Interview with Aslan Kobakhia

On the specifics of Abkhazia’s strategic partnership with Russia, and why it is impossible to synchronize Abkhaz legislation with Russian legislation blindly, in particular, adopting a law on foreign agents similar to the Russian one, as well as why deputy Inar Gitsba should not resign his parliamentary mandate, – editor of Chegemskaya Pravda ” Inal Khashig discussed with the hero of Abkhazia Aslan Kobakhia.

Inal Khashig. Hello, this is “Chegemskaya Pravda”. Last week was quite eventful.

MP Inar Gitsba suddenly resigned and relinquished his parliamentary mandate. Jansukh Adleiba (activist) is protesting once again. He has begun a hunger strike demanding the president’s resignation. The judicial saga concerning the power line Achaguara has entered its third round. The political life continues actively.

Today, the Hero of Abkhazia Aslan Kobakhia is our guest. We’ll discuss the chronic issues in our country.

You have been in power for many years and worked in opposition. Now you seem to be more of an observer of these processes. You could say you’re not too involved. Although today in Abkhazia, it’s probably hard to find someone who isn’t at least a little involved. And anyway, you have an understanding of what’s happening in Abkhazia.

In the past, for many years, after elections in Abkhazia became real elections, we talked about the need to modernize the governance system. But now, we no longer discuss that. The agenda has shifted. It’s hard to call it purely Russo-Abkhaz because we’re mainly discussing a Russian agenda in our society. Internal issues aren’t often discussed.

In this context, the resignation of MP Inar Gitsba is intriguing since he hasn’t addressed it himself. He resigned from the Congress of the Abkhaz-Abazin people, led by Musa Ekzekov. The parties involved haven’t commented, so sometimes we’re left speculating on the reasons, as often happens in Abkhaz society.

What are your thoughts on the recent events?

Aslan Kobakhia. We don’t need to speculate; we can simply examine the previous events. It’s not so easy to resign as a member of parliament. I was an MP, and there’s a specific procedure for that. This is something you should never do.

Let me start from the end. This should not be done. An MP’s mandate is a mandate from the people. It’s not a bureaucratic position. In Abkhazia, there are 37 mandates from the people. They are the president, vice-president, and parliament MPs.

They are state officials, politicians empowered by the people to work, act, and make decisions on their behalf. I didn’t expect such a level of emotion from him. He’s highly educated, well-bred. I understand what happened, but I would prefer not to talk about it.

One day, he himself will speak out. However, I believe that this is not the way to behave. We haven’t even gone halfway through what we should achieve. Our youth have become actively involved in power structures. If they continue to behave so emotionally, we could quickly undo any progress.

And I think Inar must reconsider his decision a hundred more times. He has seen everyone except those voters who sincerely trust him. I wrote to him that when a person decides to become an MP, many people assist them. Every candidate experiences this. Friends, family, political allies, and just people who like him—all of them lend their support.

However, it’s not those around him who ultimately win, but the candidate himself. While his supporters can do a lot to assist him, they cannot make a winner out of him. If the candidate isn’t inherently competitive, he will never succeed in elections. I have learn this from my experience.

Sometimes people say: look at him, he’s poorly educated, how he could be elected. And it has happened because there is such a society, a particular electorate. He found the right words, he behaved the way that the electorate understood him. Negative moments, of course, also happen. But it is impossible for them to occur throughout the entire district.

This is especially true for Inar. I followed his election campaign. I have long admired this guy, he is a patriotic young man. I believe that people like Inar represent the true future of Abkhazia. But if we keep throwing mandates around like this, we won’t achieve anything.

Politics always has its share of upheavals. Anything can happen. But this mandate was given to you by the people. And if someone helped you even a little, you should thank them and bid them farewell if you are a responsible politician to your own people.

Let’s end this discussion here because I haven’t met with him yet. I believe that when I do meet him, I will find the right words that he will understand.

Inal Khashig. I had mixed feelings about this situation. Yes, it’s unfortunate when someone gets elected and then suddenly leaves. It’s only been two years. I think Inal himself understands this. However, I believe there were circumstances he couldn’t ignore.

In any case, our elections are not just competitions of candidates’ programs. Elections are, let’s say, an expensive endeavor. They require substantial financial resources. I have known Inal for a long time. He is not a businessman, and when he was an official, he lived quite modestly.

