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71-683: In the 2004 Abkhazian presidential election , Ankvab supported Bagapsh's candidacy following his own exclusion by the Central Election Commission; he was subsequently appointed as prime minister by Bagapsh in February 2005. Ankvab was appointed acting president of Abkhazia after president Bagapsh underwent an operation on 21 May 2011. Following the operation, Bagapsh died on 29 May 2011 and Ankvab served as acting president until winning election in his own right later in 2011. Ankvab survived six attempts on his life from 2005 to 2012, last time as

142-868: A KGB agent in Tkvarcheli until 1992. During the 1992–1993 war with Georgia , Khajimba was the head of the military intelligence and counterintelligence operation on the eastern front. For his work, he was awarded the Order of Leon . From 1996 until 1998, Khajimba headed the anti-smuggling division of the State Customs Committee. In 1998, he became its deputy chairman. After a bomb attack on 13 December 1999 in Sukhumi targeting government officials, President Ardzinba dismissed Astamur Tarba as Security Service chairman and appointed Khajimba in his stead. On 18 June 2001, he additionally became First Vice Premier. On 1 November he

213-558: A backlash against the strong Russian influence in his campaign. After the election, both Bagapsh and Khadjimba claimed victory, with Khadjimba alleging that electoral fraud in the pro-Bagapsh Gali region had been responsible for Bagapsh's win. Ardzinba soon dismissed Khadjimba as Prime Minister, replacing him with a compromise candidate, Nodar Khashba , and two months of drawn-out disputes followed, involving public protests, court action and parliamentary proceedings. In December 2004, Khadjimba and Bagapsh came to an agreement which would see

284-415: A chance as he failed the five-year residency requirement. The presidential candidate for Aitaira was former Minister for Internal Affairs Alexander Ankvab. Ankvab refused to undergo the written Abkhaz language test mandated by law, on the grounds that the constitution did not provide for this. On 28 August, head of State Security Service Mikhail Tarba said that Aitaira chairman Leonid Lakerbaia had breached

355-639: A common front against all our enemies. We are not planning to pursue anyone. Enough shake-ups. Raul Khajimba is my younger friend, he is my younger brother, and we will work together." Afterwards, control over the Presidential building was handed over to the police, as Bagapsh's supporters retreated to the surrounding area which they continued to guard with a few dozen people. The taking of the Presidential building by Bagapsh's supporters split government's opinions. President Ardzinba and Prime Minister Khashba condemned it as "an armed coup", and Khashba refused to enter

426-494: A deputy and a popular songster, came to Abkhazia campaigning for Khajimba. On 11 August, the Republican Party "Apsny", which supported Khadjimba's nomination, issued a statement in which it warned that Georgia might try to influence the elections. United Abkhazia planned to present former Prime Minister Sergei Bagapsh and former Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Shamba as presidential and vice presidential candidates, with

497-474: A president on 22 February 2012, when his convoy was ambushed in Abkhazia, killing two of his guards. On 27 May 2014, Ankvab's headquarters in Sukhumi were stormed by opposition groups led by Raul Khajimba , forcing him into flight to Gudauta in what Ankvab denounced as an "armed coup attempt". The Abkhaz parliament declared Ankvab "unable" to exercise his presidential powers on 31 May 2014, and Ankvab resigned

568-441: A residency requirement – they had to have lived in Abkhazia for the last 5 years before the election date. A total of nine people were nominated, of which seven registered their candidacy. On 2 September the Central Election Commission announced that the registration of six candidates had been approved., but 3 September one candidate withdrew. The five candidates that participated in the elections are, in order of nomination: There

639-533: A second round. On 12 October Abkhazia's Supreme Court, after a series of contradictory decisions by the Electoral Committee, recognized that the new president would be businessman Sergei Bagapsh , accused by his rival's supporters of being pro-Georgian. (Georgia did not recognize any separatist candidates or even the elections). Abkhazia's outgoing President Ardzinba claimed the decision was illegal and made under pressure from supporters of Bagapsh. The decision

