Abkhaz MP stripped of Russian citizenship — or maybe not

JAMnews

Sukhum

Abkhaz MP stripped of Russian citizenship

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Kan Kvarchia, a member of the Abkhaz parliament and a prominent opposition leader, has been stripped of his Russian citizenship after Russian security services allegedly deemed his actions a threat to national security.

An official statement from the Migration Department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Krasnodar Krai states that “a 50-year-old native of the Republic of Abkhazia, after acquiring Russian citizenship, committed actions posing a threat to the national security of the Russian Federation.” As a result, his Russian passport has been declared invalid and subject to confiscation. No further details have been provided.

However, social media in Abkhazia, using “deductive reasoning,” has speculated that the individual in question must be Kan Kvarchia. The reasoning is based on his gender, age (50 years old), and the fact that the Kremlin has reportedly held a grudge against him for some time.

Since November 2024, various anonymous Telegram channels have claimed that Moscow planned to strip Kan Kvarchia of his Russian citizenship due to his role as one of the leaders of protests against the ratification of the Russia-Abkhazia investment agreement.

These protests eventually escalated into a small-scale coup, with the opposition and its supporters storming the government complex, forcing President Aslan Bzhania to resign, and persuading the parliament not to ratify the agreement.

The Kremlin reacted extremely negatively to these developments. Several Russian media outlets labeled Kan Kvarchia as an anti-Russian politician.

The news about the alleged revocation of Kan Kvarchia’s Russian citizenship prompted the Abkhaz parliament to convene a session of the Committee on State and Legal Policy, summoning Foreign Minister Sergey Shamba to clarify the matter. However, Shamba refused to attend the session.

For citizens of Abkhazia, holding dual Russian citizenship is highly significant, as Abkhaz passports are not recognized internationally.

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