I believe the election campaign was a significant financial burden for him.

Aslan Kobakhia. I don’t think Inar himself spent a significant amount on his election campaign.

What are the expenses when someone like Inar runs? Mostly, it’s for campaign and the work of the campaign headquarters. In the headquarters, 15-30 people work daily, and they need to be fed. This goes on for a month to a month and a half, and that’s the entire campaign. When you add it all up in the end, you see how much it costs.

But let’s call things by their names, since we’re delving so deeply into this topic. Inar was a representative of the Abkhaz-Abazin Congress, led by the well-known businessman Musa Ekzekov. It’s well known that four or five people were nominated by this congress, and he funded their election campaigns.

This is understandable, and he was obliged to do so because the congress nominated young, very interesting, and very capable citizens. It’s clear that businessman Ekzekov covered all the expenses. What happened after this –  Inar himself needs to explain.

If anyone thinks that because someone financed an election campaign, they have the right to dictate what that person does next, they are deeply mistaken. In that case, they weren’t endorsing an individual but a puppet to be controlled.

Although Musa is a very serious man, whom I know well and have friendly relations with. I don’t understand why he would approach such an ambitious politician like Inar Gitsba with such an attitude. I have told our presidents, including the current one, that we often have the following situation.

A person is nominated as a presidential candidate. Everyone on their team, from financiers to campaigners, believes that without them, this person would never become president. Then, each of them, upon entering the president’s office, believes they deserve to be there and can freely take a seat. This is a deep misconception among our people.

Many behave this way, which is why conflicts arise within the president’s team. However, I repeat, no matter how hard anyone tries, an uncompetitive candidate will never be elected president by the people. If someone is elected president, the main credit always goes to the one who was elected. Of course, they are grateful to the team that helped them. But if something goes wrong, it’s not the team’s fault. It means the president-elect failed somewhere. This happens in big politics.

I have participated in many election battles. There can be tactical and strategic mistakes made during the campaign, which usually lead to defeat. Conversely, a well-constructed campaign strategy, with the help of everyone else, is ultimately the candidate’s strategy and merit that leads them to success. This is a fact.

Inal Khashig. Regardless of the circumstances, I believe Inar Gitsba’s resignation is linked to his principled stance. He voted according to what he believed was right. From what I know, he was one of the three deputies who voted against ratifying the agreement to transfer the state dacha in Pitsunda to Russia.

There were also two constitutional laws related to this agreement, and Gitsba was the only one who voted against them. Also, he actively opposed the adoption of the foreign agents law and the apartments law. He has his own position, despite not being a structured oppositionist. He doesn’t belong to any political groups.

He is truly an independent MP with a strongly expressed personal stance. It’s unfortunate that things turned out this way. The majoritarian electoral system is ideally supposed to be based on such individuals who have an independent perspective and are not influenced by political trends.

Inar resigned from his parliamentary duties, although there are still some formalities needed. From what I understand, there is a certain agenda and pressure on him. He likely did not want to vote for certain issues that might arise in the future.

He’s not here, but we’re discussing him. Usually, it’s considered impolite to talk about someone in their absence. However, we’re discussing politics. He is an MP elected by the people, and I think we have the right to discuss this.

Aslan Kobakhia. I have great respect and appreciation for this young man and others like him. I want to address the youth and tell them they need to understand something. If they think they can engage in politics without facing hardships, they are mistaken.

There will be many challenges. Problems are always plentiful. The hardest job is being in politics, and in Abkhazia, being a politician means sacrificing your health. If you, young people, have chosen this path, you must be able to withstand the blows.

It doesn’t matter what someone says. Why did you give up your mandate? Someone went and reported: “I pressured him, and he surrendered his mandate.” That’s how it ends up. You end up betraying the interests of our people. No, that’s not the right thing to do.

I want to tell Inar and everyone else who entered politics. They need to understand that being a political figure in Abkhazia is mostly associated with significant risk. Abkhazia is small and beautiful, with a unique and tough people. Representing them is very difficult.

If you have chosen this path, you must be just as tough. You can’t be “well-groomed” in politics here. You always have to be on guard, from the president to all MPs. What is parliament? Many of us don’t even know.

Parliament is the only body in the country that can declare war. The president cannot declare war. Only parliament can. The powers of parliament are enormous, but they must be used wisely. In fact, parliament has far more powers than the president. The level of control that parliament holds is unmatched by any other body in Abkhazia.

