Kremlin stops issuing Russian internal passports in Abkhazia amid row with local MPs
Russian passports in Abkhazia
Russia has stopped issuing internal Russian passports and driving licences in Abkhazia.
Moscow took the step after a debate in the Abkhaz parliament over the legality of issuing Russian documents.
On 4 February, the Abkhaz parliament held a closed extended session of its defence and national security committee to discuss the procedure for issuing internal Russian passports to Abkhaz citizens on the territory of the republic.
Since the start of 2026, the process has been carried out at passport offices in several districts of Abkhazia, and MPs have questioned its legality. Interior Minister Robert Kiut and the head of the ministry’s passport department, Astamur Kolbaya, were invited to explain the situation.
During the session, it emerged that there was no regulatory or legal framework allowing Russian documents to be issued through Abkhaz institutions.
After the meeting, several MPs told journalists that the parliament would recommend the interior ministry halt what they described as an essentially unlawful process.
However, no official statement was issued on behalf of the parliament.
But just two days later, Russia announced it was suspending the issuance in the republic not only of internal Russian passports but also Russian-style driving licences.
“The procedure was organised as a ‘one-stop shop’ – free of charge and with the involvement of Russian specialists – to create the most comfortable conditions for Abkhaz citizens who hold Russian citizenship,” Russian Ambassador to Abkhazia Mikhail Shurgalin said.
According to him, the presence of Russian Interior Ministry staff in Abkhazia does not contradict the republic’s legislation and is in line with international practice.
“However, on 4 February, at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on defence and national security, a number of MPs – in particular Kan Kvarchia, who later commented on the issue publicly – questioned the legality of the presence in Abkhazia of specialists from the Russian Interior Ministry’s migration service, presenting it as interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
As a result, the leadership of the Russian Interior Ministry decided to recall the staff and stop issuing documents on the territory of the republic,” the ambassador explained.
According to the Russian embassy in Abkhazia, about 190,000 residents of the republic currently hold Russian citizenship – nearly 80% of the population. Most of them, however, do not have internal Russian passports, which limits their access to Russian state services and social benefits.
The procedure for issuing internal passports will now be moved to the nearest major Russian city, Sochi.
Public figure Aslan Kobakhia says Moscow is clearly signalling that it has taken offence at Abkhaz MPs.
“Seriously speaking, the Kremlin should have reacted to an official document adopted by the Abkhaz parliament. But no such document existed. Making a decision based on the words of individual figures is, to put it mildly, not entirely appropriate,” Kobakhia said, commenting on what he described as Moscow’s hasty move.
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Russian passports in Abkhazia
