Publication: N12 / Review Period: September 1-30, 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

The 30th Anniversary of Victory in the “Patriotic War”

On September 30, the 30th anniversary of the victory in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict of 1992-1993 was celebrated with pomp in the occupied Abkhazia where this day is referred to as the “Victory Day of the Abkhaz People in the Patriotic War.” After capturing Sokhumi on September 27, the separatists raised the Abkhazian flag near the Enguri River on September 30, ending the war. Preparations for the anniversary events started last year. The culmination of the events was a military parade, in which the Russian small missile ship Cyclon took part.

Military Parade in Sokhumi

Nagorno-Karabakh Events and Sokhumi's Response

The de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs, Inal Ardzinba, made his first statement on September 22 after Azerbaijan regained control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. According to him, “the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has no direct connection with Abkhazia, although it contributes to the increase of tension in the region.” Ardzinba believes that “due to historical ties and the Armenian diaspora, it is possible that refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh came to Abkhazia as well.” Ardzinba is expecting the arrival of 55 to 300 people.

According to Sergey Shamba, the Secretary of the de facto Security Council, “the situation in Karabakh promotes hope for revenge in Georgia.” Shamba added that “Ukraine and the opposition of the Georgian government are provoking official Tbilisi to open a “second front.” That is why we need special caution and unity.”

Azerbaijan's success in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the failure of Russia's ally Armenia, adding the recent improvement of relations between Russia and Georgia at the governmental level, have raised some fears in the occupied regions that they may be vulnerable in case of possible military aggression from Tbilisi.

Foreign-Political Activity

• Belarus: On September 14, Inal Ardzinba said that Belarus de facto economically recognized Abkhazia, and the President of Belarus ensures duty-free trade in bilateral relations. Ardzinba also noted that products produced in Abkhazia have already appeared in stores in Belarus. “Several meetings await us, and we all pray that we can establish diplomatic relations with Belarus,” he said. Reportedly, the Ambassador of Georgia was recalled from Minsk, and the Ambassador of Belarus is “reducing activities” in Georgia. Sokhumi hopes that the President of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, will recognize Abkhazia. Similar optimism in Abkhazian-Belarusian relations is due to the dynamics developed in the last one year, in particular, besides bilateral meetings between Lukashenko and de facto president Aslan Bzhania in Bichvinta and Minsk, bilateral ties have become more frequent at various levels.
• Turkey: According to Ardzinba, the issue of freight and passenger transportation with Turkey remains an urgent issue in Abkhazia. He noted that representatives of the diaspora support the idea because they want to have additional logistical opportunities. Ardzinba believes that the issue has a perspective.
• Northern Cyprus: According to Ardzinba, during its stay in Turkey, an Abkhazian delegation also visited Northern Cyprus where they met with “colleagues.” Ardzinba invited the Northern Cyprus delegation to Abkhazia to establish “human relations;” however, the exact date of the visit is unknown at this stage. “We have certain prospects for the development of relations,” Ardzinba said.
• Kazakhstan: The de facto Minister of Tourism, Teimuraz Khishba, paid a visit to Kazakhstan where he participated in the 1st International Tourism Forum “Strategy for Sustainable Development of Tourism in an Unstable World.” Khishba also made a speech at the forum. The purpose of such visits is to establish some kind of relations with post-Soviet countries and at least attract tourists from there.

Teimuraz Khishba Attends the Forum in Kazakhstan

Who Will Construct the Sokhumi Airport?

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia started accepting applications from investors for the reconstruction of the Sokhumi airport. However, according to media reports, the project is not economically attractive for Russian companies. According to “Vedomosti,” major Russian airport holdings (airports of the regions, aerodynamics, Novaport, as well as the Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports) refuse to reconstruct the Sokhumi airport due to the lack of data on the possibility of passenger flow and uncertainty who might want to fly to the unrecognized republic. It will also be difficult to deliver airport construction materials to Abkhazia.

According to the de facto Secretary of the Security Council, Sergey Shamba, the first flight from the airport should be carried out by the end of 2024. Shamba does not hope that the Sokhumi airport will receive an international code from the International Civil Aviation Organization but believes that flights will be operated by Russian companies. It should be noted that no airline will be able to carry out international air transportation at the Sokhumi airport until Georgia’s decision. Flight safety supervision should also be ensured by the Georgian side. In this case, flights can be performed by those Russian companies that carry out air traffic only within Russia.