Therefore, the work is immense and extremely difficult. I remember from my time in parliament. Even with my own emotional nature, I had to calm younger, even more emotional colleagues. Though I, too, was often boisterous. That happens. But none of them became enemies. They all remained good friends.

Each had their own position. The main thing in politics is that you can make your own mistakes, but you shouldn’t repeat the mistakes of others. It doesn’t matter who helped me and now wants me to behave in a certain way. What is that? Was I hired to be their puppet?

If someone supported me and stood by my side, does that mean they want to make a puppet out of me? That won’t work. No self-respecting Abkhazian will ever allow that. This should be a lesson for everyone else.

I don’t understand how a smart and knowledgeable person like Inar can’t explain to the Abkhazian public why he did what he did. Is it related to some pre-election matters? If so, it means you’re playing backstage games and deceiving the people.

People believed in you, applauded you. And then you said, ‘That’s it, the game is over, here’s the mandate, I’m going home.’ You can’t do that. Politics is like war. In war, you don’t submit a resignation and leave the front. If you charge into battle, you go to the end.

Inal Khashig. Let’s move on to another pressing topic that has been relevant for several months now.

This topic is not inherently Abkhazian. It’s the draft law on foreign agents, which is currently being developed by the parliament. It is being considered by our National Assembly in the context of harmonizing Russian and Abkhazian legislation.

What is your opinion on this process? You mentioned earlier that a person might be were elected and supported. But he weren’t appointed to be a puppet, right? Should MPs follow the will of others? Yes, we are allies with Russia. In certain matters, we provide support where we can. The scales of Abkhazia and Russia are absolutely incomparable. However, it’s probably hard to find a more reliable partner for Russia than Abkhazia right now.

Our authorities, the president, and others start to speculate on this topic. The law on foreign agents fits neatly into this narrative. But I get the feeling that even if this law is passed, they don’t quite understand how we will live with it going forward and how they will avoid problems.

Aslan Kobakhia. The term “foreign agent” sounds horrifying to Abkhazians. I have been in politics for a long time and worked even with the first president, Vladislav Ardzinba. There have been various people we’ve had to interact with. No offense to anyone, but I am quite familiar with the Abkhaz-Russian “kitchen” and understand it.

All these processes are starting now because we are beginning to invent things that shouldn’t be invented. The people whom we want to call “foreign agents” today are experienced individuals, leaders of the non-governmental sector. We know all of them, including my brother Batal Kobakhia, Arda Inal-Ipa, Liana Kvarchelia, and Alkhas Tkagushev, who sacrificed his health on the battlefield.

Let’s leave women alone. For instance, Batal Kobakhia, Alkhas Tkagushev, Arzadin Agrba – these are people who endured the entire war, maimed by war. How can they call them “foreign agents”? And what about his award as a Hero of Abkhazia? What about his biography?

I am a representative of the Kobakhia family. How do I explain to the youth that Batal has become a “foreign agent”? For me, calling someone a foreign agent is the same as calling them a traitor. It means the person is a spy.

We can see who they call a foreign agent in Russia. Have you ever seen any Abkhaz who works in a non-governmental organization and says that Abkhazia should be bombed, destroyed, or kill this or that person?

We are on completely different poles with them. Russia is a great country, with great opportunities. This happened to them. It’s a huge hundred-million nation.

And a small Abkhaz nation, which created a miracle, managed to mobilize all layers of society, achieve victory, declare independence, and for 30 years, whether good or bad, has been following this path. And now, after 30 years, we take some templates that are absolutely not ours and want to apply them to Abkhazia.

God forbid, when our people start losing their minds, they can do anything. Emotions are absolutely unnecessary here. They talk about them: look, they received so much money, a million or a billion. Listen, we were in such a difficult situation that any Abkhaz who brought even a ruble was considered a hero in those times. Why have we forgotten all this?

Any normal person will feel positive emotions about the construction projects underway. Do you remember in what condition everything was? Medals, awards should be given to those who managed to bring investors here or invested their own money.

Many facilities were purchased back then all over Abkhazia by Abkhaz who found money. I’ve heard of the Sichinava brothers, the Shonia brothers. So, if tomorrow we don’t like someone among them, we’ll write to Russia and let them figure out where they got this money from?

