Abkhaz musician allowed entry into Russia - seen in Abkhazia as sign of improving ties with Moscow
Abkhazian musician Kudjba allowed into Russia
The ban on entering Russia, imposed six months ago on the well-known Abkhazian musician Baras Kudjba, has been lifted. The Abkhaz opposition has interpreted this as “a sign of change.”
Pianist and conductor Baras Kudzhba recorded a video message from Moscow, signalling that the personal sanctions against him have been lifted.
At the beginning of 2025, Russia imposed a 10-year entry ban on Kudjba. This was most likely connected to the musician’s involvement in the events of November 15, 2024.
On that day, the opposition, outraged by a highly unfavorable Russian-Abkhaz investment agreement, seized the government building complex in Sukhumi and forced then-president Aslan Bzhania to resign early.
Aslan Bzhania and his circle claimed that the coup was organized by “anti-Russian forces with the help of foreign intelligence services.” This narrative was later widely promoted in Russian media, leading Moscow to impose personal sanctions on several Abkhaz opposition members, journalists, and civil activists.
In particular, parliament member Kan Kvarchia and Abkhazian hero Leuan Mikaa were stripped of Russian citizenship; journalists Inal Khashig, Izida Chania, and Nizfa Arshba were listed as foreign agents by the Russian Ministry of Justice; and several other Abkhazian citizens, including Baras Kudjba, were banned from entering Russia for 10 years.
And now, at least one of these “punitive measures” has been lifted.
“The fact that Baras Kudjba is in Moscow is not just a gesture. It is a marker of change. The lies and insinuations spread by Aslan Bzhania and his circle over the past five years are being dispelled.
Under the pretense of caring about relations with Russia, the former president built a system of labeling everyone who stood in the way of his quiet enrichment. In reality, the opposite happened – those who truly wanted honest and strong relations between Abkhazia and Russia were targeted.
Today, in the new political paradigm, the truth is coming out. Questions are being reconsidered,” concludes the opposition Telegram channel “Respublika.”
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