Opinion: Why Russian political technologists in Abkhazia matter beyond election interference?
A scandal in Abkhazia over Russian political technologists who illegally worked for pro-government candidates during the recent municipal elections has shown no sign of easing.
To recap what happened: on 5 November, three days before the vote, a group of Abkhaz opposition activists raided an office where Russian political technologists were working. They forced them to admit to illegal activities and handed them over to the State Security Service (SGB), which, without conducting any investigation, sent them back to Russia the same day.
The Russian side later said the technologists had been victims of a violent attack by Abkhaz opposition activists and opened a criminal case against the opposition figures involved.
Following this, Abkhazia’s State Security Service launched its own investigation and ultimately imposed administrative fines on the Russian political technologists.
This outcome satisfied neither the Abkhaz opposition nor, it appears, Moscow.
On 22 December 2025, the Sukhumi prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case over alleged death threats, violations of the secrecy of correspondence and the misappropriation of funds against Russian citizens Ivan Reva, Dmitry Budykin and Pavel Timofeev — the same political technologists.
A separate criminal case was also opened over alleged violations of rules governing the financing of local election campaigns.
The head of the Ahyatsa civic movement, Akhra Bzhaniya, said the “case of the Russian political technologists” has a deeper significance than Abkhaz law enforcement authorities are trying to present.
In his view, the issue is not only Russia’s interference in the municipal electoral process, but a gradual attempt to bring Abkhazia’s political processes under full control.
Akhra Bzhaniya:
“There is a well-tested way to change the constitutional order in any country: change the ideology, bring the right people to power and abolish the constitution. I fear we are now going through this very scenario.
Russian political technologists are not merely hired operatives. On the contrary, they — and others like them — were directing the electoral processes, while local ‘politicians’ and the ‘authorities’ acted as their assistants and cover.
They came here with a simple task: to facilitate a gradual reshaping of Abkhazia’s political landscape. The aim is to ensure that, in the future, there are no votes against the president’s line, no protests, no free press and, accordingly, no opposition figures in power. Only loyalists are meant to be elected,” he said.
“Half the republic was covered with banners dividing society into those deemed acceptable and unacceptable. Polls were conducted on changing the constitutional system. People were openly recruited to shape a favourable information environment, and election campaigns for candidates to public office were financed — yet Abkhaz law enforcement agencies and the courts have limited their response to administrative fines.
But there is a silver lining. Had this story not become public, we would still not understand the scale of the problem. We would not know that foreign specialists, funded by foreign money and operating under local cover, were organising elections to suit their future objectives.
Their downfall was a sense of impunity. Being caught red-handed was likely a shock for their handlers, as it put at risk a plan to manage Abkhazia’s elections.
Something had to be done. What exactly? To deter locals from interfering in the future with similar political technologists and their work to ‘reform’ our state. That is why criminal cases were opened in Russia, and why our law enforcement agencies were instructed to take action.”
“But the most striking point is that those who are now trying to go after Abkhaz civil society while turning a blind eye to the actions of the visiting technologists may soon find themselves crushed by the very system they are serving. An Abkhaz republic with its own laws and elections — which currently provides them with work and social status — could lose so much of its autonomy that their services will no longer be needed.
If Russian political technologists can control our expression of will, why should they not go on to control everything else — ministries, state agencies, television channels and administrations?
It appears that Abkhaz security officials themselves are uncomfortable dealing with this case. But even if they want to quietly bury it, society must demand a clear stance: either you protect us — and yourselves — from foreign interference in our constitutional rights, or you face protests.
No one in our society is naive enough to believe that the activities of political technologists would stop at the electoral process. Tomorrow they will move on to shaping compliant political institutions — parties, civic groups and youth organisations. From there, it is only a short step to a referendum on Abkhazia’s status. I do not believe the citizens of Abkhazia would welcome such a future. Our republic was won at too high a price to be laid at the feet of Ivan Reva and others like him.”
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Russian political technologists in Abkhazia
