Imperial Fabrication of Ethnic Cleansing: Czarist Through Soviet Russian Practices and Policies Responsibility in The Ethnic Cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia.

This thesis explores the direct correlation and connection between Goergia’s struggles against Russian imperialism and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia that resulted from the 1990s Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict. After examining the historical and cultural ties of the Abkhaz as one of the many Georgian nationalities, this thesis examines the concerted effort by Czarist and Soviet Russia to separate the two identities in order to further imperial ambitions in the Caucasus region. This targeted separation over decades, along with direct Russian military support during the conflict, would then result in an ethnic cleansing taking place perpetrated by the Abkhaz against the other Georgian nationalities within Abkhazia. As proven in this thesis, the ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia is a logical conclusion to the imperial practices and policies of Russia.