How Russia "solved to Abkhazian crisis"

“According to two Meduza sources close to the Russian presidential administration (AP), Kirienko himself volunteered to solve the Abkhazian crisis. He supervised Gunba’s campaign together with his close associate - head of the Russian Department for Monitoring and Analysis of Social Processes Alexander Kharichev, as well as Kharichev’s deputy, Boris Rapoport. “Two headquarters worked: one in Sukhum, the other in Sochi. Kharichev came regularly, Boris supervised directly on the spot,” Meduza’s source close to the AP specifies.

Kiriyenko assigned a group of Kremlin political strategists headed by the former vice-governor of the annexed territory of Zaporizhia Oblast, Sergei Tolmachev, to develop Gunba’s campaign. “[In Moscow, they initially understood that] it would not be possible to completely falsify the elections — due to the presence of representatives of opposition candidates [Adgur Ardzinba and Oleg Bartsits] in the election commissions, as well as observers associated with local clans, a significant portion of which support Ardzinba. The first round was the maximum program,” a source close to the Presidential Administration’s political bloc and familiar with the progress of the campaign explained to Meduza.

Since Tolmachev is known in political technology circles as a specialist in black PR, it made half of Gunba’s campaign. Kremlin-loyal Abkhazian media, as well as Russian publications and Telegram channels, accused opposition candidate Adgur Ardzinba of pro-Turkish views and ties to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The second vector of Gunba’s campaign was guarantees of support from Russia: the pro-Kremlin candidate demonstratively emphasized ties with the Russian leadership, met with officials from Moscow and negotiated with them on financial assistance to the republic.”