Why Rich Russia Needs Poor Abkhazia
I understand that after reading such a headline, the first thought that comes to mind is:
Stop paying pensions to Abkhazia, close the market for wine and tangerines, and keep tourists out. It will seem that it is not enough to cut off the supply of electricity and food.
It is necessary to act as hard as possible so that they know!
Well, when it comes to electricity and goods, that’s just too harsh. We are not Israel, and Abkhazia is not the Gaza Strip. But the pensions (which Russia pays to the Abkhazian pensioners) and the restriction of tourism look more or less reasonable, and why not use this tool?
Unfortunately or fortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Abkhazia is not quite the “useless weight around the neck” as many think. We need this country and we should not cut it off our shoulders like this.
What are the advantages of Abkhazia?
First and foremost, it is economical.
The area of the republic is 8600 km2. This is even more than the spa part of Crimea.
The area of the selected fragment is 6000 km2.
At the same time, the country there is simply paradisiacal. They are even further south than Sochi. Beautiful beaches. The water is much cleaner than anywhere else in the Krasnodar Krai. The air is fantastic. Mountains, rivers, palm trees, sun…
There I climbed up the foothills. The real Switzerland.
The region has incredible potential for tourism and sanatorium treatment, housing, viticulture, skiing, etc.
Can you imagine that these 8,600 km will ever be integrated into Russia? Yes, yes, the imperial in me speaks. Well, at least the Imperial 🙂
But this is the empire that will also be beneficial to the Abkhazians. Let them remember how they lived in Soviet times and how they live today. If the territory of Abkhazia becomes a growth area, as in Sochi, what is wrong with that? Infrastructure, jobs, security, prospects – all of this is better than the devastation and crime that prevails there.
And for Russia, a big plus is a whole new region with incredible economic potential.
Of course, the integration process is probably not yet possible, but we need to work on it. Therefore, you should not take steps that are too abrupt.
The second advantage of Abkhazia is of a military-strategic nature.
The fact is that the south of our Motherland is narrowed by the Greater Caucasus, which stretches from sea to sea.
Military vehicles can cross this ridge in 4 places:
- In the direction of Abkhazia along the sea
- Through the Roki Mountain Tunnel towards South Ossetia
- Over the Krestovy Pass towards Georgia
- In the direction of Baku along the sea
In other places, crossing the Caucasus is extremely problematic and even impossible. Well, if only in the style of a mountaineer.
If a major war breaks out (or at least a regional one in Transcaucasia), then the enemy can get close to our borders, while the mountains become a natural obstacle for him. But it will be the same obstacle for us.
In order to develop an offensive, a bridgehead is needed. That is, the territory ON THE OTHER SIDE of the ridge. The enemy does not have such a bridgehead, since the entire North Caucasus belongs to Russia (the war in Chechnya may be aimed at gaining a beachhead in the North Caucasus for Western sponsors).
But Russia has such a bridgehead. There are even two: Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
However, South Ossetia is less successful in this regard, since the Roki tunnel through the mountains can collapse from the other side. But the road to Abkhazia is not so easy to block.
According to them, the territory of Abkhazia is a “buffer” that makes Russia’s military-strategic position more secure.
This can be compared with the Crimea, which is also a good strategic point for the deployment of the fleet and army.
So the “you can give it away, it’s not a big loss” approach is not suitable. If our tsars, emperors and Bolsheviks had thought so, Russia would not have been so large and unsinkable.
If more people come to power in Abkhazia in the future, everything could change dramatically, both in one direction and the other. Our diplomats and politicians should remember and work on this without repeating the mistakes made in the Ukrainian direction (a good example of what happens when a territory turns away from us and turns towards our enemies).