On the initiative of the Abkhaz ethno-nationalist movement Aidgylara, the Assembly of the Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus was established in Abkhazia's capital Sukhumi on 25 and 26 August 1989.

Yusup Soslanbekov was the chairman of the Caucasian Parliament and Sultan Sosnaliyev was appointed the head of the Confederation's military department.

[citation needed] A third assembly was held in Sukhumi on 1 and 2 November 1991, when the organization was renamed to the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus.

[citation needed] Following the outbreak of war as Georgian troops entered Abkhazia in August 1992, the Confederation held its 11th parliamentary session in Grozny.

[8][9][10] Following the Abkhazian war, the Confederation went into a period of decline due largely to the feuds among its pro- and anti-Kremlin factions.

It experienced a brief revival in December 1994, when Shanibov rallied thousands across the North Caucasus to block roads to the Russian forces heading to Grozny.