On June 16, within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Forum, the Minister of Economic Development of Russia, Maxim Reshetnikov, and the de facto Deputy Prime Minister, Kristina Ozgan, signed an agreement “on the restoration of the Ardzinba Sokhumi International Airport.” The Russian investor will take the airport on a 49-year lease, and will benefit from tax benefits for 25 years.

Academic Year in Abkhazia

In Abkhazia, 2,800 first-graders went to school in the new academic year, including 940 schoolchildren in Sokhumi. A total of 153 schools operate in Abkhazia, where 29 thousand students study and 3,959 teachers teach. Out of 153, 58 schools are Abkhazian, 55 - Russian, 16 - Russian-Abkhazian, 24 – Armenian. Teaching in the Georgian language has been prohibited in schools of the occupied Gali district since 2015. Teaching is conducted in Abkhazian-Russian language in 20 schools of the district, while most of the population of the district is ethnically Georgian. Such an approach is part of the discriminatory policy of the de facto government and Russia, which aims at assimilating the local Georgian population.

Personnel Changes

In September, several significant personnel changes were made in the de facto government. The Deputy Prime Minister, Sergey Pustovalov, who was appointed to this post on July 22, 2020, resigned on September 1. Pustovalov was the only ethnic Russian in the de facto government, who was an Assistant to the Defense Minister of Abkhazia in 2004-2008. The reason for Pustovalov's release is unknown. He was not considered an influential political figure.

On September 4, the Head of the de facto Presidential Administration, Jansug Nanba, resigned. Abesalom Kvarchia was appointed in his post. It is interesting that he entered the Political Technical Institute of Georgia in 1972, from which he graduated in 1981, majored in engineer-mechanic specialty. Before that, Kvarchia was mainly active in the business sector, and has been a member of the Public Chamber since 2023.  

Abesalom Kvarchia

On September 1, Temur Akhiba, was appointed as the Chairman of the so-called State Security Service. He has been working in the system since 1998. Akhiba was the Head of the “service” since June 13, 2023. He replaced Robert Kiut, who was promoted to the position of the de facto Minister of Internal Affairs.

Has Ardzinba Resigned or Not?

At the beginning of September, Abkhaz Telegram channels spread information about the dismissal of Inal Ardzinba and his possible appointment to a position in the Kremlin in the direction of Ukraine. Later, on September 5, the de facto Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the rumors on Ardzinba's resignation. Although the information was not confirmed, there was uncertainty on this issue for several days. Despite the issue’s public obscurity, Ardzinba reportedly has many opponents within the local political elite.

Tskhinvali Region

Transit Corridor through Tskhinvali?

On September 19, the 4th regular session of the Russian-Georgian Business Council was held in Vladikavkaz. The Council is a structure of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, established in February 2023. The session was chaired by the Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vladimir Padalko, and the Head of the Georgian diaspora in Russia, Davit Tsetskhladze. The meeting discussed the issues of road, sea and railway traffic, investments, reduction of air ticket prices between Georgia and Russia. Alan Alborov, the Chairman of the so-called Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Tskhinvali region participated in the meeting.

Meeting of the Russian-Georgian Business Council in Vladikavkaz

After the meeting, information was spread in open sources that the session discussed the “opening of the road through South Ossetia.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the de facto Republic issued a statement on this topic which reads that the “implementation of transit projects related to the sovereign territory of South Ossetia depends on the evaluation of its feasibility in the Republic itself.” According to Tskhinvali, the implementation of similar projects will be possible if Tskhinvali is involved in the negotiation process  and in the further implementation of the project as a full-fledged member.

The implementation of a transit corridor through the Tskhinvali region seems unrealistic at this stage, although discussions on this issue indicate that Russia, under the Western sanctions, is interested in ensuring the development of alternative routes as much as possible.

IPRM 114th Meeting   

On September 12, 2023, the 114th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in the village of Ergneti, Gori municipality. The meeting discussed the implementation of the Tirifoni Canal project which is important for population living in the occupied territory and the territory controlled by the central government of Georgia. The Tirifoni Canal is an irrigation system that supplies both Georgian and Ossetian villages along the occupation line with irrigation water. The channel stopped functioning after 2008. The next, 115th meeting will be held on November 1 of this year.

Academic Year in the Tskhinvali Region

A total of 689 children went to first grade in state and private schools in the Tskhinvali region. There are a total of 47 schools in the region, including two private and one cadet school. There are the fewest first-graders, a total of 13, in the Tskhinvali district, 19 in the Akhalgori district and 481  in the city of Tskhinvali. There are a total of 1,320 teachers in the region, including 723 in Tskhinvali. The mentioned data indicate that the villages of the occupied region are practically empty of population who are mainly concentrated in the city of Tskhinvali.