Wikipedia

Ganarjiis Mukhuri

Ganarjiis Mukhuri (Georgian: განარჯიის მუხური, also known as Ganmukhuri) is a village in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of western Georgia, in the Zugdidi municipality. It is situated at the border with Abkhazia (a breakaway region of Georgia) and the city of Zugdidi. The village area is located by the Black Sea and on the right bank of the Enguri River, with the village center six kilometers from the sea. Within the administrative division of the municipality, Ganmukhuri is not part of a community (თემი, temi), but is an so called independent village (სოფელი, sopeli).[2]

Ganarjiis Mukhuri
განარჯიის მუხური
village
Bridge across Enguri looking towards Ganmukhuri
Bridge across Enguri looking towards Ganmukhuri
Ganarjiis Mukhuri is located in Georgia
Ganarjiis Mukhuri
Ganarjiis Mukhuri
Location in Georgia
Ganarjiis Mukhuri is located in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Ganarjiis Mukhuri
Ganarjiis Mukhuri
Ganarjiis Mukhuri (Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti)
Coordinates: 42°25′31″N 41°37′42″E / 42.42528°N 41.62833°E / 42.42528; 41.62833
CountryGeorgia (country) Georgia
RegionSamegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
DistrictZugdidi
Elevation
5 m (16 ft)
Population
 (2014)[1]
 • Total
1,354
Time zoneUTC 4 (Georgian Time)
Patriotic Youth Camp

Location

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The Enguri River largely shapes the administrative border between Abkhazia and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. Ganmukhuri is one of the few Georgian-controlled villages along the right bank of the Enguri. The village is geographically wedged between the river and the Abkhazian border. This border, upheld by Russian controlled troops, hinders interaction of the village with the Georgian communities on the other side of this border, such as Pitchori and Otobaia. There are two vehicular bridges across the river to the rest of Georgia, one to Anaklia, near the sea, and the other at the eastern end of the village towards Zugdidi.

The de facto border of Abkhazia near the village makes Ganmukhuri a site of tensions between Abkhazia and Russia on the one hand and Georgia on the other. Several (fatal) incidents before and after the Russo-Georgian War took place.[3][4][5][6]

2008 War

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On August 11, 2008, during the Russo-Georgian War, the village and nearby Anaklia were bombed by the Russian air force.[7][8] From August 12 to September 9, 2008, the village was occupied by Abkhaz militias,[9] while UN monitors were refused entry.[11] The Patriotic Youth Camp was destroyed during this period. After the departure of the Abkhaz militias and the restoration of Georgian rule over the village, the village has been regularly confronted with violent and fatal incidents.

One of the consequences of the war in 2008 is the hardening of the actual border, a process called "borderization".[12] This is the construction of physical barriers such as fences, barbed wire or ditches in order to formalize a "state border", which is enforced by Russian FSB Border Guards. The population in Georgian villages close to the border is vulnerable to violence or arrest due to the hardening of the border,[13][14] and it complicates the Georgian community in the Abkhazian Gali district to access Georgian facilities.[15]

Patriotic Youth Camp

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August 18, 2008: The camp is burning

On May 26, 2007, the Georgian independence day, a "Patriotic Youth Camp" was opened in Ganmukhuri by President Mikhail Saakashvili.[16] This summer camp was aimed at young people between the ages of 15 and 20 to take advantage of cultural and sporting activities, and was part of a nationwide program. Addressing those present, Saakashvili stated that "Georgians, Armenians, Azeris, Jews, Greeks and Ossetians from Tskhinvali will all reside in this camp together. We will certainly invite Abkhaz youth from Ochamchire, Gagra and Gudauta".

 
Black Sea beach Ganmukhuri

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the Georgian authorities in a report to the UN Security Council to remove the camp: “To reduce the likelihood of incidents, the United Nations is joining the Friends Group in calling on the government of Georgia to move the camp out of the security zone”.[17] The UN UNOMIG monitoring mission supervised compliance with the 1994 peace agreement, which stipulated a security zone of 10-15 kilometers on both sides of the conflict border. This call provoked a vocal response from President Saakashvili.[18]

The camp was attacked the same year by Russian peacekeepers, who also took Georgian policemen hostage.[5][19] It was one of the incidents that led to mounting tensions between Georgia and Russia in the run-up to the Russo-Georgian war in the summer of 2008, and it also led Georgia to step up its efforts to internationalize peacekeeping.[20][21] On August 18, 2008, the camp was set on fire and destroyed by Abkhaz militias, who occupied the village for 4 weeks after the official end of the 2008 war.[22][9]

Demographic

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Wooden pedestrian bridge

According to the 2014 census, Ganmukhuri had a population of 1,354 at that time,[23] all ethnic Georgians.

