Yahoo Sports Behind the Sochi Curtain - Abkhazia
1/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Abkhazia’s dramatic and historical Anakopia Castle, close to the Russian border. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Inside the Council of Ministers, a former government building ravaged during Abkhazia's civil war. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
2/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Inside the Council of Ministers, a former government building ravaged during Abkhazia's civil war. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![The main forum of what was once the Council of Ministers building. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
3/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
The main forum of what was once the Council of Ministers building. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![An abandoned stairway inside the Council of Ministers building in Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
4/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
An abandoned stairway inside the Council of Ministers building in Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![A roadside war memorial where visitors light cigarettes to commemorate those who died in the civil war. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
5/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
A roadside war memorial where visitors light cigarettes to commemorate those who died in the civil war. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![A memorial to celebrate the liberation of the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi in 1993. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
6/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
A memorial to celebrate the liberation of the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi in 1993. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Children in Sukhumi lay flowers and wreaths as part of the memorial celebrations. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
7/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Children in Sukhumi lay flowers and wreaths as part of the memorial celebrations. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Young Abkhazian cadets march as part of a military parade. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
8/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Young Abkhazian cadets march as part of a military parade. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Flowers by the memorial in central Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
9/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Flowers by the memorial in central Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Flowers by the memorial in central Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
10/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Flowers by the memorial in central Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Flowers by the memorial in central Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
11/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Flowers by the memorial in central Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Abkhaz children pay tribute to those killed in the civil war. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
12/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Abkhaz children pay tribute to those killed in the civil war. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![The 20th anniversary of Sukhumi’s liberation was marked with a national holiday for workers and schoolchildren. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
13/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
The 20th anniversary of Sukhumi’s liberation was marked with a national holiday for workers and schoolchildren. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Policemen, troops, children and church members all took part in the festivities. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
14/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Policemen, troops, children and church members all took part in the festivities. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![A soldier stands to attention near the main memorial site in Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
15/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
A soldier stands to attention near the main memorial site in Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Abkhazian flags flutter near the main Sukhumi memorial. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
16/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Abkhazian flags flutter near the main Sukhumi memorial. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Specially-grown flowers are placed by the memorial each year. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
17/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Specially-grown flowers are placed by the memorial each year. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Yahoo Sports’ Martin Rogers meets Abkhazia’s president, Alexander Ankvab. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
18/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Yahoo Sports’ Martin Rogers meets Abkhazia’s president, Alexander Ankvab. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![The vehicle of a United Nations field officer sits outside a Sukhumi hotel. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
19/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
The vehicle of a United Nations field officer sits outside a Sukhumi hotel. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![A wooden pier offers a fine view of the Black Sea in Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
20/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
A wooden pier offers a fine view of the Black Sea in Sukhumi. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)![Cadets and troops prepare for their part in the memorial celebrations. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)]()
21/21Views of Abkhazia. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Cadets and troops prepare for their part in the memorial celebrations. (Photo by Alan Springer/Yahoo Sports)
Yahoo Sports
Less than five miles from the heart of the 2014 Olympic Village is a hidden nation.
Abkhazia is a nation-state whose status is deeply complicated. It has no official standing with the United Nations, U.S. foreign policy nor Western internet maps. The region is considered part of Georgia, one of the 15 republics created when the Soviet Union disbanded in the early 1990s.
— Martin Rogers
