Politicians and residents of Abkhazia laid flowers at the monument to the victims of political repression.

The President of Abkhazia, the leaders of the republic and Sukhumi, and the residents laid flowers at the monument to the victims of repression. A total of about seven thousand residents of Abkhazia were killed during the years of repression.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in the memorial event for the victims of repression in October 2025, which took place in Sukhumi, relatives of the deceased participated. Some participants expressed concern about the condition of the monument to those who died during the Great Terror.

The President of Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, laid flowers at the monument to the repressed in Sukhumi on the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Political Repression. The ceremony was attended by Vice President Beslan Bigvava, Prime Minister Vladimir Delba, Speaker of the People's Assembly Lasha Ashuba, members of Parliament, and members of the Government of the Republic of Abkhazia, the presidential administration reports.

The Deputy Head of the Administration of the city of Sukhumi Avtandil Surmanidze laid flowers at the Memorial to the Victims of Political Repression. According to him, the greatest losses during the years of repression were suffered by the Abkhaz intelligentsia.

“The blow fell on those who defended Abkhazia and spoke the truth,” his words are quoted by "Apsnypress".

According to him, even during the years of repression, people continued to openly express their opinions, despite the possible consequences.

In Abkhazia, about seven thousand people became victims of repression

The Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Political Repression is observed in Abkhazia annually on October 30. According to the Association for the Memory of Victims of Political Repression, about seven thousand people were repressed in the republic during the 1930s and 1940s, the publication indicated.

Mass repressions in Abkhazia intensified after the death of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Abkhaz ASSR, Nestor Lakoba, in December 1936. His former associates were accused of participating in an underground anti-Soviet organization.

From October 30 to November 3, 1937, an open trial took place at the Sukhumi State Theater, which went down in history as the “Case of the 13 Lakobists.” Thirteen state, party, and public figures of Abkhazia appeared before the court: Mikhail Chalmaz, Mikhail Lakoba, Konstantin Inal-ipa, David Dzhergenia, Vasily Lakoba, Vladimir Ladaria, Avtandil Engelov, Samson Turkiya, Pavel Seysyan, Mikhail Kishmaria, Sit Ebzhno, Khukhut Chamba, and Kirill Akhuba. The defendants were accused of preparing terrorist acts, sabotage, espionage, and attempting to overthrow Soviet power. As a result of the trial, ten people were sentenced to execution, and three to long prison terms.

The repressions also affected Lakoba's family. His wife, Saria, was arrested in August 1937 and died on May 16, 1939, in the prison hospital of the Ortachala prison in Tbilisi. Their son, Rauf, was arrested on October 31, 1937. In July 1941, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced him to execution. The sentence was carried out on July 28 in Moscow.

Of the 51 members of the Abkhaz regional committee of the Communist Party of Georgia elected at the XV Abkhaz Party Conference in May 1937, 39 were repressed and executed. Of the 120 members of the Central Election Commission of Abkhazia elected in 1936, 78 were repressed. From 1937 to 1942, almost all scientific and creative intelligentsia of Abkhazia was destroyed, writes "Aiyashara".

“Just remember this, people, especially those who express nostalgia for the times of Stalin,” the publication emphasizes.

Under Stalin, mass arrests, deportations, and executions based on nationality were carried out, entire nations were declared “hostile,” states a report by the "Caucasian Knot" on "10 myths about Stalin's role in the Great Patriotic War". The decision on which nations to subject to repression depended directly on Stalin, Boris Sokolov, a historian and member of the Association of Researchers of Russian Society, told the "Caucasian Knot" in 2022.