Jaar 1923 1989 2002 2014
Aantal 844 - 2,691   1,354
Data sources[24][25][23]

GEM Fest

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Between 2015 and 2019, the GEM Fest dance festival was held on the territory Ganmukhuri, at the Black Sea beach. The festival was nominally held in Anaklia, but the festival site was partly on the north side of the Enguri estuary, in Ganmukhuri. Festival visitors could get there via a 500-meter-long pedestrian bridge, the longest in Europe, which basically extends the Anaklia boulevard to the other side of the Enguri.[26] In terms of area development, the Black Sea coast of Ganmukhuri has been included in the Anaklia development with hotels and tourist facilities.

Transport

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Ganmukhuri is connected to Zugdidi and the rest of the country via the Sh90 national route. The village is also connected to Anaklia by a 360 meter long bridge over the Enguri. This bridge opened in 2010.[27]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ganarjiis Mukhuri.

References

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  1. ^ "Population Census 2014". www.geostat.ge. National Statistics Office of Georgia. November 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Main Results of the 2014 Census (Publication)" (PDF). Census.ge, National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) (in Georgian). 2016-04-28. p. 246. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  3. ^ "Tbilisi Steps Up Criticism of Russian Troops after Ganmukhuri Attack". Civil Georgia. 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  4. ^ "UNOMIG Condemns Ganmukhuri Attack". Civil Georgia. 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  5. ^ a b "Confrontation in Ganmukhuri". Civil Georgia. 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  6. ^ "MIA: Georgian Police Post Attacked in Ganmukhuri". Civil Georgia. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  7. ^ "Russo-Georgian War: August 11, 2008". Civil Georgia. 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  8. ^ "Chronology 2008 War, as submitted by Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs to the EU Independent International Fact-Finding Mission "Tagliavini Report"" (PDF). Civil Georgia. 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  9. ^ a b "Georgian Control Reestablished in Village on Abkhaz Border". Civil Georgia. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  10. ^ a b "Independent International fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia Volume I-III". Max Planck Institute. 2009. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  11. ^ EU rapport, Volume II, page 213[10]
  12. ^ "Georgia Reports 'Borderization' Near Ganmukhuri, Khurcha". Civil Georgia. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  13. ^ "Occupation forces allegedly shoot Georgian citizen crossing occupation line". Agenda.ge. 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  14. ^ "Occupying forces detain two Georgian citizens near Abkhazia region". Agenda.ge. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  15. ^ "Georgia: Better Education Lures Gali Kids to Ganmukhuri Schools". Eurasianet. 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  16. ^ "President Saakashvili opens Patriot youth camp in Ganmukhuri, near Abkhaz border". Saakashvili Archive. 2007-05-26. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  17. ^ "Ban Ki-moon urges stronger Georgian-Abkhaz cooperation". United Nations News. 2007-07-23. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  18. ^ "Saakashvili Lashes Out at UN for 'Amoral Advice'". Civil Georgia. 2007-09-06. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  19. ^ "President Saakashvili arrives in Ganmukhuri following incident with Russian peacekeepers, declares commander". Saakashvili Archive. 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  20. ^ EU report, Volume II, page 17[10]
  21. ^ "President Saakashvili convenes National Security Council over incident with Russian peacekeepers in Ganmukhuri". Saakashvili Archive. 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  22. ^ ""Russia-Georgia Conflict in South Ossetia: Context and Implications for U.S. Interests, edition 3 March 2009" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. 2009-03-03. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  23. ^ a b "All places: 2002, 2014 censuses". Population Statistics Eastern Europe and former USSR. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  24. ^ "Ethnic composition of rural Georgia in 1923". Population Statistics Eastern Europe and former USSR. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  25. ^ "Results of the First National Census of Georgia in 2002, Volume II". Census.ge, National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) (in Georgian). 2003. p. 139. Archived from the original on 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  26. ^ "GEM Fest musical festival launching with big names in Anaklia Black Sea resort". Agenda.ge. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  27. ^ "Anaklia is connected to Ganmukhuri by a new bridge". Saakashvili Archive. 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
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