Protesters stormed the parliament of the Russian-backed breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia on Friday and demanded the resignation of its leader over an unpopular investment agreement with Moscow.
The self-styled president of the region said he had no intention of stepping down or fleeing. He said talks were proceeding with opposition representatives.
Russia said it was following the “crisis situation” with concern and urged its citizens to avoid travel to Abkhazia.
Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after it defeated Georgia in a five-day war. It maintains troop bases in both regions and props up their economies.
In Abkhazia’s capital Sukhumi, protesters used a truck to smash through the metal gates surrounding parliament. They then climbed through windows after wrenching off metal bars.
An opposition leader, Temur Gulia, told Reuters that their initial demand was to scrap the investment agreement, which critics feared would clear the way for wealthy Russian individuals and businesses to buy up property in the lush Black Sea region, pricing out locals.
But now, he said, the protesters wanted to go further and oust the self-styled president.
“The people demand the resignation of Aslan Bzhania and categorically intend to achieve it,” said Gulia.
Protesters also broke into the presidential administration offices located in the same complex as the parliament. Emergency services said at least nine people were taken to hospital.
Bzhania, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said he and other leaders were “staying in place and will keep on working.”
“I ask you not to give in to panic. I am staying in Abkhazia and will work as I have done,” Bzhania wrote, saying that the first task was to clean up after the unrest.
“At this time, talks are going on with the opposition.”
Opposition demands President’s resignation
Bzhania, a former head of the state security service who became president in 2020, was not in the complex, Russia’s TASS state agency reported. His office did not immediately respond to a question from Reuters about his whereabouts.
Another opposition leader, Eshsou Kakalia, told Reuters the protesters would not leave the government complex until Bzhania agreed to resign.
The presidential administration said in a statement that authorities were preparing to withdraw the investment agreement.
Olesya Vartanyan, an independent regional expert, said the crisis was the culmination of mounting Russian pressure to get more from Abkhazia in return for its financial support.
“The Russians are paying them - they want something back,” she said in a telephone interview. “There is always this question - why are we supporting you guys and you’re not even allowing Russian citizens to buy property there?”
If Bzhania fell, he would be the third local leader to be toppled in a similar way since 2008. Vartanyan said Moscow’s usual approach was to allow the periodic crises to play out, and then to strike deals with whichever leader came next.
“Every single Abkhaz leader after they got recognized by Moscow became sort of a hostage to Moscow,” she said. “When you come to power, you have to be loyal to Moscow and then you have to find a way to cooperate.”
Most of the world recognizes Abkhazia as part of Georgia, from which it broke away during wars in the early 1990s.
The opposition said in a statement that the protesters’ actions were not against Russian-Abkhazian relations, but charged that Bzhania “has been trying to use these relations for his own selfish interests, manipulating them for the sake of strengthening his regime.”
“Abkhazian society had only one demand: to protect the interests of our citizens and our business,” it said.
