Russian president Vladimir Putin is facing a potential coup in Abkhazia, a breakaway part of Georgia, whose Russia-sanctioned government has been hit by mass protests.
Protesters, who seized parliament buildings and attempted to occupy the state's TV studios, are demanding the entire government resigns, following the government's decision to consider a new investment agreement with Moscow, according to BBC news.
The demonstrators are refusing to leave parliament buildings in the capital, Sukhumi, until their demands are met, after occupying them last week. Their bid to seize the Abkhaz State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (AGTRK), on November 18, failed after shots were fired, according to the German news outlet Deutsche Welle.
Abkhazia, a breakaway republic that declared independence from Georgia in 1993, hosts Russian military bases and troops, and has been effectively under Russian control since the Georgia war in 2008, and the current leader is President Aslan Bzhania.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Abkhazia for comment via email outside of business hours.
Newsweek also reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Russian Federation for comment via email.
The protests, which began on November 12, are against an agreement which would expand Russian business in the republic, fueling fears it would deprive locals of income from tourism.
Protesters also tried to take over the state television company by "driving up to the AGTRK building in a car and attempting to enter the television company's premises to establish control," according to Deutsche Welle. Security guards reportedly fired warning shots, before the situation was stabilized and work at the studios continued as normal.
In a statement on November 16, the protesters said that the seizure of government buildings was not in protest of the republic's ties with Russia but rather accused the president of "trying to use these ties for his own selfish interests and manipulating them to strengthen his regime."
In response to the mass protests, the president's office announced it was drafting an order to remove the offending proposal from parliamentary consideration.
Bzhania also promised to step down and allow Vice President Badra Gumba to act as head of the republic in order to appease the public, despite his initial statements that he would not resign.
In a statement to the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, Bzhania said, "When they leave the building, I will write a letter of resignation, and we will see how much support they receive in the new elections."
But the Abkhaz opposition demanded the resignation of Bzhania and the entire government, as well as one of the opposition leaders, Levan Mikaa.
It said: "The entire cabinet of ministers must resign, then new leaders will be appointed. Leaving the current ministers to head the security bloc, as Aslan Bzhania demands, is an unacceptable condition for us."
Regarding the protesters who seized the parliament building, on November 17, the president said, "The demonstrators are protesting against the adoption of an investment agreement between the republic and Russia; their actions are anti-Russian in nature."
Following the outbreak of protests against the government, Moscow said it was a "crisis situation" and urged Russian citizens not to travel there.
While Moscow so far appears to have shown restraint from intervening in the rapidly escalating crisis, reports over the weekend suggested that pro-Russian forces may yet wade in.
According to iStories, an independent Russian news outlet, members of the "Wild Division" a subgroup of the pro-Moscow separatists behind the 2014 conflict in Ukraine's Donbas, have arrived in Abkhazia.
A longtime commander of the Donetsk separatists, Akhra Avidzba in a Facebook stream showed himself driving along the highway in Abkhazia, to the tune of Pyatnashka Works Here—a reference to his brigade.
He later confirmed his return to Abkhazia from Ukrainian front lines, in an interview with the Russian media.
Sociopolitical unrest has not been an uncommon occurrence in the region over the last few months, as Georgia's Central Electoral Commission chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili was doused in black paint by an opposition commission member from the United National Movement after validating the results of the parliamentary elections in October, in which the Georgian Dream party was declared the winner. The Georgian Dream party has reportedly attempted to foment closer ties with Russia in recent years.
The republic on the Black Sea has approximately 245,000 residents, and the government of Georgia considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be Russian-occupied territory.
While Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria recognize Abkhazia as an independent state, Western countries including the U.S. do not, and see the republic as a part of Georgia.
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