Introduction: The Puzzle of Fragmented Borders

The Caucasus, a mountainous isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas, is one of the world's most geopolitically intricate regions. Its modern borders, drawn and redrawn by empires and Soviet planners, have created a dense web of enclaves and exclaves that cut across national territories. These fragments of land—some no larger than a village, others autonomous republics—are not merely cartographic curiosities; they are sources of recurring tension, frozen conflicts, and humanitarian hardships. Understanding how these territorial anomalies came to be and how they continue to affect Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan is essential for grasping the region’s complex security landscape.

What Are Enclaves and Exclaves? A Brief Primer

An enclave is a territory belonging to one political entity that is entirely surrounded by another nation’s territory. An exclave is a part of a country that is geographically separated from its main body by foreign land (or, in rare cases, by international waters). Many territories are both enclaves and exclaves simultaneously: they are enclaves from the perspective of the surrounding state, and exclaves from the perspective of the state that governs them.

In the Caucasus, these formations arose primarily from three factors: the ethnically conscious border-drawing policies of the early Soviet Union; Stalin-era administrative adjustments that deliberately intermixed populations; and the aftermath of the Russian Empire’s collapse, when newly independent states inherited Soviet internal boundaries as international frontiers. The result is a patchwork of isolated communities, contested corridors, and strategic outposts that complicate governance, military logistics, and civilian life.

Historical Roots: How the Soviet Union Created the Caucasus Enclaves

The modern borders of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan were largely shaped during the 1920s and 1930s under the Soviet nationalities policy. The Bolsheviks aimed to create ethno-territorial units that would, in theory, grant self-rule to major national groups while preventing any single republic from becoming too powerful. In practice, this meant carving out autonomous regions (like Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhchivan) and leaving small pockets of one republic within another.

Stalin himself, as the Commissar of Nationalities, oversaw many of these decisions. His approach was to mix ethnic groups so that each republic’s boundaries would contain minority enclaves—a classic divide-and-rule tactic that made future secession or unification more difficult. The enclaves of the Caucasus are thus Soviet-era inventions, and when the USSR dissolved in 1991, they became international borders almost overnight.

Georgia’s Enclaves and Exclaves: A Story of Breakaway Territories

Georgia possesses several enclaves and exclaves that are entangled with its secessionist conflicts. The most prominent are in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but there are also smaller territorial anomalies.

The Kechki and Batumi Enclaves

The village of Kechki (also spelled Kechkid) and a small area near Batumi are Georgian exclaves located within the territory of Azerbaijan. Kechki is a tiny agricultural settlement surrounded by the Qazakh District of Azerbaijan. Its population is Georgian, and the exclave is administered by Georgia’s Kvemo Kartli region. Access requires crossing Azerbaijani territory, and while day-to-day movement is generally tolerated, the exclave’s status has occasionally been a point of friction in bilateral relations.

Similarly, the Batumi enclave refers to a small Georgian-owned parcel of land that became isolated after Soviet border adjustments. These exclaves are not heavily militarised, but they highlight how even minor territorial anomalies can complicate cross-border infrastructure projects and local governance.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia: De Facto States as Enclaves

On a larger scale, Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia function as quasi-enclaves. Abkhazia is a strip along the Black Sea coast, cut off from Georgia proper by the Kodori Gorge and Russian-backed forces. South Ossetia is a wedge of territory in the central Caucasus, separated from Russia’s North Ossetia by the Roki Pass. Both are recognised by only a handful of states and remain under de facto Russian military control. For the Georgian government, these are enclaves occupied by a foreign power; for the local populations, they are self-proclaimed independent states. The 2008 Russo-Georgian War cemented their separation, and despite periodic diplomacy, no reunification has occurred.

Armenia’s Exclaves: Isolated Communities and Strategic Corridors

Armenia, landlocked and historically squeezed between Turkey and Azerbaijan, has several small exclaves that are remnants of Soviet-era border delineations. Most are located within the territory of Azerbaijan, and their existence has been a persistent source of tension.

