Changing of the guard

Over the three months in the post of Abkhaz interior minister, Leonid Dzyapshba was transformed from an ordinary official into an influential political figure, who can make an impact on the post-Bagapsh era.

He fully purged the apparatus of the interior ministry, established 24-hour patrolling in the republic, and put the children of some top officials behind bars for 15 days. This was "impudence" previously unheard of in Abkhazia.

Dzyapshba sharply toughened measures against "crime bosses", which is also something new for Abkhazia, as "crime bosses" have always been influential here.

Dzyapshba addressed "crime bosses": either you stop the criminal settling of scores or my advice is that you leave Abkhazia. "Otherwise, crime bosses will go to prison," Dzyapshba said.

Not a single wedding party or feast is now held in Abkhazia without mentioning the new interior minister. Before Abkhaz drivers take a glass and start drinking alcohol, they have to think hard whether it is worthwhile to drive being drunk. Abkhaz drivers have never before faced such a dilemma, as almost no one controlled the observance of traffic rules and any problem could easily be resolved through a policeman whom they knew. Today, however, evading road police is too expensive.

These changes may seem insignificant to someone outside Abkhazia, but not in this country, where the implementation of law has depended on kinship, friendly, business, or other relations, as well as telephone calls or orders, since the day it became independent.

Most of the Abkhaz public took the new interior minister's attempt to establish order almost as a revolution.

It is obvious that the country is longing for novelties and order and any step in that direction is assessed in quite a positive manner until it has something to do with you personally.

Although Dzyapshba never makes political statements, never makes comments on this country's domestic policy, never speaks about the complicated reality in Russian-Abkhaz relations, and has never touched on the Geneva talks (the safest issue for Abkhaz politicians, since there is no difference of views around them), his political aura becomes stronger day by day.

Three months ago, almost no one in Abkhazia would like to know who the then deputy minister of taxes and incomes, Leonid Dzyapshba, would support in the next presidential election.

However, a lot has changed over this short period. Everyone in Abkhazia - starting with officials and ending with ordinary citizens drinking coffee on the embankment in Sukhumi - now wants to know an answer to the question as to who the new minister will support and what political plans he has.

Some are even more daring in posing questions: Does Dzyapshba want to become president in the future?

All that resembles taking shots in the dark. In the meantime, Leonid Dzyapshba has already had certain achievements. Over these three months, Dzyapshba deprived the almost "legitimate successor", vice president Aleksandr Ankvab, of a considerable number of points thanks to measures aimed at establishing order.

Ankvab's influence in Abkhazia was obvious back in the times of first president Vladislav Ardzinba. His name was then used to intimidate carefree officials, thieves and hooligans. "Ankvab will come and will show you," those who were dissatisfied with the situation under Ardzinba would say.

And Ankvab did all he could to impart to himself the image of a fighter against lawlessness. His well-known phrase - "All criminals will be offered cells with the views on the sea" - used to impress many.

However, when Aleksandr Ankvab returned to power in 2005 first as the head of president Bagapsh's government and, five years later, as vice president, he had to forget all those promises. Ankvab failed to bring order to Abkhazia.

Rumours were disseminated among the people that president Bagapsh hindered Ankvab from carrying out reforms. Many thought that Bagapsh was afraid of Ankvab's successes and approval rating.

Even some Abkhaz experts thought that after Bagapsh's departure and Ankvab's becoming president, Ankvab would use real power to start fulfilling his promises and showing everyone his own place.

These rumours were very convenient and Ankvab obviously tried to live up to them.

This image of Ankvab's would probably have remained topical for a long time had Leonid Dzyapshba not emerged suddenly without any PR introductions.

Dzyapshba is now really trying to establish order, winning the name of the "protector of law". Dzyapshba is effectively occupying the niche that Ankvab received in advance years ago.

In the meantime, Ankvab looks very much like Lenin in the imagination of well-known Abkhaz writer's characters - residents of Chegem: "The person, who wanted to do good for people, but ran short of time".

The terminology used in the article belongs to the author and not “Liberali”. 

The article is prepared with support of Heinrich Boell Foundation. The publication statements and ideas do not necessarily express the Heinrich Boell Foundation opinion.