They [the authroities] have lost their minds. So much was happening in the non-governmental sector as well. They thought no one would ever question anything. They existed separately, like a closed club.

I know many of them and respect them. They are educated people. And now, what has happened today? I remember when the Soros Foundation was operating in Abkhazia, a representative of civil society wrote a letter there, saying that Soros was funding Abkhaz nationalists. This also happened in our history.

All these processes are completely incomprehensible to me. I was one of those who openly talked about the problem. There were young people who said, so what if there was a war, we should forget about it already.

Do you remember the recent story with the football match in Georgia? That’s another example that Abkhazians cannot forget anything. Our liberal-minded people congratulated the Georgians [on qualifying for the European Championship].

But then a video came out where the footballers led the entire stadium in chants saying Abkhazia is Georgia, South Ossetia is Georgia. They can’t shake off this sickness, this rhetoric. And now we’ve come up with this law, or it was sent to us. Actually, it was sent to us, let’s call things by their names.

I talk to many people involved in politics, in positions of power, to those who support the authorities. They tell me, well, you understand, it’s necessary. And I tell them: it shouldn’t be like this. We talk with you about money, who influences Abkhaz society.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia spoke and explained who finances whom. But let’s look at everything financed in Abkhazia through the UN line. The donors here are five members of the UN Security Council, including the Russian Federation. That’s one point.

And the second point is this. Who has actually analyzed which country influences Abkhazians the most? Which country in the world? It’s Georgia. Why do we deceive ourselves? Russia is like kin, we would travel there when we want. And when things go bad, when someone among us is sick or dying, where do we take him? Quickly, efficiently. Who stands guard for us? Georgia.

We discuss the influence now. Let’s speak openly then. We talk about receiving 100 billion in Russian aid. But how much was needed to build a serious diagnostic center in Abkhazia? Or to build a clinical hospital so our sick wouldn’t have to be taken to enemy Georgia?

There’s a person who was critically ill, or their relatives panicked because of their illness, and they were taken from Abkhazia to Georgia. They were treated there and came back. Do you think they will now sit quietly and say nothing?

No, I know many situations where they openly speak out. How will you silence them? This is where foreign influence takes place. In Georgia, they don’t use their own money for treatment. It’s EU money. This entire program is developed by the European Union.

They allocate a budget for Georgia for this every year. The Georgians, of course, present it as their own money. Just like our authorities in Abkhazia say: look, we’re spending money, doing this, doing that. The Georgians do the same.

It must be acknowledged that many of our people receive medical treatment in the Russian Federation. Do not portray the situation as if nothing is being done there. I have dealt with these matters many times because war veterans and the families of the deceased reach out to me. I appeal to our minister to help with this.

In such cases, we have to wait a day, two days, three days, a week, sometimes even 10 days. As for trips to Georgia, I know about them because I have encountered this issue several times, it involves neighbors and relatives.

Here’s how it works: a decision is made to transport someone to Georgia, and within two hours, the ambulance is already at the border. Our ambulance has to get there, and that’s it. And off they go. These are all well-known facts that I’m stating.

Inal Khashig. This means that we poorly managed the 100 billion rubles we received from Russia. It means that someone did a poor job.

Aslan Kobakhia. I worked in the parliament and in the government, but I have never had any involvement with money from Russia. Usually, very serious people are involved with this money, doing who knows what, but not what we need.

Some people foolishly said that Russian authorities spend money on the wrong things in Abkhazia. In reality, they don’t care at all where the money goes. Just tell them where and how, and show the project. And they are ready to fund it.

As for medical treatment – well, let them get treated in Georgia, it’s less of a hassle. Let’s rather pave a road in a village with many voters. This is how the approach was taken. And today, if we talk about the influences of international organizations, Georgia has the most influence on the citizens of Abkhazia by providing medical treatment to our citizens.

They not only treat the patient but also accommodate two or three relatives who stay with the patient. I worked in security services, and I have heard that some people have obtained Georgian citizenship. This contradicts the law on the citizenship of the Republic of Abkhazia.

Accordingly, if such people exist, they need to be dealt with. They need to be dealt with. I assure you, no one will be able to label as enemies those [famous people]. Because anyone who tries would be crazy—they’d be attacked if they stamped someone like Batala Kobakhia or Arda Inal-Ipa, Liana Kvarchelia, or Alkhaz Tkhagushev as foreign agents. No one will brand them with this label.

