Abkhaz Journalists Branded as ‘Foreign Agents’ by Russian Ministry of Justice
Nizfa Arshba (left), editor of the news agency 'Aiashara', and Izida Chania, founder of 'Nuzhnaya Gazeta'..
SUKHUM / AQW’A — The Russian Ministry of Justice has added two Abkhaz journalists to its updated register of foreign agents. Nizfa Arshba, editor of the Abkhaz news agency Aiashara, and Izida Chania, founder of Nuzhnaya Gazeta, were included in the list published on 21 March 2025.
Both journalists are citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia and have no legal ties to the Russian Federation. The decision follows the earlier inclusion of Inal Khashig, editor of Chegemskaya Pravda, who became the first Abkhaz journalist to be labelled as a foreign agent by the Russian authorities.
The designation has drawn strong reactions in Abkhazia. “It must be stated plainly: as of today, every leader of independent media in Abkhazia has been declared a foreign agent,” stated a representative of Nuzhnaya Gazeta on Telegram.
'I am not a citizen of the Russian Federation and never have been. Abkhazia is not Russia.'
— Nizfa Arshba
Liana Kvarchelia, board member of the Abkhaz non-governmental organisation Centre for Humanitarian Programmes, commented: “They have declared freedom of speech to be a foreign agent.”
In response, Nizfa Arshba said: “I am not a citizen of the Russian Federation and never have been. Abkhazia is not Russia.”
Legal experts have questioned the basis and purpose of the decision. Saïd Gezerda, a lawyer, stated: “Why are Abkhaz journalists, who write about their own government and its failed foreign policy, being designated as foreign agents by a neighbouring country? It’s difficult to believe this classification serves any real necessity beyond the borders of Abkhazia.”
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He added that such actions contribute to an atmosphere of pressure and repression, while official silence from leadership further isolates those affected. “The president appears only in triumphalist headlines – ‘president met,’ ‘president congratulated,’ ‘president opened.’ Meanwhile, he remains silent on the open persecution of Abkhaz journalists. This silence amounts to complicity and risks sowing the seeds of lost sovereignty and freedom,” he said.
The inclusion of Abkhaz journalists in Russia’s foreign agent register has raised concerns about external interference and the future of independent media in the Republic of Abkhazia.