Publication: N2 / Review Period: November 1-30, 2022

The review is being prepared within the framework of the Roadmap to the Kremlin's Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region project. The purpose of the review is to provide readers with information about main events and trends in the occupied regions of Georgia. The review is a monthly publication and will be useful for decision-makers, public employees, media representatives and other people who are interested in the developments taking place in the occupied regions of Georgia.

New Official Responsible for the Occupied Regions of Georgia  

On November 1, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, was appointed as the Co-Chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee for Socio-Economic Cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia and Russia and the Tskhinvali Region. In this position, Novak replaced Marat Khusnullin who has become less concerned about the occupied regions of Georgia recently. From now on, Novak will control the implementation of Russian-funded projects in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.

Alexander Novak. Source:  government.ru

Russian Passports and Restriction of Movement in the European Union

On November 10, 2020, the European Parliament and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, on behalf of the Czech Republic who has the presidency, reached a provisional agreement on a decision on non-acceptance of Russian passports issued in the occupied regions of Ukraine and Georgia which means that Russian travel documents will not be accepted as valid documents for obtaining a visa or crossing the border of the Schengen area. The de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia assessed the EU decision as another provocation: “The European Union is becoming a direct accomplice to Georgia’s illegal and inhumane policy of international isolation of the Republic of Abkhazia.” The de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Tskhinvali region called the EU decision another unfriendly attack, a gross violation of the fundamental principles of European democracy.

“Foreign Policy” of the Occupied Regions of Georgia

Relations with Iran

In November, the first facts of establishing relations between the occupied regions of Georgia and Iran were recorded. On November 8, the de facto Foreign Minister of Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba, visited the Iranian embassy in Moscow and personally expressed his condolences to Ambassador Kazem Jalali for the death of 15 people who died as a result of the terrorist attack organized by the “Islamic State” group on October 26. On the same day, the de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Tskhinvali region, Akhsar Jioev, also visited the Iranian Embassy to express his condolences. During the month, representatives of the occupied regions of Georgia hinted several times about the possibility of developing further relations with Iran.

Akhsar Jioev at the Iranian Embassy. Source:  mfa.rsogov.org

Establishing a Consultative Mechanism

On November 9, Inal Ardzinba met with a newly appointed Syrian ambassador to Russia, Bashar Jaafar. One of the topics of the meeting was the formation of a consultative mechanism with the participation of Syria, Russia and the de facto republics of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.

Parliamentary Delegation of the Union State Visited Sokhumi

The de facto President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, met with a parliamentary delegation of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, headed by Artem Turov, the Chairman of the Committee on Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism. The delegation also met with members of the de facto parliament of Abkhazia. Talks about the development of relations with Belarus increased after an unexpected visit of the President of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, to Abkhazia on September 28. Although the official Minsk avoids recognizing the independence of the occupied regions of Georgia, relations between Belarus and Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region have increased in recent months as a result of the pressure from Moscow.

Meeting with Lavrov

On November 1, a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, and the de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Tskhinvali region, Akhsar Jioev, was held in Moscow. This was Jioev's first meeting with Lavrov after his appointment as “minister.” In November, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the de facto Republic of Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba, visited Moscow, however, did not meet with Lavrov.

New Cadres and Russian Civil Servants

New Chief of the General Staff

On November 4, the de facto President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, appointed Vladimir Savchenko as a new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the de facto republic. Savchenko will also serve as the de facto First Deputy Minister of Defense. He replaced also Russian officer Valery Lunev in this post. During his long military career, Savchenko, born in northern Kazakhstan in 1959, headed a center for the reception, distribution and placement of refugees in Syria. Appointment of Russian military officers to high positions in the Ministry of Defense of the occupied Abkhazia has already become a trend.

Introduction of the New Chief of the General Staff. Source:  presidentofabkhazia.org

New “Ambassador” to Russia

On November 30, Alkhas Kvitsinia, who served as the head of Aslan Bzhania's administration until August, was appointed as the “Ambassador” of Abkhazia to Russia. After the dismissal, he made a critical statement against Bzhania's administration, which led to suspicions that he would join political groups opposing Bzhania, although the start of Kvitsinia’s diplomatic career will reduce the chances of this. It is noteworthy that the position of “ambassador” of Abkhazia to Russia has been vacant since December 2021. A vacant key position for such a long time indicates that the selection of the “ambassador” candidacy was also a matter of internal political struggle.

