Opinion: 'Abkhazia has no plans to join Russia'
Abkhazia won’t join Russia
Abkhazia is not South Ossetia and has no intention of becoming part of Russia, prominent Abkhaz public figure Akhra Bzhania argues in a blog post, explaining why he believes this to be the case.
Bzhania was responding to the recent leadership change in South Ossetia, which saw a Kremlin-backed figure become acting president, and to renewed calls in the region for accession to the Russian Federation.
Akhra Bzhania: “For a sovereign state to exist, there must be a society that creates and sustains the idea of sovereignty.
A society that has historically understood freedom as the most effective and secure way of organising social relations. No matter which external centres of power seek to influence such a society, its internal forces will always keep it on its own path.
It is important to understand that the Abkhaz aspiration for independence is not a matter of stubbornness but of conscious choice.
If it were otherwise, a country so tightly constrained by its geopolitical surroundings would not have developed the institutions of a free society. There would be no influential opposition, no separation of powers, no free press, no fair elections…
All of these are expressions of the inner freedom of Abkhazia’s citizens. And freedom demands fulfilment — through a country of its own, through a state of its own.
Conduct any opinion poll and ask why they want to be independent. Ninety per cent of Abkhaz people will say: so that we can govern our own country, write our own laws and determine our own future. Only 10% will say that independence…
For the people of Abkhazia, freedom is first and foremost a political choice, and only then an anti-imperial one.
We want to live in freedom because we see ourselves as free people, not because we want to break away from someone or prove something to anyone.
In this context, and with full respect for the choice of our friends and brothers, South Ossetia’s possible accession to the Russian Federation would only reinforce Abkhazia’s status as a casus specialis – a special case – in the post-Soviet space. It would strengthen our country’s position by demonstrating its consistent determination, regardless of external circumstances, to build an independent state and seek recognition from the international community.”
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