710-577: A session to which also Vice President Valery Arshba, Prime Minister Raul Khajimba, the cabinet and the general public were invited, the Parliament set the date for the elections to be 3 October 2004. At the time of the elections, the Republican Party "Apsny" was the main pro-governmental party, and there were four active opposition movements, Aitaira, United Abkhazia, Amtsakhara and the People's Party. Prospective candidates had to be nominated by an interest group,

781-425: A socio-political group or a political party between 4 and 23 August 2004. The nominees then had time until 18:00 local time on 23 August to register their candidacy with the Central Election Commission by submitting the required papers, and at least 2000 (but not more than 2500) signatures supporting their candidacy. In order for their candidacy to be accepted, nominees had to pass an Abkhaz language test, and to satisfy

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852-628: A team with Ardzinba. The alliance would have combined Ardzinba's backing by part of the business community and his financial resources with Khajimba's electoral popularity. The pair said they would run together during two meetings with voters, and the idea was that they would receive the joint nomination by the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia . According to the Kommersant, in the end the pair could not agree on what positions they would get. Khajimba wanted

923-660: A treaty with Russian president Vladimir Putin deepening ties between Abkhazia and Russia. Provisions of the agreement included placing the Abkhazian military under the direct control of Russia's armed forces and committing Abkhazia toward bringing its trade laws into alignment with the Eurasian Economic Union . The treaty was widely condemned in the West and by the Republic of Georgia , with US newspaper The New York Times suggesting

994-415: Is an Abkhazian politician who served as President of Abkhazia from 25 September 2014 until 12 January 2020. He was also Chairman of the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia from 2010 to 2015. Khajimba previously held the offices of Vice President (2005–2009), Prime Minister (2003–2004) and Defence Minister (2002–2003). He unsuccessfully ran for president in 2004 , 2009 and 2011 . He resigned

1065-507: The 2001 Kodori crisis . President Ardzinba initially refused to accept Gagulia's resignation, but was forced to agree on 8 April. Vice President Valery Arshba denied on 8 April that the government's resignation was due to the prison escape, and stated that instead it was caused by the opposition's plans to hold protest rallies on 10 April. On 22 April 2003, Raul Khajimba was appointed the new Prime Minister. He remained Prime Minister until October 2004. As then-President Vladislav Ardzinba

1136-511: The 1992–1993 conflict with the Georgian central government. Following the Abkhaz victory, he moved to Moscow in 1994 and became a successful businessman. Ankvab returned to Abkhazian politics in 2000, setting up the movement Aitaira ("Revival") in opposition to the government of president Vladislav Ardzinba . In 2004 he announced that he would run for president, but was disqualified as ineligible on

1207-489: The Abkhaz language could not be established completely. On 3 September Aitaira petitioned the Central Election Commission to reverse this decision, and it appealed the Supreme Court to overrule the Central Election Commission. It contested that Ankvab was perfectly fluent in Abkhaz, but that the written language test contravened the constitution. Furthermore, Aitaira put forward that Ankvab had indeed resided in Abkhazia during

1278-470: The Abkhaz language was excellent, but this protocol had mysteriously disappeared. Chairman of the CEC, Sergei Smyr had then insisted that the second draft of the protocol should state that Ankvab's proficiency could not be established, because he had not been fully tested. Language Commission chairman Aleksei Kaslandzia testified that Smyr had gone so far as to threaten him with litigation should he not comply. After

1349-402: The Abkhazian constitution since Khajimba was participating in the elections, his premiership was temporarily suspended by President Ardzinba, his duties to be performed by first Deputy Prime Minister Astamur Tarba. Corresponding to election law, each candidate received five bits of free air time on national television, of which four live and one prerecorded. The broadcasting slots of these items

1420-747: The Abkhazian government had no choice but to agree to Putin's terms. However, Khajimba hailed closer ties with Russia as promoting "the full scope of guarantees for the safety of our state and extensive opportunities for the social and economic development". Raul Khajimba as the Leader of Abkhazia got awarded with Order of Leon (as Vice President in 2005), Order of Merit, II degree (Transnistria in 2006 as vice president), Order of Merit, I Degree (Transnistria in 2015 as president), Order of Friendship (Republic of South Ossetia in 2015 as president), Order of Friendship (Transnistria in 2016 as president), and Umayyad Order (Syrian Arab Republic in 2018 as president). Raul Khajimba

