Expert: Clans Fighting over Russian Money

Political turmoil in Georgia’s breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is likely due to different corrupt groups sparring over the right to embezzle Russian aid money, says one analyst.

There is a similarity between the election crisis in South Ossetia and the Feb. 22 assassination attempt against de facto Abkhazian President Alexander Ankvab, a Georgian political analyst and the Ilya Chavchavadze University Professor Gia Nodia said, as cited by News Georgia.  

“The details of the attack on Ankvab are still unknown, but certain similarities can be found between the incident and recent events in [South Ossetia]. In particular, both regions are fully dependent on Russian subsidies and the local clans are fighting for the possibility to control the money flow from Russia,” Nodia said.  

According to Nodia, one cannot rule out other possible motives for Ankvab’s assassination, but the “most realistic” cause, he said, is the inter-clan disputes. 

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said that the attack on Ankvab was an attempt to destabilize the situation in the republic before the parliamentary elections.

“We are concerned with the news on the attack on the President Ankvab. Clearly, it was an attempt to destabilize the situation in the republic on the eve of its parliamentary elections. We hope that the organizers of the attack are soon found,” Lukashevich said.