 Support for the Abkhaz from various groups within Russia such as the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, Cossacks, and regular military units, and support for South Ossetia by their ethnic brethren who lived in Russia's federal subject of North Ossetia proved critical in the de facto secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia.In the aftermath of the military setback in Abkhazia in 1993, the Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze had to accede to the Kremlin's pressure.In exchange for Russian support against forces loyal to the ousted Georgian president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, he agreed to join the Commonwealth of Independent States and legitimize the Russian military bases in Georgia