Artsvashen

Artsvashen (also known as Bashkend) is an Armenian exclave entirely surrounded by Azerbaijan’s Gadabay District. During the Soviet period, it was a prosperous agricultural village with a mixed Armenian and Azeri population. After the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted, Artsvashen came under Azerbaijani control in the early 1990s, and all its Armenian residents fled. Today, the area is effectively part of Azerbaijan, but Armenia still claims it as sovereign territory. The failure to recapture Artsvashen has become a bitter symbol of Armenia’s military setbacks.

Barxudarli, Sofulu, and Other Small Exclaves

Armenia also had several tiny exclaves inside Azerbaijan, including Barxudarli, Sofulu, and Karki. These hamlets were occupied by Azerbaijani forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and remain under Azerbaijani control. Karki is particularly notable because it lies on the main road connecting Armenia’s northern regions to the rest of the country, making its loss a significant logistical blow. Armenia has not recognised these losses, and they are part of the unresolved territorial disputes that bedevil peace negotiations.

Azerbaijan’s Exclave: Nakhchivan and Its Geopolitical Significance

Azerbaijan’s most famous exclave is the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a landlocked territory separated from the main part of Azerbaijan by southern Armenia. Nakhchivan is a classic exclave: it is part of Azerbaijan but can only be reached directly by air or through Iran or Turkey. Its special status as an autonomous republic dates back to the 1921 Treaty of Moscow, which placed Nakhchivan under Azerbaijan’s protection while recognising the rights of its Turkic population.

Nakhchivan’s modern boundaries were confirmed by the 1921 Treaty of Kars between Soviet Russia, Turkey, and the Transcaucasian republics. The treaty gave Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan, with Turkey and Iran serving as guarantors of its status. This remains a sensitive issue: Armenia has occasionally challenged Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nakhchivan, while Turkey and Iran have made clear they will not tolerate any change in its status. The exclave is heavily militarised, and its border with Armenia is one of the most fortified in the region.

Strategic Importance

Nakhchivan is strategically vital for Azerbaijan because it shares a long border with Turkey, giving Baku direct land access to its NATO ally. It also contains the Julfa railway station, once a key link in the rail corridor connecting Turkey to the Caspian Sea. Since the closure of the border with Armenia, all overland trade between Nakhchivan and the rest of Azerbaijan must pass through Iran, which levies transit fees and diplomatic considerations. This makes Nakhchivan both a source of leverage for Iran and a choke point for Azerbaijan’s regional ambitions.

Nagorno-Karabakh: The Central Enclave That Sparked a War

No discussion of Caucasus enclaves is complete without Nagorno-Karabakh (known to Armenians as Artsakh). Although not a formal enclave under international law—it was an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan—it functioned as a de facto Armenian enclave from the 1990s until its dissolution in 2023. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the region’s deadliest post-Soviet war, claiming tens of thousands of lives and displacing over a million people.

Origins of the Dispute

Nagorno-Karabakh was assigned to Azerbaijan by the Soviet government in 1923, despite its overwhelmingly Armenian population. For decades, local Armenians petitioned for unification with Armenia, but Moscow refused. As the Soviet Union weakened in the late 1980s, the Karabakh Armenian government declared independence, triggering a war that lasted until 1994. Armenia-backed forces seized not only Karabakh itself but also seven surrounding Azerbaijani districts, creating a large security belt that made Karabakh a contiguous landmass connected to Armenia.

The 2020 War and Aftermath

In 2020, a 44-day war resulted in Azerbaijan reclaiming most of the surrounding districts and the city of Shusha. Under the subsequent ceasefire agreement, a Russian peacekeeping force was deployed in the remaining area. The final chapter came in September 2023, when Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive that forced the Karabakh Armenian government to surrender. By January 2024, the de facto republic had been dissolved, and nearly the entire Armenian population had fled to Armenia. What was once a functioning enclave is now an empty territory under Azerbaijani control.