1491-572: The CEC had failed to demonstrate that Ankvab had failed the residence requirements, but it also ruled that the CEC had been right to exclude Ankvab on the grounds that he had not taken the written language test. Even if this test went against the constitution, the law being the law Ankvab should have complied with it. During the proceedings, Chairman of the Language Commission Aleksei Kaslandzia testified that Ankvab did in fact have an excellent command of Abkhaz. He had spoken with

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1562-514: The Commission's members in Abkhaz for 2 hours and 5 minutes, where just over half an hour is normal. He had not read the provided reading material, but had at one point started to read from and discuss the newspaper Respublika Abkhazia, which Kaslandzia judged to be of a far higher difficulty. In fact, the initial protocol prepared by the Language Commission had stated that Ankvab's command of

1633-548: The Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia, Aruaa and Akhatsa. Khajimba picked Vasilii Avidzba as his vice presidential candidate. Nevertheless, on 18 November Khajimba and Ardzinba announced that they would continue to coordinate their campaigns, and that they had appointed chairman of Aruaa , Vadim Smyr to lead this coordination. On 20 November, Khajimba stated that he and Ardzinba had different visions on coming to power, but that he did not consider Ardzinba his opponent, and that in

1704-550: The Gali district. Head of the Club for Promoting Political Participation of Voters Nikolai Timakov declared in a press conference that elections had in general been organised well, and that the minor violations witnessed would not affect the outcome of the elections. Timakov reported that in the polling stations inspected by the club, members of the law enforcement agencies ensured the safety of voters and that voter lists as well as excerpts from

1775-775: The Georgian intelligence service during the conflict. Ankvab accused Shamba of resorting to black PR, while Shamba's campaign team issued a statement calling on the prosecutor's office to investigate Ankvab's war-time activities. According to the preliminary results Ankvab garnered up to 55% of votes, defeating Shamba and ex-vice president and opposition candidate Raul Khajimba. Alexander Ankvab has survived six assassination attempts since becoming prime minister in February 2005: in February and April 2005, in June and July 2007, in September 2010 and most recently in February 2012. The last assassination attempt killed two of Ankvab's security guards, he himself

1846-583: The Party's sixth extraordinary congress on 18 August to officially nominate Lakoba was not unanimous: the Gagra and Gudauta branches thought it wiser to support Alexander Ankvab's nomination. Vice President Valery Arshba ran independently for president, with Vice Speaker of Parliament Alexander Stranichkin as running mate. On 31 August, in his capacity of vice president, Arshba called on local authorities to uphold election law and enable fair elections. Arshba's registration

1917-465: The Presidential building. During the day, Bagapsh and Khajimba met twice, first in the Galereya café and at 3pm again for about ten minutes. After the second meeting, Bagapsh told his supporters that no compromise had been reached but that dialogue would continue. Following this, his supporters expressed their dissatisfaction about the lack of progress, the crowd broke up into two parts that then moved towards

1988-639: The Presidential building. The supporters of Khajimba present at the site, moved back and some brawls broke out. In the meantime, Khajimba and Prime Minister Khashba left the building through the back door. As Bagapsh's supporters moved into the building, they encountered guards who fired warning shots into the air. The ricochets injured two of Bagapsh's supporters and mortally wounded the 78 years old Tamara Shakryl , an academic and human rights campaigner who supported Khajimba. She died in hospital 3 hours later, her relatives blamed Prime Minister Khashba for her death. First Deputy Prime Minister Astamur Tarba then ordered

2059-538: The Union of the Cossacks of Abkhazia (5 August). The pair scored a 19.82% third place, losing to Acting President Alexander Ankvab . Khajimba led opposition protests that forced Alexander Ankvab to resign as president on 1 June 2014. Khajimba won the subsequent presidential election with a slim 50.60% first-round victory. Khajimba was inaugurated as president on 25 September 2014. Two months into his presidency, he signed

