Kremlin’s Abkhazia handler donated his Sukhum house to the orchestra of folk instruments
Kiriyenko gifts house to orchestra
Kremlin’s Abkhazia handler and first deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, Sergey Kiriyenko, has donated his family’s former home in Sukhum to the orchestra of traditional instruments. The house will be restored and fitted with all the necessary equipment at his own expense.
Sergey Kiriyenko was born in Sukhum in 1962 and spent part of his childhood there, but after his parents’ divorce in the early 1970s he moved with his mother to Sochi, while his grandparents remained in the Sukhum house.
During the 1992–93 Georgian-Abkhaz war, the house, located in the very centre of Sukhum, was partially destroyed and has stood empty ever since.
Now Kiriyenko, who inherited the property, has decided to hand it over to the Otar Khuntsaria Abkhaz orchestra of traditional instruments.
Kiriyenko gifts house to orchestra
Founded in 2016, the orchestra has never had its own rehearsal space, practising wherever it could — including at the home of its director, Denis Arukhaa.
After reconstruction, the house donated by Kiriyenko will be turned into a House of National Music. The ground floor will host an exhibition of traditional instruments, while the second floor will feature workshops and a rehearsal hall that can also be used for concerts.
Work is set to begin at the end of September, with completion planned for late 2026.
The views, place names, opinions, and ideas expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and ideas of JAMnews or its individual employees. JAMnews reserves the right to remove comments on publications that are deemed offensive, threatening, incite violence, or ethically unacceptable for other reasons.
