The Russian Embassy in Sukhumi (Sukhum) has announced that Russian identification cards will no longer be issued. The statement came after allegations by Abkhazian MP Akan Kvarchiya that Russian ID cards were being illegally distributed at passport offices went viral on social media.
Russia has widely distributed passports among Abkhazians, with the Abkhazian passport only recognised by five UN member states.
A meeting about the practice was held behind closed doors in Abkhazia’s parliament. Afterwards, an MP who requested not to be named told journalists, ‘There’s not one document that allows Russian [ID cards} to be issued in Abkhazia’.
However, shortly after the meeting, the parliament’s press service said no decision had been made on the matter.
On Friday, the Russian Embassy in Abkhazia issued an official statement saying that the practice of issuing Russian ID cards in Abkhazia, which only properly began in April 2025, was started primarily to give ‘citizens of Abkhazia the maximum comfort’ to obtain services.
Nonetheless, after criticism of the illegality of these practices by Abkhazian MPs — as well as Russia’s claims of ‘respect’ for the ‘sovereignty’ of Abkhazia, the issuance of such documents will be terminated. Instead, it will be required to travel to Russia to obtain ID cards or other forms of official identification.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
OC Media
