The Bagramyan Battalion: Between History, Myth, and Modern Prejudice in Georgia
I first heard about the Bagramyan Battalion that fought in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in 2023, during an international program, from a Georgian colleague. I hadn’t heard about the battalion before, partly because it’s rarely discussed in Armenia, and there’s very little information about it in Armenian.
As I recall, the topic came up while we were talking about Armenian-Georgian relations and why some people in Georgia might hold anti-Armenian views. When the Bagramyan Battalion was mentioned, I felt uneasy. Since I wasn’t familiar with the subject, from what my Georgian colleague said, I initially got the impression that Armenia had fought against Georgia during the Georgian-Abkhazian war.
Later, I spoke to a friend of mine who had lived in Georgia for some time and asked her about the battalion. He eased my concerns, explaining that the Bagramyan Battalion had been formed by Armenians living in Abkhazia. Afterwards, I found a few pieces of information online and tried to understand under what circumstances it was created.
When I later moved to Georgia for a short time, several acquaintances mentioned the Bagramyan Battalion again. One of my Georgian-Armenian friends told me that the “Bagramyan Battalion” narrative is sometimes used as a pretext to discriminate against local Armenians.
Then, I witnessed this discourse firsthand online. On March 23, 2025, after the Armenia-Georgia football match in Tbilisi, tensions erupted in the stadium. Following the match, Georgian fans reportedly stormed the field and threw objects at Armenians. I had attended the match but left before the incident. On my way home, I saw videos and posts about it online, and I was shocked, because I hadn’t sensed any tension while inside the stadium.
Out of curiosity, I started translating the comments under the videos and posts, and there it was again: references to the Bagramyan Battalion, blaming Armenians. That’s when I realized that there is a deeply rooted stereotype regarding this topic in Georgian society.
The Georgian-Abkhazian Conflict
Like most conflicts in the region, the Georgian-Abkhaz war traces its origins back to the Soviet era and its collapse. During Soviet times, Abkhazia was an autonomous republic within the Georgian SSR. After the USSR’s dissolution, Abkhazia sought independence, while Georgia proposed that it remain part of Georgia with autonomous status.
The war began on August 14, 1992, and resulted in over 13,000 deaths. Around 300,000 people - mostly ethnic Georgians - became displaced and, to this day, most of them have not been able to return. In 1994, the sides signed the “Agreement on a Ceasefire and Disengagement of Forces” in Moscow.
Under Georgian law and international law, Abkhazia is recognized as part of Georgia, and the majority of the international community considers it a breakaway region.
The Bagramyan Battalion and the War
Armenians are the second-largest ethnic group in Abkhazia. According to the Abkhaz State Statistical Committee, as of 2024, the Armenian population numbered 41,270, or about 15% of Abkhazia’s total population.
Most Abkhaz Armenians trace their roots to the eastern regions of Turkey and speak Hamshen Armenian.
As Artavazd Saretsyan, editor of the Hamshen newspaper in Sukhum/i, told AGBU, when the Georgian-Abkhaz war broke out, Armenians in Abkhazia initially tried to remain neutral.
“At first, we were trying not to mess around, but then the Georgians exerted so much cruelty against Armenians that we had to back the Abkhazians.”
It was then that Abkhazian Armenians formed the Bagramyan Battalion. Around 1,500 local Armenians fought on the Abkhazian side, of whom 242 were killed. About 20 Armenians were later awarded the title of Hero of Abkhazia.
Galust Trapizonyan, a representative of the Armenian community in Abkhazia and commander of the “Marshal Bagramyan” Battalion, told yerkir.am:
“I consider Abkhazia my homeland because my family has lived here for four generations. My ancestors came from Trabzon during a tragic period for the Armenian people, and when the time came to defend Abkhazia, of course, we defended it - our families and our homeland.”
Trapizonyan said the battalion was formed when Armenian villages began to be destroyed. He explained that one of the key battles that earned them the title of Hero of Abkhazia was the capture of Tsuguruka Hill, which allowed control over all access routes to Sukhum/i. After that, the battalion also took part in the final battle for Sukhum/i.
Bagramyan Battalion in Georgian Media
When you search “ბაგრამიანის ბატალიონი” - Bagramyan battalion - in Georgian, one of the first results is a report titled “Roadmap to Kremlin’s Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region,” funded by the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.
Already in the second paragraph, the report notes: “It is noteworthy that the battalion also included fighters who had never lived in Abkhazia but had gained combat experience in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
This claim references another source - a Kviris Palitra article titled “From Bagramyan’s Battalion to Karabakh…”.
According to Kviris Palitra: “It is noteworthy that in early 1993, the Armenian battalion named after Marshal Bagramyan was formed from people who had never lived a single day in Abkhazia, although they already had experience from the first Karabakh war.”
However, the article provides no external evidence or sources to support the claim that fighters from the first Nagorno-Karabakh war participated in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. Moreover, it asserts that the battalion included not only Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh but also from Armenia itself:
“In total, 1,500 Armenian volunteers (both locals and fighters from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh ) fought on the side of the Abkhazians during the war. More than 200 of them died in combat.”
