Russia to the Caucasus

Is there anyway to get from russia to georgia or azebaijan? I know the georgian land border is closed (in fact I have been there from the georgian side and been turned around by startled russian guards). I know that all transport between the two countires was suspended last autumn but does anyone know if they will be starting the ferry from sochi to poti/batumi again? Are there ferries from russia to Trabzon in turkey (close enough)? Or is it possible to travel through dagestan to azerbaijan? (obviously not my first choice due to safety). I believe that the train service has been suspended for a long time but can one travel by bus or it the border firmly shut? Any info would be greatly apprecited. Basically I dont want to have to travel to odessa to take an expensive ferry to georgia.

James

No. There is no possibility to cross from either Azerbaijan to Russia or Georgia to Russia.

Contact the port in Sochi for information about the boats to Batumi but I do not think they are operating and no one can tell you when they might since no one knows when things might settle down again.

There are no ferries from Novorossiisk to Turkey so unless there is something from Sochi, you are out of luck for overland crossings.

Ruth

With this in mind, we might as well just offer to donate the Caucasus to the Middle East branch now that they lost Turkey to us. ;-)

Two of the Caucasian countries do have open borders with Iran (or they did when I crossed them) ...

Isn't crossing via Abkhazia in this direction still an option for a determined traveller, BTW?

I suppose that one can pass through Abkhasia. I am not sure in which direction it has been done but there is a thread about this. If you can't find it, try looking for a link in the New Russia Sticky

Ruth

The Abkhazia thread on TT - ilko has added to it the link to the visa & border crossing info page of the Abkhazian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It seems they do have open borders with both Georgia and Russia and issue transit visas, which would suggest transiting through Abkhazia should be possible.
I could forsee some problems entering Georgia this way though, possibly for the same reasons why entering Serbia via Kosovo can be a problem.