Impacts on Regional Stability: How Enclaves Fuel Conflict

Enclaves and exclaves in the Caucasus have had profound effects on regional security, economics, and social life.

Border Security and Military Flashpoints

Because enclaves are islands of one state inside another, they create natural flashpoints. Soldiers from both sides are in constant proximity, leading to frequent skirmishes, sniper fire, and landmine incidents. The border between Armenia and Azerbaijan around the exclaves has been heavily militarised for decades, with long stretches blocked by barbed wire and tank traps. Any change in the status quo—such as the construction of a road or the rotation of troops—can trigger a diplomatic crisis.

Civilian Hardships

For the people living in or near enclaves, daily life is a struggle. Residents of Artsvashen and Kechki have had to rely on unofficial crossing points and informal arrangements to visit their own countries. In Nakhchivan, the isolation has stunted economic development; the exclave depends heavily on state subsidies and imports from Iran. Medical emergencies, school attendance, and family visits all become complicated when one must cross an international border to reach the main part of one’s own country.

Diplomatic Leverage and Obstacles to Peace

Enclaves are often used as bargaining chips in peace negotiations. For example, Armenia has demanded the return of Artsvashen and other occupied exclaves, while Azerbaijan insists on the demilitarisation of the Lachin Corridor and the full integration of Nakhchivan. The existence of these territorial anomalies makes it difficult to draw mutually acceptable borders. Even when ceasefires are signed, disputes over tiny patches of land can derail broader peace processes, as seen in the repeated delays of the Minsk Group negotiations.

Comparative Perspectives: Enclaves Worldwide

The Caucasus is not unique in its enclave-and-exclave problems. Europe has the Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania), the Vatican City (an enclave of Rome), and Baarle-Hertog (a patchwork of Belgian exclaves inside the Netherlands). In Asia, India and Bangladesh had a complex system of enclaves until a 2015 land swap resolved them. The Caucasus enclaves differ because they are not merely administrative conveniences; they are products of imperial legacy and armed conflict, making them far harder to negotiate away.

Potential Resolutions: Can the Enclave Problems Be Solved?

Historically, enclave disputes have been resolved through land swaps, corridor agreements, or international mediation. The India-Bangladesh example shows that with political will, even the most Byzantine enclave systems can be untangled. In the Caucasus, several options exist:

  • Land Swaps: Armenia and Azerbaijan could exchange small territories to consolidate borders, removing isolated exclaves. This was discussed during the 1990s but never implemented.
  • Corridor Access: The Zangezur Corridor—a proposed route through southern Armenia connecting Nakhchivan to the rest of Azerbaijan—could transform the exclave’s isolation into connectivity. However, Armenia has resisted ceding control of its sovereign territory.
  • International Guarantees: As with the Treaty of Kars for Nakhchivan, a multilateral agreement guaranteeing the rights of minority populations and the inviolability of borders could reduce tensions.
  • Demilitarisation and Confidence-Building: The removal of heavy weapons from border areas around enclaves, combined with joint economic zones, might lower the risk of accidental escalation.

Conclusion: Enclaves as Mirrors of the Caucasus

The enclaves and exclaves of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are more than quirks on a map. They are mirrors of the region’s turbulent history: the arbitrary hand of Soviet planners, the trauma of post-independence wars, and the lingering distrust between neighbours. They force people to live in perpetual insecurity, and they give states ready-made excuses for military build-up. But they are not immutable. As the 2020 and 2023 wars showed, borders in the Caucasus can change overnight when the balance of power shifts. The challenge for diplomats and citizens alike is to transform these enclaves from sources of conflict into opportunities for confidence-building, or at the very least, to mitigate the human suffering they cause.

For those seeking a deeper understanding of the region, tracking the fate of these isolated territories remains essential. The Caucasus will continue to be a laboratory of border politics, where every village can be a strategic asset and every exclave a potential spark.