Giorgi Jincharadze, leader of Russian-occupied Abkhazia’s government-in-exile, laid a wreath in Tbilisi’s Hero Square on Thursday to mark 33 years since Abkhazia’s war of secession from Georgia began.
Russia’s illegal occupation of the Abkhazia and Tshkinvali regions of Georgia in 2008 drew international condemnation. However, Russian-backed separatists first attempted to secede from Georgia 16 years earlier, clashing with Georgian troops in the summer of 1992.
The armed conflict that followed lasted for over a year. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 200,000 people were (and remain) displaced from their homes, the majority of them ethnic Georgians.
According to a government press release, Jincharadze said: “Aug. 14 is the most difficult and tragic day in the recent history of Georgia. I would like to pay tribute to our heroes, dedicated fighters, all those people who sacrificed their lives for our country, for the freedom of our homeland and dedicated their lives to our country.”
He added: “I am confident that with the pragmatic, consistent, peace-loving policy of the Georgian government, we will definitely be able to live in a united Georgia together with our Abkhaz sisters and brothers.”
According to Civil Georgia, a Georgian news outlet, Jincharadze was appointed to his post on June 11 by the ruling Georgian Dream party. The Georgian government has faced civil unrest since 2023, when it first proposed a controversial “foreign agents” bill its opponents say resembles a similar piece of Russian legislation used to stifle independent media.
Mass protests were reignited in November last year, when the government froze negotiations on the country’s potential accession to the European Union.
Diplomatic ties between Georgia and Russia have been officially severed since the 2008 war that saw Russia occupy roughly 20% of Georgia’s territory. As per The Moscow Times, Georgian officials rejected a Russian proposal to normalize relations earlier this year – but critics accuse Georgian Dream of gradually steering the country back into Russia’s sphere of influence.
Georgian Dream also drew Ukraine’s ire this week by using images of bombed Ukrainian cities in its campaign for re-election, alongside peaceful images of life in Georgia and the caption “Say no to war!”
In a statement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “It is regrettable to observe how the Georgian authorities crawl before Moscow and disregard the principles of dignity and independence, which (sic) historically inherent to the Georgian nation and constitute an integral part of its identity.”
At least six foreign journalists have been expelled or denied re-entry to Georgia in recent months, causing some to fear a Russian-style crackdown on press freedoms.