Church, Svaneti, Georgia.
Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tusheti, Georgia.
Boy, Tusheti, Georgia.
War scars inside the former parliament building for the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, breakaway territory in north-western Georgia. Much of Abkhazia's capital Sukhumi was destroyed in the '92-93 war between Georgian troops, Abkhaz separatists and their Russian and North Caucasian allies.
Skeleton pier on the Black Sea, Sukhumi, Abkhazia.
On August 14, 1992, war exploded across the beaches and towns of Abkhazia, a small province squeezed between the Black Sea coast and the Caucasus mountains in the Republic of Georgia - itself newly gaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Fighting continued for 16 months between Abkhaz separatist forces backed by their Russian and North Caucasian allies and Georgian government troops. The Abkhaz, despite only making up about 17 percent of the population of Abkhazia (the majority being ethnic Georgian), fought for independence from Georgia. Up to 15,000 people were killed with atrocities committed on both sides.
Hundreds of thousands of people were forcibly displaced from their homes, principally those of Georgian ethnicity living in Abkhazia, whose official identity status remains unresolved to this day.
'Independence' celebrations, Sukhumi, Abkhazia.
Abkhazia downtown.
Abkhazia seafront promenade.
Abkhazia seafront promenade.
Central train station, Sukhumi, Abkhazia.
Gagra, former 'Russian Riviera' Black Sea resort town destroyed during the war '92-93, Abkhazia.
Gagra, former 'Russian Riviera' Black Sea resort town destroyed during the war '92-93, Abkhazia.
The Abano Pass, the highest drivable mountain pass in the Caucasus and one of the more perilous road passes in the world.