In Abkhazia, only "offended" miners and other crooks criticize Russia.

Despite the fact that there are no anti-Russian sentiments in Abkhazian society, Abkhazian networks are replete with anti-Russian statements.

First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation Sergei Kiriyenko stated this in an interview with Abaza-TV, as reported by a PolitNavigtor correspondent.

"I believe there are no anti-Russian sentiments among a significant portion of the Abkhazian population. There may be some individuals who dislike Russia. There are certainly some. But they exist in Russia too . That's normal. There are no sentiments, but anti-Russian statements do exist . They appear both on Telegram channels and in public discussions," Kiriyenko said.

He believes that one of the reasons for this paradox is economic: cooperation between Abkhazia and Russia “ hits the selfish interests ” of some citizens.

"People may have very positive attitudes toward Russia, but their economic interests are hampered by expanding cooperation and partnership with Russia. Clearly, the Russia-Abkhazia cooperation program in the electric power sector involves grid repairs, installing meters, and increasing collection rates. Hundreds of millions have started flowing into the economy and the budget. But they used to end up in someone's pocket. Are people who earned, and frankly, continue to earn, money from mining happy about this cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia? I don't think so ," Kiriyenko said.

According to him, some citizens and even shop and cafe owners received electricity bills for the first time in 30 years.

Kiriyenko believes that the launch of the Adler-Sukhumi commuter train has taken away some of the income of Abkhazian taxi drivers. Smugglers have also suffered: customs duties have increased by 258 million rubles.

Kiriyenko fears that with the development of Russian-Abkhaz cooperation, there will be more reasons for grievances.