Short answers, pulled from the story.
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. It is recognised as independent by five UN member states: Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria. The rest of the international community considers it de jure part of Georgia.
Abkhazia sits on the eastern coast of the Black Sea at the western end of Georgia, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It covers about 8,665 square kilometres and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi.
The 1992-1993 War in Abkhazia broke out in August 1992 when Georgia's National Guard entered the region, and it ended with Abkhazian forces taking Sukhumi on the 27th of September 1993. The war resulted in Georgia losing control of most of Abkhazia, de facto Abkhazian independence, and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians, with about 5,000 killed and up to 250,000 expelled.
Russia officially recognised Abkhazia on the 26th of August 2008, after the Russo-Georgian War in which Abkhaz and Russian forces fought Georgian forces. The recognition led to the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. Two days later, on the 28th of August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory.
Abkhazia is a presidential republic heavily dependent on Russia, with half its budget coming from Russian funding, use of the Russian ruble, and most citizens holding Russian passports. Georgia maintains an Abkhaz government-in-exile that it recognises as the legal government. By August 2024 Russia stated the harmonisation of Abkhaz laws with Russian laws was almost complete.
The Abkhaz name Apsny is etymologised as a land of the soul, though its literal meaning is a country of mortals. It possibly first appeared in the seventh century in an Armenian text. The Russian name Abkhaziya is adapted from the Georgian Apkhazeti, and the Constitution of Abkhazia treats Republic of Abkhazia and Apsny as equivalent and interchangeable.