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| Close to the Olympics, Far From the Bounty | Close to the Olympics, Far From the Bounty |
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| GULRIPSHI, Georgia — A little less than three miles from Sochi’s main Olympic Stadium, the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Games in February, the Psou River stands as Russia’s border with Georgia. But no one directly on either side of the derelict border post considers any part of the region Georgia. | GULRIPSHI, Georgia — A little less than three miles from Sochi’s main Olympic Stadium, the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Games in February, the Psou River stands as Russia’s border with Georgia. But no one directly on either side of the derelict border post considers any part of the region Georgia. |
| It is the tiny, starkly beautiful and sparsely populated enclave of Abkhazia, which sundered itself from Georgia after a brutal war of ethnic cleansing 20 years ago. Since then, though Georgia has never accepted its independence, it has struggled for international recognition as a sovereign nation, not merely an impoverished appendage of its huge neighbor and principal patron. | It is the tiny, starkly beautiful and sparsely populated enclave of Abkhazia, which sundered itself from Georgia after a brutal war of ethnic cleansing 20 years ago. Since then, though Georgia has never accepted its independence, it has struggled for international recognition as a sovereign nation, not merely an impoverished appendage of its huge neighbor and principal patron. |
| The awarding of the Olympics in 2007 to Sochi, so tantalizingly close, had for a time raised hopes that Abkhazia would share in the bounty, that its political cause and its feeble economy would feel at least a trickle of the wealth and attention the Games inevitably attract. Maybe a few Olympic tourists would even make their way down the Black Sea coast. | The awarding of the Olympics in 2007 to Sochi, so tantalizingly close, had for a time raised hopes that Abkhazia would share in the bounty, that its political cause and its feeble economy would feel at least a trickle of the wealth and attention the Games inevitably attract. Maybe a few Olympic tourists would even make their way down the Black Sea coast. |
| Those hopes were largely misplaced. | Those hopes were largely misplaced. |
| Russia said that for security reasons, it plans to bar all traffic from crossing the narrow bridge to and from Abkhazia from Jan. 7 through the Paralympic Games in March. Only a select few specially registered vehicles will be allowed to pass, effectively locking out an enclave to which Russia has long provided political and economic succor. | Russia said that for security reasons, it plans to bar all traffic from crossing the narrow bridge to and from Abkhazia from Jan. 7 through the Paralympic Games in March. Only a select few specially registered vehicles will be allowed to pass, effectively locking out an enclave to which Russia has long provided political and economic succor. |
| The decision threatens to disrupt an indispensable link that brings vital products from Russia and carries Abkhazia’s main exports north — most notably its mandarin oranges, just as they ripen heavily on the groves that cover the lush subtropical foothills overlooking the sea. | The decision threatens to disrupt an indispensable link that brings vital products from Russia and carries Abkhazia’s main exports north — most notably its mandarin oranges, just as they ripen heavily on the groves that cover the lush subtropical foothills overlooking the sea. |
| The border restrictions have left officials here scrambling to negotiate with their Russian counterparts to ensure sufficient supplies of products the region does not produce, including flour, meat, medicines and gasoline, as well as the uninterrupted flow of exports that provide the bulk of its revenues. | The border restrictions have left officials here scrambling to negotiate with their Russian counterparts to ensure sufficient supplies of products the region does not produce, including flour, meat, medicines and gasoline, as well as the uninterrupted flow of exports that provide the bulk of its revenues. |
| “From Russia, it’s practically everything,” Beslan F. Eshba, Abkhazia’s deputy prime minister, said in an interview in the region’s governmental headquarters in the capital, Sukhumi, known officially here as Sukhum or in Abkhazian as Akua. | “From Russia, it’s practically everything,” Beslan F. Eshba, Abkhazia’s deputy prime minister, said in an interview in the region’s governmental headquarters in the capital, Sukhumi, known officially here as Sukhum or in Abkhazian as Akua. |