This “hammer” will hang over the youth who insist on their own opinion. Abkhazians are not “toy soldiers” that you can line up and force to sing in unison. Abkhazians are a headstrong people. People with their own opinions.

Sometimes I might not like what somebody says. But it’s their opinion, and you can’t label them as “enemies of the people” for it. All these labels are for the youth. Persecution will start. And where will it lead? We’ve been in turmoil for over 20 years. If the youth start experiencing turmoil within their own ranks, we, the older generation, likely won’t be able to calm them down.

It’s an environment where they are still observing each other. Those who came into power have become very active, but they are not heading in the right direction. Ultimately, they need to meet with Abkhazians and our population, not just talk to Russian journalists. They avoid talking to Abkhazian journalists, which is fine, but they should engage with the public and voters.

In a year, the election campaign will begin, and they will have to answer all these difficult questions.

Vladislav Ardzinba, the first president of Abkhazia, said: “The main task for Abkhazians in their strategic partnership with the Russian Federation was to ensure that no threat to the Russian Federation ever emanated from Abkhazia.”

Especially now, when Russia is in such a difficult situation. Some think they can play at war, but they should listen carefully to what Putin says. Yes, he sometimes speaks very harshly, but that’s his pain, the pain of his people.

They say they are brothers, people of the same blood (with Ukrainians). This is echoed by 80% of those involved in the conflict in Ukraine. Sooner or later, they will return to some peace platform. When our strategic partner, our large neighbor, is going through such difficult times, we should behave more calmly. But we act as if Donbas is Abkhazia, as if we are in Donbas. There is a war going on there, and we need to calm down.

Someone mentioned harmonizing our legislation with Russia’s. Do you think this is the first time? Every president has faced pressure to align with Russian laws. Alexander Ankvab (the Prime Minister of Abkhazia) knows this well. When he was president, they tried to impose it on him too.

But now we’ve signed onto this. So what, should we bang our heads against the wall? So what, have we lost a card game or what? Take, for example, the issue with Pitsunda (the demand from Russia to transfer the “government dacha” tourist complex in Abkhazia along with a large tract of land).

It didn’t go through. It’s clear that it’s a lost cause and has been forgotten. The 1995 agreement with Russia regarding this object remains, and it should continue to be in effect. If they (in Russia) don’t want it the way we proposed (about the ‘state dacha’), then things will remain as they were. There’s nothing wrong with that. No one has fled from there. The facility is operational, and people are working.

There was so much noise created around this object. Why they created that noise? It means inexperienced people held high government positions and signed an agreement with Russia without even checking the coordinates of the site.

That’s not how things should be done. This is not a collective farm or a small enterprise. But they signed the agreement on behalf of the Abkhaz state without verifying the coordinates.

Inal Khashig. But this isn’t the first time, right?

Aslan Kobakhia. And what happened with the airport? What kind of conditions are those? It’s terrible. Can such agreements be signed? It’s simply a colonial agreement. Such agreements don’t happen in normal interstate relations.

But we must understand this: no one can force us to do something if we don’t want to do it. What happened in the 1990s when we, the young people, came to power?

Vladislav Ardzinba was not destroyed by the war, but by the post-war situation in Abkhazia. It drove him to his death. He could have agreed with everyone. But you must understand, the position of president in Abkhazia is extremely dangerous.

Ardzinba shared an episode. They conducted a monitoring in Abkhazia among political figures, and everyone pointed to Vladislav, implying that whatever he said would be the final word.

In the 1990s, we discussed (with the Georgian side) options for a unified state, a confederation. We proposed this before the war, but the Georgian side only matured to this idea after the war.

But we are not fools to lose so many young men in battles only to then establish some confederation with Georgia. They conducted monitoring among our prominent political figures, but everyone pointed to Vladislav, as if to say, “whatever he decides will be.”

So, they made him travel to Geneva or another country, presented this map to him, and said: “We’ve been there, we’ve conducted several months of monitoring, and this is what everyone said should be done.”

Vladislav Ardzinba was cornered, figuratively speaking. He recounted: “I tried to wriggle out, but I couldn’t. Eight countries participated, at the level of deputy foreign ministers. The G7 and Russia were involved.”

I already saw that I couldn’t wriggle out, Ardzinba said. The discussion was about applying the tactic of ‘coercion to peace’ and the like. They said that tactic would have to be implemented if Abkhazia did not agree to these terms.