It should be noted that the Georgian-Abkhaz war and the Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh took place around the same time, which rises a question if anyone from Nagorno-Karabakh or Armenia would have left for Abkhazia and fight against Georgia. In addition, the identities of Abkhaz Armenians and Armenians from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh differ significantly, from cultural background and language to geopolitical context.
It is also important to note that Armenians represent one of the largest ethnic minorities in Georgia, and many Georgian Armenians participated in the Georgian-Abkhaz war on the Georgian side. Both articles mention that some Armenians fought on the Georgian side, but the phrasing is telling: “To be fair, it should be noted that Armenians living in various parts of Georgia also fought on the side of the Georgians, although they did not form a military unit and their numbers were small.” (Kviris Palitra)
In another instance, the article says: “Some of them even sacrificed themselves fighting for the territorial integrity of Georgia.”
I also contacted the Rondeli Foundation to ask on what sources they based their claim that the “Bagramyan Battalion” in Abkhazia included fighters from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The inquiry went unanswered.
What does an Armenian living in Georgia say?
I spoke to Armenian journalist Norair Miskarian from Georgia about anti-Armenian discourse in the country. According to him, the roots of Armenophobic stereotypes lie in the media articles and reportages circulated in the 1990s and 2000s.
Referring to stereotypes about the “Baghramyan Battalion,” Norair noted:
“One of the main stereotypes about the Baghramyan Battalion is that it allegedly acted against Georgia’s national interests. This perception has been used to suggest that Armenians living in Georgia are ‘disloyal’ to the country. Another stereotype claims they were controlled by Russia or Armenia. Such attitudes have often caused distrust toward Armenians in certain layers of Georgian society - especially in political or military contexts.”
Norair also mentioned that media outlets in Georgia working to expose disinformation, as well as independent media, present information objectively. Thus, it is also discussed that Armenians fought on Georgia’s side during the Georgian–Abkhaz war.
Although Norair notes that he personally has not faced discrimination because of these stereotypes, he points out that such stereotypes have given rise to other narratives. For instance, in various articles and videos, pro-government media have asked opposition politician Mamuka Khazaradze why he doesn’t admit being Armenian and whether he feels ashamed of that fact: “They call him a ‘fraud, adventurist, and Armenian.’ As if in this way, they are labeling Armenians negatively,” the journalist says.
Summarizing our conversation, Norayr noted that, depending on the country's political situation, anti-Armenian rhetoric and hate speech frequently resurface in the media and political discourse and, in recent years, even more frequently: “This is probably because there is no proper monitoring or adequate response to such incidents. In some cases, statements from government-linked media and social media pages even suggest that this might be deliberate, depending on political interests.
However, it should be emphasized that Georgian civil society, as well as media and organizations fighting disinformation, do respond to all cases and provide comprehensive counterarguments. Yet it is clear that disinformation, unfortunately, still has its own audience”.
“Armenia’s Prime Minister Said That…”
Following the 2018 Velvet Revolution in Armenia, Georgian media circulated a claim that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had said: “The Bagramyan Battalion and participation in the Abkhazian war against Georgia was a fatal mistake of Armenians, which spoiled Georgian-Armenian relations.”
The Georgian outlet Netgazeti contacted Pashinyan’s spokesperson at the time, Tigran Avinyan, who denied the claim that Pashinyan had said such a thing.
Other Reactions
During my time in Georgia, I once heard about an Armenian who had fought on the Georgian side. Reportedly, he was offered a military career on the condition that he give up his Armenian surname. I can’t verify this story; it was told by a local Armenian.
In any case, the 1990s were not an easy time for Armenians living in Georgia either.
After the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, Netgazeti reported : “In recent days, Georgian-language posts on social media about ethnic Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh have been accompanied by Armenophobic remarks and hate speech, often written in a mocking tone. Georgian-speaking users recall the Bagramyan Battalion and its involvement in fighting against Georgians during the Abkhazian War.”
The outlet interviewed Paata Zakareishvili, an expert on conflicts and former Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, who responded: “Let’s also remember how many Armenians fought on the Georgian side - we had professional officers and artillerymen. If we had any military success back then, it was the repelling of the attack on Sukhumi in March, which was the merit of the artillerymen - and 70% of these artillerymen were ethnic Armenians. Why don’t we know this, and why do we only know about Bagramyan?”
He blamed this selective memory on nationalists and ethnocentrists.
Indeed, Armenians fought on both sides of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict: some as part of Georgian military units, others alongside Abkhaz forces.
Instead of a Conclusion
My understanding of Armenian-Georgian relations was shaped during my teenage years, largely influenced by state propaganda. Back then, I believed that the relationship between our two countries was the ideal example that all neighboring nations should aspire to.
My perception began to shift as I delved into the internal problems and mutual prejudices that exist on both sides. In Georgia, attitudes toward Armenians and Armenia are diverse. While it is important to highlight the positive relations, it is equally essential not to overlook or silence the existing stereotypes between the two societies . Open conversation, dialogue, and clarification are necessary steps toward understanding.
Perhaps that’s the purpose of this article as well.