2130-493: The achievements of the government and recent foreign policy decisions. On 28 May Khajimba resigned, saying that he agreed with the criticism, but attributing his failure to tackle corruption and improve security to lack of room for manoeuvre and no support from the president Bagapsh whom he also accused of violating the 2004 powersharing agreement and criticized him for signing a border protection agreement with Russia in 2009. The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that during

2201-464: The building on Monday 15 November in protest of the continued presence of armed supporters of Bagapsh. The actions were also condemned by Alexander Yakovenko , spokesman for the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, who described them as "an attempt at forcefully seizing power by the supporters of one presidential candidate", denouncing it as "illegal, forceful actions" and warning that it threatened

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2272-515: The case of a second round, he, Ardzinba and Butba would support each other. A second round proved to be unnecessary, since incumbent President Sergei Bagapsh won a 61.16% first round victory. Khajimba came in second place with 15,584 votes, 15.32% of the total number cast. On 12 May 2010, Raul Khajimba was elected Chairman of the FNUA, after the party congress had reduced the number of chairmen from 2 to 1. Khajimba again ran for president in 2011, after

2343-423: The death of President Sergei Bagapsh . His running mate was Svetlana Jergenia, widow of first President Vladislav Ardzinba . The pair was first nominated by an initiative group on 28 June and then by the Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia on 16 July. They received the additional support of Akhatsa (5 July), Aruaa (7 July), former Prime Minister and 2004 presidential candidate Anri Jergenia (27 July) and

2414-454: The election law and posters of all the candidates had been attached to the walls. According to the original results published by Central Election Committee published in October, Khadjimba won the election with more than a 52% of the votes. According to the official results, Bagapsh received 50.08% of all votes cast (including invalid votes), narrowly crossing the 50% threshold required to avoid

2485-493: The first that were competitive. Election law prohibited incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba from running for a third term and he instead backed Prime Minister Raul Khadjimba , who also enjoyed support from the Russian authorities. Khadjimba's main opponent was Sergei Bagapsh , who was supported by the two major opposition parties, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara , and later also by Aitaira when their candidate Alexander Ankvab

2556-568: The following day, the day before the elections. Election law forbade candidates to campaign on 3 October, the day of the presidential elections. The 190 polling stations opened 8:00 local time. In the afternoon Chief of the Central Election Commission Sergei Smyr announced that more than 120,000 voters had been registered and that by 13:00, more than 40% had voted. Head of the Gali district administration Yuri Kvekveskiri announced that there were no more than 15,000 voters in

2627-427: The grounds that he could not speak Abkhaz (a requirement for public office in the republic) and had lived in Abkhazia for too short a time. Ankvab decided to support Bagapsh instead and was crucial to the latter's electoral success. His appointment as prime minister was widely predicted. Ankvab was Sergei Bagapsh 's vice presidential candidate in the 12 December 2009 presidential election . As required by law, Ankvab

2698-560: The guards and special forces nearby to stand down, which left the Presidential building under control of Bagapsh's supporters. After a short celebration with liquor found inside the building, most of them left again, leaving just guards at the offices. At 5pm, Bagapsh arrived in the palace accompanied by Khajimba, and the two held a half-hour meeting in the Prime Minister's office. After the meeting, Khajimba left and Bagapsh addressed his supporters, stating: "We are one people and we will make

2769-402: The guests who addressed the congress were Sergei Bagapsh, acting Prime Minister Astamur Tarba, chairman of the Central Election Commission Sergei Smyr and Chairman of the Language Commission Aleksei Kaslandzia. On 10 September The Supreme Court upheld the Central Election Commission's decision to bar Alexander Ankvab from the presidential elections. The court agreed with Ankvab and Aitaira that

2840-403: The last five years, as demonstrated by Abkhazian documents and witnesses, but that the CEC had ignored these basing its decision solely on Russian documents showing that Ankvab also paid taxes there. On 9 September, Aitaira convened an extraordinary congress to discuss the matter, where it was suggested the party might support Sergei Bagapsh should the Supreme Court not rule in its favour. Among

