Pitsunda

Coordinates: 43°10′N 40°20′E / 43.167°N 40.333°E / 43.167; 40.333
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Pitiunt
)
Pitsunda
  • ბიჭვინთა (
    District
Gagra
Government
 • MayorVitali Khutava[2]
 • Deputy MayorBeslan Smyr[3]
Population
 (2011)
 • Total4,198
ClimateCfa

Pitsunda (Abkhaz: Пиҵунда, Russian: Пицунда) or Bichvinta (Georgian: ბიჭვინთა [bitʃʼʷintʰa] ⓘ) is a resort town in the Gagra District of Abkhazia/Georgia.[note 1] Founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century BC, Pitsunda became an important political and religious centre of the region in the antiquity and the Middle Ages. Since Soviet times it has been one of the main resorts of Abkhazia.

History

Fragment of mosaic floor of the church at Pytius (5th century)

Pityus (Ancient Greek: Pityus, Πιτυοῦς, genitive Pityuntos, Πιτυοῦντος) was a large and wealthy Greek city in the antiquity.[4] Pliny wrote in AD 77 that the city had been sacked by the Heniochi.[4][5] A Roman fort was founded at Pityus in the first half of the 2nd century and a detachment of Legio XV Apollinaris was stationed there.[6] The city was surrounded by a defensive wall, the castellum had a second line of defence built in mid-3rd century AD.[7] Excavations guided by Andria Apakidze unearthed, in 1952, remains of three 4th-century churches and a bath with high-quality mosaic floors. The former "Great Pityus" harbour is now a mere lake within the town.

The Goths[8] attacked the city in 255 AD after capturing the Bosporan fleet. The Roman garrison under the command of Successianus repelled the attack, however they returned in the next year, took the city and proceeded further to sack Trebizond.[9]

Saint

Georgian Orthodox Catholicate of Abkhazia until the late 16th century when Abkhazia came under the Ottoman hegemony. In his 1911 article for the Catholic Encyclopedia, Sophrone Pétridès described Pityus as a titular see,[4] but it is not now found in the Catholic Church's list of such sees.[10] In the late 13th century, the area housed a short-lived Genoese
trade colony called Pezonda.

Pitsunda was the favourite resort of First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Inguri River instead, where the impact upon the coastline was assessed to be considerably less pronounced.[11]

Administration

Town status

On 7 February 2007, after many appeals by inhabitants, the People's Assembly of Abkhazia resolved to give Pitsunda town-status. Parliamentarians expressed the hope that the decision would help Pitsunda develop as a resort.[12][13] Since becoming a town, the Mayor of Pitsunda is no longer appointed by the Governor of Gagra District but instead directly by the President of Abkhazia. On 29 January 2016, Pitsunda's town-status was formally enshrined in Abkhazia's constitution.[13][14]

2011 Assembly elections

See also:
Abkhazian local elections, 2011

In the 2011 assembly elections, Mayor Beslan Ardzinba and six other incumbent deputies of the Assembly stood for re-election. The winning candidates were Beslan Ardzinba, Badra Avidzba, Olga Grigorenko, Chengiz Bigvava, Georgi Zardania, Gennadi Cherkezia, Gennadi Mikanba, Damia Kokoskeria and Inessa Dzkuia.[15] On 14 February, during the first session of the new convocation, Damir Kokoskeria was elected Chairman of the Assembly over Gennadi Cherkezia, by a one vote difference.[16]

Since 2014

Following the

2016 local elections.[18] He was temporarily replaced by Beslan Dbar, until former head of the Association of Resorts Vitali Khutaba was temporarily appointed by Khajimba on 16 February 2017, approved by Pitsunda's town council on 20 February and permanently appointed on 27 February.[2][19][20]

2023 Gosdacha deal

The Gosdacha resort complex was built in 1958-1961 for the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev on more than 180 hectares of land near Pitsunda.[21] It was used by senior officials of the Communist Party and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union remained under the control of Russian Federal Protective Service.[22] Russia and Abkhazia signed an agreement in 1995 leasing the complex to Russia, however at that time Russia did not recognise Abkhazia and the legitimacy of the agreement has been questioned by local activists.[23][24] On 27 December 2023 the President of Abkhazia signed the law leasing the resort to Russia for 49 years.[25] Hundreds of demonstrators protested against the ratification of the deal starting from 26 December and demanding to amend the boundaries of the resort.[24] The deal was condemned by the Georgian government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Salome Zourabichvili called the deal "another land grab by Russians in Georgian territories...and their creeping annexation policies".[26][25]

