Larisa Tsvijba: “Bagapsh’s death is a great tragedy for all Abkhaz people”

Larisa Tsvijba, historian, RSUH professor, tells VK about the personality of Sergey Bagapsh and the attitude of the Abkhaz people towards him.

-  What was the attitude of Abkhazians towards Sergey Bagapsh?

-  It is impossible to sum up in a couple of words. It changed after he first became Abkhaz President: back then, society had some doubts about him, but later he was recognized as an honorable man who respects the interests of all citizens of Abkhazia, no matter their ethnicity. Even the opposition leaders perceived him positively for the most part. It was under his leadership that our country won its independence. Of course, his passing met with a very emotional response among the population. I’m sure that, despite all political
disagreements, all those who will soon be competing for Bagapsh’s place will base their campaigns on slogans like “We will not allow Bagaph’s achievements to be lost”.

-  And what do people think about his economic policies, apart from his diplomatic achievements?

-  Bagapsh paid a great deal of attention to economic problems over the past 10 years. Our republic has had to develop, despite the existing blockade. It’s hard to evaluate Bagapsh's success – you have
to understand that we literally had to survive, and Bagapsh certainly did his best. He always tried to look into all the issues himself. And we can see the progress achieved in the last couple of years. We are
20 years behind global development progress, but I hope Abkhazia will be able to catch up.

-  Abkhaz developments have always attracted a great deal of attention from Tbilisi. How can Georgia benefit from this situation?

-  The Georgian leadership doesn’t skip a chance to comment on Abkhaz politicians’ actions, trying to show its concern for the Abkhaz population. As an historian and as an Abkhaz I don’t buy it. These are
just political games, sometimes played in too crude a way. I wouldn’t recommend you to believe in the sincerity of any of their comments.

Interview by Evgeniy Krishtalev, exclusively to VK