" might work, I'll give it that, but following what has been done elsewhere, I would leave it as such.

You say "Only five undemocratic countries acknowledge their flag, anthem, symbol and everything else, therefor to only display that is against the rules." I disagree. The infobox is meant to be a summary for the information in the article, which primarily focuses on what is in Abkhazia. I would argue it is a neutral observation that the Republic of Abkhazia is there. I can't see what's wrong with starting with separatists if Abkhazia is currently separatist⸺ Somaliland starts with separatists, South Ossetia starts with separatists, Transnistria starts with separatists. Why? Because separatists control it. Should Transnistria's infobox be covered with Moldovan flags because nobody recognises Transnistria's occupation of the geographical region of Transnistria? Probably not, and it hasn't been.

To summarise, I think my point is being a bit missed here, but thank you for acknowledging it. What I mean to emphasise is that Abkhazia is controlled by separatists. That is the fact I am trying to tell you, that we agree on. Therefore, since we both agree it is fact, and it is the majority viewpoint that it is controlled by separatists, would it not be a neutral perspective to begin the article with these separatists, if they are significant enough to control Abkhazia, attract aid from Russia and the CMPC, and win a war against Georgia?

I would also like to add that when talking about autonomies and regions, we often don't cover pages nor infoboxes with the state symbols of the larger state, because that is redundant and made clear in the text.

As for your statement: "Also I can't find a discussion anywhere where it's mentioned about moving this page under the name Self-Declared Republic of Abkhazia", my point was that you don't need the "self-declared", nor the "Republic of". The other separatist states I mentioned⸺ Somaliland, South Ossetia, and Transnistria ⸺are all similar to Abkhazia in that they are separatist. They don't have long descriptive titles, they're just named according to the common name. So together with that, that separatists are in control of Abkhazia and that the name "Abkhazia" is the most common for Abkhazia, I think the article is alright as it is and should not have Georgian state symbols covering the infobox. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 15:26, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Yes we certainly do agree that these people are separatists, but the article does not bring it out as much and the beginning paragraph focuses more on the viewpoints of separatists, by the first paragraph as we both agree, changing would be a better fit. Also the info box lacks other views since everything shown in there is minority viewpoint, it must not be the only information in the info box and it must be specified that it's according to the separatists, because I repeat again it's not the main view of the world.

All encyclopedic content on Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), which means representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic."

So Articles cannot take sides. You must give views space in proportion to how prominent they are in reliable sources. The international consensus (Abkhazia as part of Georgia) dominates reliable sources, so it cannot be buried while the minority view (self-declared Republic) gets top billing in the lead and info box.

WP:UNDUE (Undue Weight)

Exact text (from the NPOV page, "Due and undue weight" section):

"Neutrality requires that mainspace articles and pages fairly represent all significant viewpoints that have been published by reliable sources, in proportion to the prominence of each viewpoint in the published, reliable sources."

Even if something is verifiable, if it's a minority position among reliable sources, it should not get prominent placement (e.g., first sentence or infobox dominance). The "officially the Republic of Abkhazia" + Republic symbols in the infobox gives the unrecognized entity's view undue prominence when most sources reject it. Also you mentioned "south ossetia", but here's where you're wrong, it's geographically called south ossetia, but the region is Tskhinvali and historically it's Samachablo, search up either one of those on Wikipedia, even on English Wikipedia and you'll see how they're represented, the info box starts with Georgian name for the page, then Ossetian and then the country is listed in Georgia, but under there is listed de facto state "south ossetia". it's almost the same for Abkhazia even in Russian Wikipedia, even though Russia has always been using every way possible to conduct it's propaganda. It's treated as a territory and not a Self-declared Republic and every page has both Georgian. For you to say that Abkhazians won the war against Georgians is also incorrect, since the war was mostly fought by Russian war devices and north Caucasian "volunteers" which were paid by Russia. AbkhaziaHistory (talk) 18:07, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

You said "everything shown in there is minority viewpoint, it must not be the only information in the info box and it must be specified that it's according to the separatists, because I repeat again it's not the main view of the world." Again, this is a total statement, and I assume we agree that it is not false that the Republic of Abkhazia is a "De facto state with limited recognition, internationally recognised as Georgian territory"? And it's not a minority view that, say, the Republic of Abkhazia has a People's Assembly, and elects various people for President. I could go on, but broadly stating that it is all minority viewpoints is false, I would say. Even if it's not legal, it's happening.

About South Ossetia, you are shifting from the article about the separatist state to a Georgian region. Simply said, that is in Georgian because that article is about the Georgian government's opinion.

You also claim that "For you to say that Abkhazians won the war against Georgians is also incorrect, since the war was mostly fought by Russian war devices and north Caucasian "volunteers" which were paid by Russia.", which I would disagree about. The CMPC actually fought Russia later in Chechnya⸺ they were not a 100% Russian-funded organisation. As for Russian soldiers, they did support Abkhazia, but it was the separatist Republic of Abkhazia that won by their help. Russia does not dictate everything that happens in Abkhazia, hence the fact that Abkhazian presidents get overthrown for pressing laws that would grant Russians the ability to buy de facto Abkhazian-owned land, so I think it would be correct to say that the Republic of Abkhazia is a separate entity from Russia. This is a separate topic, so let's not focus on this too much as it would branch out the argument.

I am not taking a side here when it comes to the dispute itself. The infobox is factual: it displays things about the current government of Abkhazia. I would say that's not a minority viewpoint pushed by separatists, it's a viewpoint about separatists. You wouldn't go to the Wikipedia article on ISIS and colour their section from top to bottom about how it's unrecognised and how Wikipedia shouldn't put the flag because it's promoting the terrorists' minority opinion, would you? You only need a small part describing how it's regarded.

Could you clarify your opinion on what else there is to add than what is there already, that it is a "de facto state with limited recognition, internationally recognised as Georgian territory"? I don't really see what's wrong with that as it is⸺ I would say it says enough about what others think about it, doesn't it? There's no need to add every little thing that the Georgian government-in-exile says in terms of symbolism in the infobox on Abkhazia. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 19:34, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

I read the last two paragraphs, and I just noticed, this seems to be what I know as the Ingorokva Hypothesis⸺ that the Kingdom of Abkhazia was supposedly 100% Georgian and that modern Abkhazes had migrated much later, exiling the "original Abkhazian" Georgians from Abkhazia. I don't currently have full sources on hand, but considering the fact that we haven't really brought up any at the moment, I believe I could point you to this page detailing the origin of the hypothesis.

Most importantly, the Ingorokva Hypothesis is not regarded very highly as fact, from what I know. I'll provide a reliable source once I find one. Qoppa-kappa (talk) 22:07, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Nauru

Nauru no longer recognizes the independence of Abkhazia and considers it part of Georgia. Experienced editors are kindly requested to update the article. ~2026-42059-36 (talk) 11:35, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

Similar discussion at Talk:South Ossetia#Nauru. CMD (talk) 13:47, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

"Partially recognized state"

I have confidential information that by the end of this year, Syria, Venezuela and Nicaragua will also revoke recognition of Abkhazia (as Nauru did). Will we finally be able to remove this label ("partially recognized state") and replace it with unrecognized entity?— Preceding unsigned comment added by ~2026-42267-41 (talk) 21:59, 29 July 2026 (UTC)

All we can do is wait for sources and regurgitate those sources when they are published. Moxy🍁 02:26, 30 July 2026 (UTC)