| In Gulripshi, a small village south of the capital, the impending border restrictions have hastened a harvest that begins late in the fall and usually extends well into the new year. The mandarins and tangerines of Abkhazia and Georgia — as well as peaches, persimmons, figs and grapes — have an almost mythical nostalgia surrounding them that dates to the Soviet era, when there were few exports from abroad. The oranges arrived in Moscow and other cities like a taste of the sun in the dark winter months. | In Gulripshi, a small village south of the capital, the impending border restrictions have hastened a harvest that begins late in the fall and usually extends well into the new year. The mandarins and tangerines of Abkhazia and Georgia — as well as peaches, persimmons, figs and grapes — have an almost mythical nostalgia surrounding them that dates to the Soviet era, when there were few exports from abroad. The oranges arrived in Moscow and other cities like a taste of the sun in the dark winter months. |
| In “A Russian Journal,” written in 1948, John Steinbeck described passengers gorging themselves on fruit they bought from women outside the airport at Sukhumi, “for they were people of the north who never really had enough fruit.” Even now, when produce from around the world fills Russia’s markets, the mandarins are revered. | In “A Russian Journal,” written in 1948, John Steinbeck described passengers gorging themselves on fruit they bought from women outside the airport at Sukhumi, “for they were people of the north who never really had enough fruit.” Even now, when produce from around the world fills Russia’s markets, the mandarins are revered. |
| In the foothills that rise from the coast, a former Soviet-era collective formerly named Ilyich after Lenin’s patronymic and now known as Sophia has 47,000 mandarin trees spread across more than 225 acres. Three hundred workers swarm the trees each day to pick the fruit by hand, some of it early, to beat the border closings, so that it can be sorted by size and crated by a machine installed in 1963. | In the foothills that rise from the coast, a former Soviet-era collective formerly named Ilyich after Lenin’s patronymic and now known as Sophia has 47,000 mandarin trees spread across more than 225 acres. Three hundred workers swarm the trees each day to pick the fruit by hand, some of it early, to beat the border closings, so that it can be sorted by size and crated by a machine installed in 1963. |
| “It’s an inconvenience, of course,” said Ashot Minosyan, the deputy agricultural minister of the regional government, which still owns the farm. | “It’s an inconvenience, of course,” said Ashot Minosyan, the deputy agricultural minister of the regional government, which still owns the farm. |
| Much of Abkhazia still seems frozen in a Soviet-like state, the scars of its war with Georgia still visible in gutted and bullet-pocked buildings, the failure of its economy evident in the abandoned resorts that once were the prize of the Soviet elite, including Stalin and his secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, who was born in a village near Gulripshi. | Much of Abkhazia still seems frozen in a Soviet-like state, the scars of its war with Georgia still visible in gutted and bullet-pocked buildings, the failure of its economy evident in the abandoned resorts that once were the prize of the Soviet elite, including Stalin and his secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, who was born in a village near Gulripshi. |
| Georgia recently signed a preliminary economic and trade agreement with the European Union as part of a policy of integration with the West that has continued even under a new president. That would only cement the isolation of Abkhazia, which Georgia fervently claims as part of its territory. Abkhazia, by contrast, is intimately entwined with Russia. Its currency is the ruble, Russian is an official language and most of its 240,000 citizens travel with Russian passports. | Georgia recently signed a preliminary economic and trade agreement with the European Union as part of a policy of integration with the West that has continued even under a new president. That would only cement the isolation of Abkhazia, which Georgia fervently claims as part of its territory. Abkhazia, by contrast, is intimately entwined with Russia. Its currency is the ruble, Russian is an official language and most of its 240,000 citizens travel with Russian passports. |
| There is little prospect of a diplomatic resolution of Georgia’s splintered territory, in large part because of Russia’s lingering tensions with the Georgians. | There is little prospect of a diplomatic resolution of Georgia’s splintered territory, in large part because of Russia’s lingering tensions with the Georgians. |
