Perspectives of the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of the Northern Caucasus: challenges and threats

The article examines the main threats to the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the Northern Caucasus, involving material of the Republic of Abkhazia. Such threats include: predatory excavations at archaeological sites, destroying archaeological and cultural legacy during construction of new buildings, unprofessional restoration of historical buildings and archaeological monuments, including due to the fault of church organizations, decay of old buildings in historical parts of cities of the region. A few concrete examples are given, and some mechanisms of combating negative processes are suggested.