Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of February 10-16, 2025

Presidential election in Abkhazia, drone attacks, pollution in Anapa, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, pressure on the opposition in Azerbaijan, and official data on the natives of Southern Russia who perished in Ukraine, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of February 10-16, 2025, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Presidential election in Abkhazia

In November 2024, protests against the investment agreement with Russia began in Abkhazia. As a result, President Aslan Bzhaniya resigned and left Abkhazia. After negotiations between the government and the opposition, the duties of the president were temporarily assigned to Vice President Badra Gunba. On November 28, 2024, the Parliament of Abkhazia scheduled an early presidential election for February 15, 2025.

The Central Election Commission of Abkhazia announced the preliminary results of the presidential election, the “Apsnypress” reports. The Central Election Commission of Abkhazia released the information, according to which Badra Gunba received 46.38% of the votes (45,805), Adgur Ardzinba – 36.92% (36,476), Robert Arshba – 7.54%, Oleg Bartsits – 4.04%, and Adgur Khurkhumal – 0.97%. The Central Election Commission scheduled the second round of voting for March 1.

The General Prosecutor Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), and the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Abkhazia announced that there were no violations during the presidential election, although earlier, residents of Abkhazia had reported an attempt of falsification and campaigning on the election day.

On the “Respublica” Telegram channel, users questioned in their comments the results of the voting announced by the CEC of Abkhazia, according to which none of the candidates received 50% of the votes.

Some citizens of Abkhazia living in Turkey decided to vote in Abkhazia after it became known that the polling station in Sakarya in Turkey would not be operating. However, when they flew from Istanbul to Sochi, some of them were not allowed into Russia and were sent back to Turkey with a 10-year ban on entry into the Russian Federation.

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the presidential election in Abkhazia, calling it “a gross violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.” The presidential election in Abkhazia is illegal and will have no legal force, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) claims.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has expressed support for the territorial integrity of Georgia and stated that Azerbaijan does not recognize the results of the presidential election in Abkhazia.

Drone attacks

On February 16, the Russian air defence forces neutralized three drones over the territory of Kuban and six more over the Sea of Azov. In Slavyansk-on-Kuban, fragments of a downed drone fell on residential buildings and injured a four-year-old girl.

The Rostov Region was attacked by drones the night earlier. Several drones were neutralized in Rostov-on-Don, as well as in the Chertkovsky and Sholokhovsky Districts. In the Zheleznodorozhny District of Rostov-on-Don, fragments of a downed drone damaged the roof of a private house, but residents of the house were not injured.

The authorities of the Volgograd Region have banned the publication of information about drone attacks in the media and on the Internet, as well as information about the location of the law enforcement bodies and housing and communal services facilities. The information about the threat of drone attacks and the consequences of their falls is important for residents of Volgograd, who expressed their bewilderment in connection with the ban and fines.

On the night of February 13, a drone was shot down in the Chertkovsky District, reported Acting Governor of the Rostov Region Yuri Slyusar. A drone attack threat regime has been announced in North Ossetia, Sergey Menyailo, the leader of the republic, wrote on his Telegram channel. On February 11, thirteen drones were neutralized over the territory of the Rostov Region and two over the Volgograd Region, the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported on its Telegram channel.

Pollution in Anapa

On December 15, two tankers crashed in the Kerch Strait because of a storm, resulting in an oil spill. About 50 kilometres of beaches from Anapa to Temryuk have been polluted with fuel oil, and volunteers organize the rescue of birds stained with oil products.

On February 16, the Kuban operational headquarters reported on its Telegram channel that 1.3 thousand tons of oil-contaminated soil were removed from the temporary storage site in the village of Voskresensky.

The Kuban operational headquarters also reported that new fuel oil spills were discovered in several areas of the coast, including on the Bugayskaya Spit near the village of Blagoveschenskaya and on the Central Beach of Anapa.

In the village of Blagoveschenskaya, a new technology is being tested to improve the cleaning of sand from traces of fuel oil. Eduard Biyukyan, the official representative of the “Bars” Company in the Southern Federal District (SFD), “as 30-60 days pass, fuel oil becomes harmless to human health.”

Persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia

The Sovietsky District Court of Vladikavkaz found Arthur Desyatnikov guilty of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and fined him 30,000 roubles. According to the investigators’ version, Arthur Desyatnikov posted an entry on the “VKontakte” social networking service criticizing the Russian militaries. The man did not admit guilt, but repented of his actions.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found justified the complaint lodged by Olga Olkhova, a resident of Maisky, who was fined 30,000 roubles in 2022 on the charge of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.

Pressure on the opposition in Azerbaijan

The “Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan” included 357 names in the new list of political prisoners. This is the maximum number within 23 years of the country’s membership in the Council of Europe (CE). The largest increase in political prisoners occurred over the past year.

The Khatai District Court of Baku extended for other three months the arrests of Anar Mamedli, the head of the “Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre” (EMDS), and Imran Aliev, the head of the “Meclis.info” online platform.

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) left Shakhnaz Beylargyzy, a “Toplum TV” journalist, in custody, refusing to take into account the defence’s arguments about her poor health. Shakhnaz Beylargyzy claimed that she was being persecuted for her journalistic activities. The same court did not grant the complaint against the refusal to transfer Ramin Deko, who was arrested in the “Meydan TV” case, to house arrest.

The Baku Court on Grave Crimes has begun an investigation into the case against former diplomat Emin Ibragimov. He claimed that the charges were falsified and refused to testify in court.

Shamil Djafarov, a member of the Yevlakh district branch of the “Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan” (PFPA), was detained on February 11. The Yevlakh District Court sentenced Shamil Djafarov to fifteen days of arrest, finding him guilty of petty hooliganism and failure to obey the police. Party colleagues of Shamil Djafarov considered his social media posts to be the real reason for his arrest.

On February 14, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes heard antenna data from the mobile phones of the defendants in the case. According to the defence’s version, this information confirmed the falsity of the charges.

Official data on natives of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine

By February 16, the authorities and the law enforcement bodies reported about at least 5893 residents of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine, including 2851 residents of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and 3042 residents of the Southern Federal District (SFD).

In Dagestan, the authorities reported about 1253 local residents perished in Ukraine, in the Volgograd Region – 1123, in the Krasnodar Territory – 665, in the Rostov Region – 623, in the Stavropol Territory – 587, in the Astrakhan Region – 444, in North Ossetia – 349, in Chechnya – 231, in Kabardino-Balkaria – 225, in Ingushetia – 112, in Kalmykia – 110, in Karachay-Cherkessia – 94, and in Adygea – 77.