Vladislav Ardzinba

Vladislav Ardzinba
Владислав Арӡынба
Ardzinba in 1996
1st President of Abkhazia
In office
26 November 1994 – 12 February 2005
Vice PresidentValery Arshba
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded bySergei Bagapsh
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Abkhazia
In office
8 November 1990 – 27 December 1991
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Abkhazia
In office
1990–1994
Deputy of the Supreme Soviet
In office
1987–1989
Personal details
Born(1945-05-14)14 May 1945
Lower Eshera, Sukhumi District, Abkhazian ASSR, Georgian SSR, USSR
Died4 March 2010(2010-03-04) (aged 64)
Moscow, Russia
NationalityAbkhaz
Political partyApsny
SpouseSvetlana Jergenia
Signature

Vladislav Ardzinba (Abkhaz: Владислав Арӡынба, Georgian: ვლადისლავ არძინბა; 14 May 1945 – 4 March 2010) was the first de facto president of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia to de facto independence in the 1992–1993 War with Georgia, but its de jure independence from Georgia remained internationally unrecognised during Ardzinba's two terms as President from 1994 to 2005. His government orchestrated ethnic cleansing of Georgian civilians in Abkhazia in 1993.[1]

A noted specialist in Hittitology, he was a member of the first parliament to be elected democratically in the Soviet Union in 1989.[2]

  1. ^ "Vladislav Ardzinba, Once Led Abkhazia, Dies at 64". The New York Times. 5 March 2010. By late 1993, after the Georgian Army left Abkhazia, Mr. Ardzinba's government orchestrated an ethnic cleansing campaign that resulted in the expulsion of about 250,000 ethnic Georgians, more than half of Abkhazia's population.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference First Abkhaz Leader Ardzinba Dead at 64 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).