Russia-controlled Tskhinvali Leadership Allows Pensioners to Visit Georgia

The de facto authorities of the Russia-occupied Tskhinvali region have temporarily allowed local pensioners (living in Akhalgori district) to visit the rest of Georgia to pick up their pensions. Following a five-month isolation, the pensioners, as well as people in need of urgent medical care will be allowed to temporarily leave the area, the REC news agency reports.

The humanitarian situation is strikingly severe in the Akhalgori district due to the closure of the only crossing point with the rest of Georgia on September 4, 2019, which left around 1500 locals facing restrictions on free movement and a deficit in medicines and food.

Following the 2008 Russo-Georgian war and the recognition of Tskhinvali’s independence by Russia, the Kremlin has been trying to establish full control over the domestic processes taking place in the region. The level of the Kremlin’s influence has been especially high in Tskhinvali region, with the Fourth Military Base there from 2009, housing about 4,000 military personnel. Unlike Abkhazia, where implementing joint projects in the field of security with Russia is more openly criticized by many, in Tskhinvali region the integration of the local structures with the Russian law-enforcement system maintains strong support (primarily from the local government).

Russia’s ever-increasing control over the regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali is the main challenge for the integrity of Georgia.