Lata (Abkhazia)
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Lata
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|---|---|
Village | |
 .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Top left: the Lata Palace; top right: the village cemetery; bottom left: an unidentified building in the village; bottom right: two inhabitants atop a hill, overlooking a forest. | |
  Lata Location in Abkhazia | |
| Coordinates: 43°01′58″N 41°28′48″E / 43.03278°N 41.48000°E | |
| Country | Abkhazia/Georgia |
| District | Gulripshi |
| Elevation | 304 m (997 ft) |
Lata (Georgian: ლათა, Abkhaz: Лаҭа/Лаҭ) is a village in the Gulripshi District of Abkhazia, a region with disputed status in Georgia. The village is located on the right bank of the Kodori River along the Sukhumi–Ochamchira road.[1]
Lata is situated in the Kodori Valley, or Upper Abkhazia, as the Georgian government refers to it. The village lies on the southern bank of the Kodori River and is approximately 52 km from Gulripshi, the district center.[1]
The village has a humid subtropical climate typical of coastal Abkhazia, with mild winters and warm summers. Nearby Gulripshi averages 6°C in January and 23°C in July, with approximately 1,400 mm of annual rainfall.[2]
Administrative status
De jure, Lata is part of Georgia's Gulripshi Municipality in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. De facto, it is controlled by the self-declared Republic of Abkhazia and administered as part of its Gulripshi District.[3] The international community mostly recognizes Lata as part of Georgia, with only a few countries recognizing Abkhazia's independence.[4]
History
Early history
Lata appears on 19th-century maps and was noted in 1864 among Abkhaz muhajir settlements. In early Soviet records, it was part of the "Atara-Lata" community.[1][circular reference] In 1943, the Gulripshi District was created, including Lata.[5]
Post-Soviet conflict
During the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia, Lata came under Abkhaz control. On 14 December 1992, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter evacuating civilians was shot down over Lata, killing 85–87 people, mostly women and children. Georgian and Abkhaz sources differ on responsibility.[6][7] It was also a site of the 1994 Kodori clashes in the War in Abkhazia (1992-1993).
Demographics
No reliable post-war census exists. Pre-1992, the village was majority ethnic Georgian, possibly with small numbers of Abkhazians and Armenians.