Publication: N5 / Review Period: January 1-28, 2023

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.

Abkhazia

Aslan Bzhania in Moscow: Who Did He Meet and Who Did Not 

As per February 16 reports, the de facto President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, left for Moscow on February 14. The web-page of the de facto President succinctly reads that Aslan Bzhania will hold meetings at the Russian Presidential Administration. The information about his meetings was spread only on February 19, when he met with the Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Rashid Nurgaliyev, who supervises the direction of the occupied regions in the Council. Another meeting in Moscow was reported on February 24, when Bzhania met with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, and the Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov.

Bzhania's unexpected visit to Moscow raised doubts among the Abkhaz community about real goals of the visit. In Abkhazia, they suspected that Moscow would announce the accession of Abkhazia or its unification within the Union State on the anniversary of the start of the full-scale military aggression in Ukraine. Certain politicians and representatives of the civil sector stated that Abkhazia's status as an “independent country” could not be traded. In response, Bzhania's press office released a statement on February 19 that incorrect information was being spread in the media, as if Bzhania was going to discuss the status of Abkhazia during his visit.

There was an expectation that Bzhania would be received by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, as the Kremlin announced a planned meeting with the de facto leader of the Tskhinvali region. In the end, during his long visit to Moscow, Bzhania neither met Putin, nor was there any information about his meetings in Putin's administration.

Visiting Belarus as “President”

Bzhania's visit to Moscow was overshadowed by his visit to Belarus. On February 21, it was unexpectedly reported that from Moscow Bzhania headed to Minsk on February 20, where he was hosted by the President of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko. This is the second meeting between Bzhania and Lukashenko. The first one took place in Bichvinta on September 28, 2022, when Lukashenko unexpectedly visited the occupied Abkhazia after his meeting with Putin in Sochi. It is interesting that this time on the web-page of the Belarusian President, in contrast to the information about the first meeting, Bzhania is referred to as “President.” However, if we look at the footage of the meeting between Lukashenko and Bzhania, it is obvious that their meeting cannot be called a meeting between equal parties considering the diplomatic protocol (see image from the web-page of the President of Belarus).

Meeting Between Aleksander Lukashenko and Aslan Bzhania

The meeting was attended by the de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba, and the Special Representative of the President, Viktor Sheiman, from the Belarusian side.

According to the information disseminated by the Belarusian side, the meeting discussed the issues of development of bilateral cooperation. During his visit to Minsk, Bzhania also visited the Tractor Plant, the Horizont Holding and the High-Tech Park. As a result of the visit, the period of visa-free stay in Abkhazia increased to 30 days for Belarusian citizens. According to Bzhania, a trading house was established which will further create the opportunity of supplying Abkhazian products to Belarus. The parties also agreed that Abkhazians will also raise their qualifications in the High-Tech Park.

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement about Bzhania’s visit to Minsk, condemning “the meeting of the President of the Republic of Belarus with the representative of the occupation regime.” In response, the de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that “despite all the efforts of the Georgian leadership aimed at the international isolation of the Republic of Abkhazia, our country continues to confidently follow the path of expanding international relations.”

Lukashenko's another meeting with Bzhania clearly indicates that Moscow demands Minsk to recognize the occupied regions. In the conditions of Belarus' growing isolation and dependence on Russia, Moscow forces Lukashenko to develop relations with the occupied Abkhazia at different levels. However, at the same time, his statements and the format of meetings with Bzhania indicate that Lukashenko is trying to prolong the process of recognizing the independence of the occupied Abkhazia as much as possible.

Apart-Hotels

On February 10, Aslan Bzhania held a special meeting with local business representatives with whom he discussed the construction of apart-hotels and apartments. Bzhania, in the conditions of the reduction of the expected financial assistance from Russia, spoke about the positive sides of the implementation of the mentioned idea. The de facto Minister of Tourism, Teimuraz Khishba, also considers that the construction of apart-hotels is a prospective for the development of the tourism industry. In his opinion, it is necessary to develop an appropriate normative base. Khishba mentioned Tbilisi and Batumi as competitors for Abkhazian tourism. According to his assessment, today Tbilisi is compared to the best cities in Europe, and Batumi, the tourist center of Georgia, is compared to Palermo, which is considered to be one of the best destinations for weekends.

