Thirty-one years ago on this day, Sukhumi fell after a battle that lasted for 11 days. Early in the morning on September 27, Abkhazian-Russian, North Caucasian, and Cossack units stormed the building of the Council of Ministers of Abkhazia, capturing the chairman, Zhuli Shartava, the mayor of Sukhumi, Guram Gabeskiria, and 27 employees of the Council of Ministers, all of whom were subsequently shot.

This day was preceded by a war that lasted 13 months and 13 days. On September 27, 1993, the soldiers of the Georgian government forces, along with the headquarters command and head of state Eduard Shevardnadze, left Sukhumi.

Before the fall of Sukhumi, the parties to the armed conflict had reached peace agreements several times, but Russia and the separatists it supported broke these agreements.

According to available data, more than 10,000 Georgian soldiers and civilians were killed in the ongoing military conflict in Abkhazia from 1992 to 1993, and 300,000 people were left homeless.

To honor the memory of those who died in the war in Abkhazia and in connection with the 31st anniversary of the fall of Sukhumi, the state flag of Georgia was lowered over state institutions.