| After Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, prompted by a Georgian attack on another separatist enclave, South Ossetia, Moscow formerly recognized Abkhazia’s independence, but since then only four other nations have: Nicaragua, Venezuela and two tiny Pacific nations, Nauru and Tuvalu. (Vanuatu initially did but withdrew its recognition earlier this year.) | After Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, prompted by a Georgian attack on another separatist enclave, South Ossetia, Moscow formerly recognized Abkhazia’s independence, but since then only four other nations have: Nicaragua, Venezuela and two tiny Pacific nations, Nauru and Tuvalu. (Vanuatu initially did but withdrew its recognition earlier this year.) |
| The impending Olympics have done little to change its status. The region has received only residual benefits from the large construction project that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has orchestrated on Sochi’s coast and in the mountains above, despite promises from Russia to help rebuild the region’s railways. Abkhazia’s quarries provided about 20 million tons of building material, mostly gravel and sand, but that was half what its president, Sergei Bagapsh, predicted before his death in 2011. | The impending Olympics have done little to change its status. The region has received only residual benefits from the large construction project that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has orchestrated on Sochi’s coast and in the mountains above, despite promises from Russia to help rebuild the region’s railways. Abkhazia’s quarries provided about 20 million tons of building material, mostly gravel and sand, but that was half what its president, Sergei Bagapsh, predicted before his death in 2011. |
| Few tourists are likely to venture into the region from Sochi in part because the government of Georgia, technically, requires visitors to seek permission from its capital, Tbilisi. Even if a visit is approved, the tourists would have to cross the border on foot, then take a taxi or bus south. | Few tourists are likely to venture into the region from Sochi in part because the government of Georgia, technically, requires visitors to seek permission from its capital, Tbilisi. Even if a visit is approved, the tourists would have to cross the border on foot, then take a taxi or bus south. |
| Russian officials, focused on making the Games an international affirmation of Mr. Putin’s leadership, have publicly shown little concern about the impact on Abkhazia. A recent visit by Mr. Putin’s envoy to the region, Vladislav Surkov, focused not on Sochi, according to news reports, but on oversight of the aid that Russia provides, accounting for roughly 40 percent of the region’s budget, according to figures provided by Mr. Eshba, the deputy prime minister. | Russian officials, focused on making the Games an international affirmation of Mr. Putin’s leadership, have publicly shown little concern about the impact on Abkhazia. A recent visit by Mr. Putin’s envoy to the region, Vladislav Surkov, focused not on Sochi, according to news reports, but on oversight of the aid that Russia provides, accounting for roughly 40 percent of the region’s budget, according to figures provided by Mr. Eshba, the deputy prime minister. |
| Even Abkhazia’s fledging Olympic Committee struggles without international recognition. Its athletes compete for other countries, most of them for Russia. An Abkhazian wrestler, Denis Tsargush, won a bronze medal in London in 2012. Valery Arshba, the president of the committee, is still hoping that Russia will invite an official delegation to Sochi. | Even Abkhazia’s fledging Olympic Committee struggles without international recognition. Its athletes compete for other countries, most of them for Russia. An Abkhazian wrestler, Denis Tsargush, won a bronze medal in London in 2012. Valery Arshba, the president of the committee, is still hoping that Russia will invite an official delegation to Sochi. |
| “Everybody starts in the shadows,” he said. “We have a lot of work before we are accepted.” | “Everybody starts in the shadows,” he said. “We have a lot of work before we are accepted.” |
| Mr. Eshba, sounding diplomatic, did not criticize the border restrictions. He said that Abkhazia welcomed Russia’s hosting of the Games and would do whatever it could to help make them a success, including providing security on its side of the border. | Mr. Eshba, sounding diplomatic, did not criticize the border restrictions. He said that Abkhazia welcomed Russia’s hosting of the Games and would do whatever it could to help make them a success, including providing security on its side of the border. |
| “We are prepared to suffer a bit for our neighbor,” he said. | “We are prepared to suffer a bit for our neighbor,” he said. |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: December 16, 2013 | |
An | The Gulripshi Journal article on Wednesday, about a pending closing of the border between Russia and Abkhazia, a breakaway enclave of Georgia, that is forcing Abkhazians to scramble to ensure that vital products get through misspelled the given name of Stalin’s secret police chief, who was born in a village near Gulripshi. He was Lavrentiy Beria, not Lavarentiy. |