Georgian breakaway region’s leader resigns after pro-Russia law sparks protests

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The president of Abkhazia, a Russia-backed breakaway region in Georgia, has stepped down after protesters stormed government buildings and clashed with police over a contentious law granting Russian businesses major tax breaks.

Aslan Bzhania announced on Tuesday he was resigning in order to “preserve stability and constitutional order” in the region, which declared its independence in 1999 — a status recognised only by Moscow and a few other capitals.

The unrest in Abkhazia comes at a time of political turmoil in Georgia, where the pro-Russia ruling party’s recent electoral victory has been met with widespread protests and has prompted the opposition to refuse to take up its parliamentary seats in the nation’s capital, Tbilisi.

Bzhania’s resignation is part of the deal struck with the opposition stipulating that protesters will vacate “the government building complex” on Tuesday. If they fail to comply, Bzhania will rescind his resignation, his statement read.

Vice-president Badra Gunba has been appointed acting president until snap presidential elections are held. While the date has yet to be announced, Bzhania has already announced that he will run again.

A former head of the Abkhaz security service and Kremlin loyalist, Bzhania was elected president in 2020 after a wave of protests against then-president Raul Khajimba, who was accused of having stolen the previous vote. Bzhania ran after recovering from what he said was a poisoning attempt carried out by his political opponents.

The most recent unrest was triggered by a proposed investment agreement, which would allow Russian companies to receive significant tax incentives. It was signed in Moscow on October 30 and scheduled to be ratified by the Abkhazian parliament last week. The opposition said the bill was a “direct betrayal of Abkhazia’s interests”.

On Friday, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the parliament in Sukhumi, and then stormed the building, as well as the government and the president’s office.

Moscow has expressed concern over the unrest, with the Russian foreign ministry advising its citizens to leave the region.

Bzhania quickly promised to withdraw the bill, but demonstrators still demanded his resignation.

Although the law was viewed as favouring Moscow, the opposition — some of whom carried Russian flags to the protests — insisted they see Moscow as a strategic ally.

“None of this means Abkhazia is turning against Moscow: to the contrary, the Abkhazian opposition stressed that Moscow’s engagement in the region is not the problem, it’s Bzhania,” analysts from the London-based International Crisis Group wrote.

This is not the first time Abkhazia has protested against a pro-Russia law despite the region’s dependence on Moscow, which has bankrolled the breakaway government.

In early 2023, the Abkhazian parliament introduced a bill permitting Russian citizens to purchase real estate in the region. This was also met with stiff resistance and demonstrations, prompting Sukhumi to withdraw the draft law this summer.

Moscow retaliated by suspending social payments to teachers, doctors and law enforcement personnel of Abkhazia in September — and pressuring Sukhumi to pass the contested laws.

Abkhazia’s foreign minister, Sergey Shamba, admitted that the current crisis was prompted by “Abkhazia’s failure to fulfil its obligations”.

“It is obvious that there has been a lot of discontent among our allies lately. Relations have changed significantly . . . Let’s all try to fix this together,” Shamba added.

Abkhazia declared its independence in 1999 after years of fighting to secede from Georgia, the newly independent state that emerged when the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia recognised its statehood after it invaded another Georgian breakaway region, South Ossetia, in 2008. Tbilisi claims that Abkhazia is occupied by Russia, which keeps a military base in the region.

The crisis points to a “broader trend of mistrust and disappointment among many Abkhaz over failed Russian promises”, said Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, an Armenian think-tank. “Russia now seems to be paying the price for its arrogance and neglect of Abkhazia.”