‘Do you want me to sign this?’ Ardzinba asked. ‘Fine, let me sign it. But on one condition: I stay here. Do you think I am almighty? Don’t look at my merits. This is just first step. If I sign this, my people will impale me right at the border. They will never agree to this,” he said.

Some may think they can cross such a red line, but it’s crucial to understand the consequences. When Abkhazians explode, they become very dangerous and unpredictable. Vladislav saw and understood this. Some politicians try to take fragments of his actions or quotes, but Vladislav could say a single word or phrase that would be thought about for the next ten years.

Inal Khashig. What are the red lines for Abkhazian politicians today?

Aslan Kobakhia. For Vladislav, the red line during that period was to secure the results of the war, and he achieved it despite many obstacles. The situation back then was dire. What are the red lines now? We seem to be treading those red lines with laws like the one about apartments (allowing Russians to buy property in Abkhazia).

I am happy when something is built in Abkhazia. But here are the risks we face. The moment we announced the consideration of this law, property prices in Abkhazia skyrocketed. A new district in Sukhumi is almost filled with newlyweds. For years, the buildings were empty, but now they are all occupied by newlyweds.

People got married and bought apartments. You could buy an apartment for 500,000 rubles, or a million rubles. Activist Jansukh Adleyba says we will bring 60,000 people from Russia. Suppose you are the president of Abkhazia, and I am the president of Russia. This was all done and signed before you. At some point, we meet and discuss.

You have 60,000 of my citizens (Russians) living there. All your citizens hold my documents (Russian citizenship). So, I ask you: why are my citizens second-class in Abkhazia? And what will you say to me? That this is the Abkhazian citizenship law? And what will the president of a great country say to the unfortunate president of Abkhazia?

He will say, “You know what, dear? No offense, but roll up your citizenship law and put it somewhere. My people will not be second-class citizens there.” These are significant red lines. Today, Russia, our strategic partner, treats Abkhazia with great respect. They don’t demand much from us. But what will happen if we don’t show such initiatives?

I believe we need to calm down and say: we can do this, and this, and this. We will not allow aggression from our territory (against Russia). If someone is genuinely working against the Abkhazian state or our strategic partner within Abkhazia, there are state organs to deal with it.

The authorities want to show (Russia): look, we forced everyone to adopt the law on foreign agents in Abkhazia. So, what did you achieve? Fine, you forced the adoption of the foreign agents law. But who will determine their status as foreign agents? It will be Abkhazians themselves.

But then internal Abkhazian conflicts will start. You declare my brother an enemy, and I will come to your house tomorrow. That’s how it will be.

Inal Khashig. We must conclude our program. The entire issue probably lies within the context of Russian-Abkhazian relations. The principled position of our state was not formed today. It was established in the 1990s, when we were, by the way, under blockade by Russia.

Nevertheless, the vision was that it is vital for us to have Russia as a friendly country, and it is crucial to maintain this friendship. But it is essential for us to balance two things: preserving our sovereignty while maintaining very good allied and friendly relations with Russia.

I think this should be the formula. However, it seems that our authorities are trying to sacrifice a part of this formula. You know, it’s like a sandwich. Without butter, bread is not a sandwich, just as a sandwich is incomplete without butter.

These two components are the foundation of our future and the development of our state. If we sacrifice even one of these parts, our future will be unstable and lack prospects.

Aslan Kobakhia. We have known Putin for a long time. We have grown old with him. He has a clear stance on Abkhazia. What has he said about Abkhazia? No offense, but Abkhazia is only needed by the Abkhazians.

Putin has always shown great respect for proud and brave people like the Abkhazians. He sees us as strong and worthy. However, we must not betray his trust. We should carry ourselves with pride and fulfill our obligations.

If you say “no” to him, you must explain why. This applies to everyone, including officials. If we want to conclude our discussion about an independent Abkhazia in the context of a complex geopolitical situation, we need to follow Vladislav’s line. Abkhazia will not survive under any conditions other than as an independent state.

Inal Khashig. With that, we will conclude our program. Let me remind you that you can watch our broadcast on the Abaza TV channel, on the “Chegemskaya Pravda” YouTube channel, on our Facebook page, and on the Chegemskaya Pravda newspaper website at chegem.su. Thank you for your attention, and see you next time!