2911-421: The law by calling for an overthrow of power if necessary. In turn, Lakerbaia denied having made the statement and declared that he would initiate a defamation action against Tarba. On 2 September, the central election commission announced that it rejected the registration of Aitaira's candidate Alexander Ankvab on the grounds that he had not lived the whole past five years in Abkhazia and that his proficiency in

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2982-500: The memberships of Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Shamba, who had founded and become head of the Social-Democratic Party of Abkhazia, of former Prime Minister Nodar Khashba, of former Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khilchevsky and of member of Parliament Albert Kapikian. Raul Khajimba Raul Jumkovich Khajimba ( Abkhaz : Рауль Џьумка-иԥа Ҳаџьымба , Georgian : რაულ ჯუმკას-ძე ჰაჯიმბა ; born 21 March 1959)

3053-543: The murder of Garri Aiba had been one of the factors that brought them together. On 20 June, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara announced that Sergei Bagapsh would be their presidential candidate, and Stanislav Lakoba their vice presidential candidate. Shamba and Jergenia, who had thus lost out, both decided to run for President independently. Nodar Khashba was also nominated by an initiative group, but he did not register his candidacy, stating that he had been nominated without being consulted and that his registration would not stand

3124-540: The new arrangement, with Bagapsh and his Prime Minister, Alexander Ankvab , likely to maintain ultimate control over the areas of policy nominally assigned to the vice-president. The controversy resurfaced again in June 2008, when Khadjimba attended a congress of the Aruaa veteran organisation, of which he is a member. The congress issued a statement criticizing the Bagapsh administration's "multi-vector foreign policy", referring to

3195-890: The next day. Born in the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi , Ankvab graduated with a degree in law from the Rostov State University in southern Russia and worked in the Komsomol , the Justice Ministry of the Abkhaz ASSR , and the Interior Ministry of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic until his resignation in 1990. He was elected to the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet in 1991. He was appointed interior minister of Abkhazia's separatist government during

3266-425: The opposition and Ankvab's government. On 31 May, the Parliament of Abkhazia declared Ankvab "unable" to perform his presidential duties, appointed the parliamentary chairman Valery Bganba as an interim president and called snap presidential election for 24 August. On 1 June 2014, Ankvab stepped down as president. On 24 April 2024, Ankvab was appointed prime minister of Abkhazia by president Aslan Bzhania following

3337-506: The order still to be determined, and former mayor of Sukhumi Nodar Khashba was to become prime minister. At the same time, there were some in Amtsakhara who wanted to field former Prime Minister Anri Jergenia as presidential candidate. However, United Abkhazia and Amtsakhara then decided to enter into a political alliance. In an interview with the newspaper Amtsakhara in July, Sergei Bagapsh said that

3408-605: The other issues that sparked the rebellion was Ankvab's relatively liberal citizenship policy (he allowed ethnic Georgians to register as voters and receive Abkhazian passports). Within hours, the protesters stormed the presidential headquarters and forced Ankvab to flee Sukhumi to a Russian military base in Gudauta . Ankvab denounced the events in Sukhumi as an "armed coup attempt" and refused to resign. The Russian government dispatched Vladimir Putin 's aide Vladislav Surkov to mediate between

3479-525: The pair run as part of a national unity ticket in repeat elections, with Khadjimba running as Bagapsh's vice-president. As part of this deal, the position of vice-president was given expanded powers covering defence and foreign affairs. The joint ticket easily won the January 2005 election , winning more than 90% of the vote. However, in the aftermath of the election win, many analysts have suggested that Khadjimba's executive authority would be somewhat limited under

3550-738: The parliament's building. Outgoing president Ardzinba replaced Raul Khadjimba as a prime-minister with Nodar Khashba , who, before this appointment served in the Ministry of Extraordinary Situations. On 11 November, both Bagapsh and Khajimba met for around three hours with Ardzinba. According to Daur Tarba , member of Bagapsh's election team, Ardzinba initially agreed with Khajimba that the elections should be held again, but changed his mind when Bagapsh offered Khajimba "a very high post" in his future government. On Friday 12 November, around 10,000 supporters of Sergei Bagapsh gathered on Freedom Square, and around 500 supporters of Raul Khajimba gathered next to