List of mayors

Heads of the Administration of the Urban-type Settlement Pitsunda:
# Name Entered office Left office Governor of Gagra District Comments
Chingiz Bigvava ≤ June 2000 Grigori Enik
Jon Dbar ≥ January 2006 Valeri Bganba
Beslan Ardzinba October 2006 [27] 8 February 2007 Astamur Ketsba
Heads of the Administration of the Town Pitsunda:
# Name Entered office Left office President Comments
1 Beslan Ardzinba 8 February 2007 29 May 2011 Sergei Bagapsh
29 May 2011 1 June 2014 Alexander Ankvab
1 June 2014 28 October 2014 [17] Valeri Bganba
2 Chingis Bigvava 28 October 2014 [17] Raul Khajimba
Beslan Dbar 16 February 2017 [2] Acting
3 Vitali Khutava 16 February 2017 [2] Present

Notes

  1. Russian-occupied territory
    .

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pitsunda.
  1. Russian-occupied territory
    .
  2. ^ a b c d "ВИТАЛИЙ ХУТАБА НАЗНАЧЕН ИСПОЛНЯЮЩИМ ОБЯЗАННОСТИ ГЛАВЫ АДМИНИСТРАЦИИ ГОРОДА ПИЦУНДА". Abkhazia Inform. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Администрация городов, сёл и посёлков Гагрского района". Gagra District Administration. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pityus" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  5. ISBN 0198144733
    .
  6. ISBN 0198144733
    .
  7. S2CID 128624772
    .
  8. ^ Called Scythae and Borani in contemporary sources
  9. ISBN 978-0-520-06983-1
    .
  10. ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
    ), p. 953
  11. ISBN 0-262-02487-X
    .
  12. ^ "Курорт Пицунда стал городом". Администрация Президента Республики Абхазия. 8 February 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  13. ^ a b "В ПЕРВОМ ЧТЕНИИ ПРИНЯТА ПОПРАВКА К КОНСТИТУЦИИ КАСАЮЩАЯСЯ МЕСТНОГО САМОУПРАВЛЕНИЯ И УПРАВЛЕНИЯ В АБХАЗИИ". Abkhazia Inform. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  14. ^ "ГЛАВЫ АДМИНИСТРАЦИЙ ГОРОДОВ И РАЙОНОВ БУДУТ НАЗНАЧАТЬСЯ ПРЕЗИДЕНТОМ ПО СОГЛАСОВАНИЮ С СОБРАНИЕМ СООТВЕТСТВУЮЩЕЙ АДМИНИСТРАТИВНО-ТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОЙ ЕДИНИЦЫ". Abkhazia Inform. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Подведены итоги выборов в так называемое народное собрание г.Пицунда". City Administration of Pitsunda. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  16. ^ "В Администрации города Пицунды прошло первое заседание так называемого Народного собрания". City Administration of Pitsunda. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  17. ^ a b c "У К А З "О главе администрации города Пицунда"". Apsnypress. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  18. ^ "ПРЕЗИДЕНТ РАУЛЬ ХАДЖИМБА ПОДПИСАЛ УКАЗЫ О НАЗНАЧЕНИИ ГЛАВ РАЙОННЫХ И ГОРОДСКИХ АДМИНИСТРАЦИЙ". Abkhazia Inform. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Собрание Пицунды дало согласие на назначение Виталия Хутаба главой администрации". Apsnypress. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Виталий Хутаба назначен главой Администрации города Пицунда". Apsnypress. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  21. ^ "Парламент Абхазии утвердил передачу России госдачи в Пицунде" (in Russian). Kommersant. 27 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Said Gezerdaa: "The agreement on Pitsunda is one of the steps towards the erosion of state-sovereignty"". Abkhazworld. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Abkhazia and the Pitsunda Issue – Causes and Possible Consequences". Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  24. ^ a b "Президент Абхазии утвердил передачу России госдачи в Пицунде" (in Russian). DW. 27 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  25. ^ a b Service, RFE/RL's Georgian. "Abkhazia OKs Handing State Resort Over To Russia, Triggering Protests". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  26. ^ "Parliament official "strongly condemns" illegal transfer of territory in occupied Abkhazia to Russia". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  27. ^ "так называемый Глава Администрации г.Пицунда". The official website of the City Administration of Pitsunda. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
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