New Appointments in Tskhinvali

Alan Gagloyev, the de facto leader of the Tskhinvali region, won the illegitimate presidential elections in May, however, he couldn’t manage to fully form a “government” since then. In recent years, many of the de facto government’s new members have worked in Russia and had less contact with domestic politics. On November 22, Alan Jioev, who has been working in the Moscow City Fund of Compulsory Medical Insurance since 2013, was appointed as the de facto First Deputy Prime Minister. On the same day, Kazbek Tsarikaev, who was the Minister of Finance of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alanya in 2017-2018, was appointed as Gagloyev's advisor.

On November 9, Gagloyev appointed Agunda Pliev as the de facto Minister of Health and Social Development. The most interesting was the appointment of Ibragim Gaseev as the Minister of Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Elimination of the Consequences of Natural Disasters. Gaseev was the de facto Minister of Defense in 2016-2022, and before the illegitimate presidential elections held in the spring of 2022, his relations with Gagloyev's predecessor, Anatoly Bibilov, became strained, due to which Bibilov dismissed him from the post of “minister.” Gaseev tried to register as a “presidential candidate,” however Bibilov interfered as believed that Gaseev would be his strong competitor. Gaseev's return in the “government” can be evaluated as Gagloyev’s another revanchist step against Bibilov.

Energy Crisis and Russian Electricity

On November 1, the emergency shutdown of the high-voltage overhead line Achguara-220 left large part of Abkhazia without electricity. The crisis was further intensified by the drop in the water level in the Enguri HPP reservoir. According to de facto Deputy Prime Minister, Kristina Ozgan, the main cause of the accident was the interruption of electricity supply from Russia which will supposedly last until the completion of the repair works on the transmission line, anticipated on November 15. Because of this, out of the planned 32 kilometers, only 24 kilometers of cable could be replaced. The second reason of the accident was that the energy workers did not have time to test the performed works, which is why they had to start the line immediately.

From November 22, the de facto republic started receiving electricity from Russia. According Ozgan, the occupied Abkhazia will receive 280 million kWh of electricity from Russia; however, the volume is not enough since the de facto republic will consume 340 million kWh by the end of the year. Due to the current crisis, a schedule has been set for electricity supply in Abkhazia.

On November 10, Aslan Bzhania spoke about the energy crisis while giving a report on 2.5 years of activity at a parliament session. Bzhania once again used the current situation to say that the de facto government cannot solve the crisis with its own resources, and for this, an investment of RUB 20 billion (as estimated in 2017) is needed. However, he noted that even under the conditions of foreign (meaning Russian) investments, the energy system should remain the property of the state. Opponents of Bzhania believe that he is deliberately deepening the energy crisis, because he wants to speed up the process of transferring energy infrastructure to Russia, which, they believe equals to the loss of sovereignty.

Issue of “Bichvinta” and Meetings at the State Duma

On November 15, Abkhaz MPs met with their Russian counterparts at the State Duma. At the meeting, the main topic of discussion was the ratification of an agreement on the transfer of the “Bichvinta state country house” to Russian ownership. The Abkhaz MPs talked to their Russian colleagues about the factors hindering the ratification. The meeting had a consultative nature, and the Abkhaz side focused on two main errors, which, in their estimation, occurred during the signing of the agreement: the incorrect coordinates and the absence of a clause prohibiting the transfer of the object to the third party. A part of society in Abkhazia believes the transfer of the “Bichvinta state country house” to Russia equals to the loss of sovereignty. The de facto government, fearing intensified protests, refrains from ratifying the agreement. Even the Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Sergey Neverov, arrived in Sokhumi on November 30 to convince the Abkhaz side.

Ergneti Meeting and Movement Along the Occupation Line

On November 10, 2022, the 109th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in the village of Ergneti, Gori municipality. According to representative of the de facto government of Tskhinvali, the Georgian side should accept the decision of temporarily opening checkpoints, a human gesture from Tskhinvali, as a relevant message and dismantle the disputed checkpoint (Chorchana-Tsnelis).

According to a decision of the de facto Security Council of August 18, the population of the occupied Akhalgori and Java regions can move to the territory controlled by the Georgian authorities from the 20th to the 30th of each month. The locals used the Razdakhan (Odzis/Mosabruni) and Pereu (Perevi) so-called checkpoints for this purpose in November as well.

According to the so-called State Security Committee of the Tskhinvali region, 3,127 people enjoyed this right in November, 2,693 of which used the Razdakhani so-called checkpoint. In October, a total of 2,931 people used this right. Reportedly, crossing of the so-called checkpoints with an expired pass will be prohibited after November 30 which the locals see as a ban on movement as the majority of the local population will not be able to timely get the necessary documents due to bureaucratic procedures.