3621-774: The presidency in 2020 due to protests against him. Raul Khajimba was born on 21 March 1959 in Tkvarcheli , where he went to school and worked as a mechanic at the power station. From 1976 until 1978, he served in the Soviet Air Defence Forces . From 1979 until 1984, he graduated from the Law Faculty of the Abkhazian State University . From 1985 until 1986 Khajimba studied at the KGB school in Minsk , and he subsequently served as

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3692-430: The presidency, and offered Ardzinba to become Prime Minister, but this was not acceptable to the latter. The congress of the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia planned on 29 October was called off, and Ardzinba was instead nominated by an initiative group that day. Khajimba had already been officially nominated for the presidency by an interest group on 19 October, and received the additional support on 20 October of

3763-432: The presidential candidates Sergei Bagapsh and Raul Khadjimba agreed to hold new elections . In these elections they would run on a joint ticket, with Khadjimba as vice presidential candidate. The new elections were won by Bagapsh. These elections were not recognized by any State and International Organizations. On 2 June 2005, United Abkhazia held its third party conference. The socio-political movement decided to revoke

3834-455: The resignation of Valery Bganba . He resigned alongside Bzhania on 19 November 2024 following anti-government protests against an investment agreement with Russia. 2004 Abkhazian presidential election Vladislav Ardzinba Independent Election results annulled Vladislav Ardzinba becomes interim president Presidential elections were held in Abkhazia on 3 October 2004,

3905-519: The ruling by the Supreme Court, Aitaira entered into an election alliance with United Abkhazia, Amtsakhara and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, supporting Sergei Bagapsh and Stanislav Lakoba, with the agreement that Alexander Ankvab would become Prime Minister should the bid be successful, the position originally projected for Nodar Khashba. The People's Party of Abkhazia put forward Iakub Lakoba as their presidential candidate. The decision during

3976-466: The stability in Abkhazia and across the region as a whole. In contrast, more than half of government staff did show up for work 15 November, among whom Vice President Valery Arshba. Leader of Aitaira Leonid Lakerbaia denied that a coup had taken place – no one had seized power, since Bagapsh had been elected President, confirmed by both the Electoral Commission and the Supreme Court. On 5 December

4047-420: The summer of 2009 Khajimba had entered negotiations with Beslan Butba over forming an alliance for in the presidential election, but the pair fell out following the visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Abkhazia. Putin had met with Khajimba, but not with Butba, and Butba considered this an unfriendly act on the part of Khajimba. During the nomination period for candidates, Khajimba then tried to form

4118-504: The talks with Georgian and Western diplomats, and called for greater ties with Russia. The pro-Bagapsh politicians from the Amtsakhara veteran organisation described Khadjimba's criticism of the government, in which he was a vice-president, "immoral". Later that month, Khadjimba reiterated his stance towards Bagapsh's foreign policy, stating that Abkhazia's only protector could be Russia and using force would be inevitable for gaining control of

4189-579: The upper Kodori Valley in northeastern Abkhazia, the only part of Abkhazia under Georgian control at the time. In August 2008, the Abkhazian military did take the upper Kodory Valley by force during the August 2008 war over South Ossetia . On 18 May 2009 the Forum of the National Unity of Abkhazia and Aruaa issued a press statement and on 20 May they gave a press conference with several other opposition parties, on both occasions voicing severe criticism over

4260-464: Was accepted, but a day later, on 3 December he announced that he withdrew from the race. Candidates could officially begin their election campaign after their registration had been accepted on 2 September. 18 August, a round table conference organised by Apsnypress and the Sukhum Media Club had adopted a set of ethical principals by journalists during the elections. On 31 August, as demanded by