The mentioned issue is the subject of controversy  and a draft law “On the regulation of the legal status of apart-hotels and apartments” has both supporters and opponents. Opponents argue that the acquisition of property by citizens of other countries may pose a threat to national security. In Abkhazia, people are especially afraid of giving the right to purchase real estate (land, houses) to foreign citizens, because they fear that wealthy people from abroad, especially from Russia, have more financial resources than the locals, which will give them an advantage when buying real estate.

They consider that the idea of apart-hotels is an “innovation” of the de facto government which is trying to find a way out of the current situation and, through legislative manipulation, allow foreigners (in this case, Russian citizens) to purchase property on the territory of Abkhazia. The purpose of selling apart-hotels is justified by the perspective of tourism development and investment attraction. However, the idea of apart-hotels actually envisages giving Russian citizens the right to purchase real estate on the territory of Abkhazia, which is opposed by residents of the occupied Abkhazia.

Combating Anti-Russian Sentiments

The de facto Security Service considers deliberate attempts to stir up anti-Russian sentiments in Abkhazia as a direct threat to statehood. According to the “Head” of the Service, Robert Kiut, “topics are being disseminated in the media, followed by an attempt to manipulate public opinion, which is aimed at expressing and spreading anti-Russian and therefore destructive rhetoric.” According to Kiut, external hostile forces are trying to use anti-Russian sentiments which supposedly exist in the society. “State services” will take strict measures against those persons who implement anti-Abkhazian projects. Kiut made the statements together with Inal Ardzinba in the de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The need of the statements seems to have arisen after the Abkhazian society voiced criticism on transferring the “Bichvinta state country house” to Russia or granting the right to purchase real estate to foreigners.

Personnel Change and Combating “Miners”

On February 1, Zurab Bagapsh was dismissed from the post of the General Director of Chernomorenergo. The reason for the personnel change is probably the energy crisis in Abkhazia which worsened last year and the de facto republic is facing problems this year as well. One of the main causes of the energy crisis in the occupied Abkhazia in recent years is related to the production of cryptocurrency. In February, the de facto government was particularly active in this regard. There is a headquarters combating the illegal mining of cryptocurrency, which convened on February 8 and 20 and discussed the interim results of the fight against the illegal consumption of electricity. By a decree of the de facto government, the dismantling of illegally installed transformers and the confiscation of cryptocurrency equipment have also begun.

Forum “Global Abkhazia”

Abkhazia is preparing to hold the “Global Abkhazia” forum in Sokhumi. The forum organizer is the de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the event is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the de facto Ministry. The forum will hold thematic sessions: geopolitics and diplomacy, international cooperation in the field of information technologies, modern media. There will also be sessions by geographic region.

New Composition of the “Public Chamber”

On February 20, an order of Bzhania appointed a total of 13 new members of the “Public Chamber of the Republic of Abkhazia.” The term of office of members of the Chamber of the 5th convocation expired on February 20. The “Public Chamber” was established in 2007 and it is a “consultative body of the Presidential Administration.” Out of its 35 members, 13 are appointed by the de facto president, eleven are nominated by local administration representatives and eleven - by representatives of various political parties and public movements.

Tskhinvali Region

Failed Meeting with Putin

On February 22, the de facto President of the Tskhinvali region, Alan Gagloyev, had scheduled a meeting with Vladimir Putin, however, as reported the day before, Gagloyev tested positive for the coronavirus and the meeting was postponed. It is interesting that Gagloyev has not yet meet with Putin since being “president-elected” in May 2022, for which is criticized by opponents.

Visit to Tsnelisi

On February 2, 2023, Alan Gagloyev visited a section of the village of Tsnelisi near the occupation line and congratulated “border guards” on their professional day. The so-called crisis of Tsnelisi is connected with the name of Gagloyev's predecessor, Anatoly Bibilov. Bibilov was blamed that due to his weakness, the Georgian side opened a police checkpoint in the vicinity of Tsnelisi, thus posing danger to the Ossetian population. Such a visit by Gagloyev should be considered in the context of a political struggle with Bibilov who for his part is preparing for a political revenge with his actions.

Alan Gagloyev Visits the Village of Tsnelisi

How Many Billion RUB Will the Tskhinvali Region Receive?

On February 8, a meeting of the “Intergovernmental Commission” of the de facto republic of the Tskhinvali region and Russia was held in Moscow. A delegation of the de facto government was headed by Alan Gagloyev. The meeting discussed the 2023-2025 investment program, within the framework of which Russia will allocate RUB 3.5 billion and will finance 46 projects. In addition, the 2023 “budget” of the Tskhinvali region is practically financed by Russia.