4331-547: Was barred from running in a controversial decision by the Central Election Commission. Bagapsh won in the first round with just over 50% of the vote. However, the results of the elections were heavily contested, with Khadjimba claiming that he had received the most votes and that a run-off was necessary. The Central Election Commission issued several conflicting rulings and the stand-off lasted for two months until on 5 December, Bagapsh and Khadjimba agreed to share power as President and Vice President respectively. On 14 July, during

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4402-425: Was cancelled by the Supreme Court the night of the same day. When supporters of Raul Khadjimba seized the building of the Supreme Court and destroyed the protocols from local electoral constituencies new elections were prescribed. Soon the Supreme Court cancelled the later decision, and again named Bagapsh the new president. His supporters captured a local TV station, while Raul Khadjimba's supporters took control over

4473-487: Was determined by lot by the Central Election Commission. On 17 September, the People's Assembly invited the Russian Club for Promoting Political Participation of Voters to observe the upcoming elections. On 23 September, the Union of Volunteers from Kabardino-Balkaria expressed its support for Khajimba. On 1 October, the five presidential candidates debated live on national television, and they agreed not to campaign

4544-567: Was injured in the two previous attacks. Only after the February 2012 assassination attempt were arrests made. Former Interior Minister Almasbei Kchach was one of two suspects who subsequently committed suicide. One man was subsequently indicted and arrested for the July 2007 attack. On 27 May 2014, thousands of protesters, led by Raul Khajimba , rallied against Ankvab in Sukhumi, accusing him of "authoritarian" rule, inappropriate spending of Russian aid funds, and of failure to tackle corruption and economic problems, and demanded his resignation. One of

4615-432: Was nominated for presidency by an initiative group for a snap presidential elections held in the region on 26 August 2011. During the election campaign, on 15 August, supporters of Ankvab's opponent Sergei Shamba organised an outdoor screening of a video interview of Moscow-based retired Georgian general Tengiz Kitovani , a Georgian commander during the 1990s war in Abkhazia, in which he claimed that Ankvab had cooperated with

4686-424: Was one candidate whose registration was accepted but who decided not to run anyway: There was one nominee whose registration was not accepted: There were two nominees who did not register their candidacy: Outgoing president Vladislav Ardzinba was by law prohibited from running for a third term, and his health would not have allowed him to either. Instead, the government's candidate for the presidential election

4757-551: Was outgoing Prime Minister Khajimba. On 18 August, Ardzinba said in an interview with Respublika Abkhazia that Khajimba was the person most qualified to succeed him, and he appealed to all voters to vote for him. Khajimba also received the support of the Russian authorities. Russian President Vladimir Putin had worked for the KGB like Khajimba, and posters of the two together were hanging everywhere in Sukhumi . Deputies of Russia's parliament and Russian singers, led by Joseph Kobzon , both

4828-462: Was seriously ill and did not appear in public during his term, Khajimba acted as a de facto head of state in his absence. In this role, he met a number of political leaders, including Igor Ivanov , foreign minister of Russia. He has been a sharp opponent of reunification with Georgia, and vehemently condemned Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili 's proposal for a two-state federation in May 2004. Khadjimba

4899-502: Was succeeded as Head of the State Security Service by Interior Minister Zurab Agumava. On 16 May 2002, Khajimba was appointed Defence Minister , replacing Vladimir Mikanba , while remaining First Vice Premier. In the evening of 7 April 2003, Prime Minister Gennadi Gagulia filed for resignation. Early in the morning of that day, nine prisoners had escaped, four of which had been sentenced to death due to their involvement in

4970-402: Was therefore officially suspended from his post on 11 November, his duties to be carried out by First Vice Premier Leonid Lakerbaia. Bagapsh and Ankvab won the election, and they were sworn in on 12 February 2010. The following day, Ankvab was succeeded as prime minister by Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba . After Bagapsh's unexpected death after lung surgery, Ankvab became an acting president. He

5041-504: Was tipped as the favourite to win the October 2004 presidential elections , and was strongly endorsed by both outgoing president Ardzinba and Russian President Vladimir Putin . Both men campaigned on his behalf and dedicated significant resources to assisting the Khadjimba campaign. However, opposition candidate Sergei Bagapsh polled more votes on election day, in what was widely attributed as

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