In Abkhazia, as in any other human community, there are many problems that require urgent solutions.

However, they remain unresolved for years, even decades, despite the fact that they are talked about extensively and tediously, tons of paper are spent on writing various lofty programs and concepts, and thousands of man-hours of precious time are wasted trying to figure out how to implement them all.

Abkhaz society is quite open, free, and pluralistic, and fierce debates on one issue or another are not uncommon. However, all discussions take place within roughly the same framework, and almost none of the participants dare to cross the red lines unofficially, and even subconsciously, drawn by society.

The absence of a diagnosis is the first obstacle on the path to recovery. If you not only do not know what exactly your ailment is, but also do not acknowledge the very fact of its existence, there will be no cure.

I will give two small examples — two problems that seriously worry Abkhazians, yet do not lose relevance and, unlike many others, are measurable in figures.

One of the topics is murder.

When a person deprives another person of life for some selfish reason, it is always a tragedy. But in a small society where everyone knows everyone, and one half of the nation are relatives of the other half, this is experienced much more painfully.

In 2023, 17 murders were committed in Abkhazia. Is this a lot or a little?

International statistics on this subject are compiled very simply: they calculate the number of murders per year per 100,000 people, and the overall picture becomes clear.

The population of Abkhazia today is 240,000 people. Simple arithmetic: divide 17 by 2.4, and we get a little over 7 murders per 100,000 population.

I repeat the question — is this a lot or a little?

It depends on what you compare it with. If with Latin America — from “normal” to “excellent.” Normal compared to Argentina (5), Paraguay (7.1), and Peru (7.9); paradise compared to Brazil (27) and Mexico (29).

Compared to El Salvador (53) and Jamaica (43) — it’s simply another planet.

Compared to Russia — normal; there, on average, 8 people are killed per 100,000.

But compared to those beyond the Inguri — weak: there about 2.2 people are killed per 100,000. This is quite natural, given that the region beyond the Inguri has gone through a long path of Europeanization, which has not yet even been half completed, but has nevertheless led to a general softening of morals and the establishment of a more or less clear supremacy of written law over informal norms.

Compared to Europe — frankly bad: in the Old World the maximum rate is 1.5, and there are countries where it is below one (Germany, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark).

Whom to compare oneself with — Brazilians, Russians, those beyond the Inguri, or Greeks — is for Abkhazians to decide. Depending on priorities.

The second point is deaths in traffic accidents. In 2023, 57 people died in car accidents in Abkhazia. Once again we turn to simple math: divide 57 by 2.4, and we get approximately 23 deaths per 100,000 people per year.

The traditional question — is this a lot or a little? Unlike murders, here the answer can be unequivocal — very much so. This figure is higher than in Europe (from 2 to 10), and higher than in Russia (12 per 100,000).

Beyond the Inguri, where people are also not distinguished by special discipline behind the wheel, far fewer people die in accidents each year — about 12.4 per 100,000 population.

In this ranking, Abkhazia corresponds to countries such as Guatemala, Djibouti, Senegal, and Gabon.

And now — the natural question: why did I arrange such entertaining mathematics here at all, why are murders and accidents combined, and most importantly — what am I trying to say by this?

The answer will be somewhat complex and non-obvious — intentional murders and deaths in accidents are united by the fact that both are indicators of the same vice: the absence of a sense of responsibility in society, mass indifference, and a complete lack of notions of discipline — an explosive mixture of traditionalism and Soviet mentality.

If Abkhazians are asked why these indicators are catastrophically high, especially for a small nation, they will say that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is to blame for not controlling something, for not fighting crime, drunkenness, and reckless driving. That is always easier: whatever happens — blame the government, you’ll never go wrong (incidentally, this too is a very Russian-Soviet phenomenon — always and in everything rely on a big uncle from above).

Abkhazians do not want to admit that the source of these problems, as well as others that have remained unresolved for decades, is the current Abkhaz national mentality — a mixture of traditional apsuara and wild Sovietism.

Traditional-Soviet Abkhazness does not value long, routine labor that forms the basis of everything; it prefers quick and easy money and therefore gravitates toward criminal concepts and the underworld. Add Caucasian restraintlessness and pride to the thieves’ code — and 17 murders per year will not seem like a large number.

Abkhazness makes the полноценная functioning of law enforcement, the state apparatus, the tax system, and other institutions impossible — without them, society is doomed to disintegration.

As one Abkhaz said: “Of course I am for establishing order, but why did they have to start with my son?”

In traditional-Soviet Abkhazness, cooperation with the police is “disgraceful.” And do you really think that the miners destroying Abkhazia’s energy sector truly work underground and that no one knows about them? Everyone knows perfectly well, but keeps silent: say a single word — and the reputation of an informer is guaranteed.

All this leads to a lack of order both at the state level and at the everyday level.

Traditional Abkhazness, just like traditional Georgianism, is the triumph of anarchy, disorder, and the principle of “my hut is on the edge.” A lack of willpower, an inner core, the ability to concentrate on fulfilling assigned tasks, and a lack of aspiration toward real education.

John Kennedy, when declaring the intention of the United States to send a man to the Moon, said: “We choose to do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard.”

This thesis is not about Abkhazness (or Georgianism, Chechenness, and so on). In our lands, the opposite thesis is prevalent: to do something not because it is hard, but because it is easy.

And finally, like any medieval code of conduct, Abkhazness gives priority to unwritten laws: the constitution is nothing, national customs are everything.

Beyond the Inguri, the traditional mentality is retreating — with difficulty, but retreating — which is why the number of murders has decreased compared to 2004. This became possible only thanks to orientation toward Europe.

Abkhazia is oriented toward Russia; therefore traditional Abkhazness, which destroys everything it touches, is not only not disappearing, but is taking up more and more space in the life of Abkhaz society.

We clearly see that not only in Abkhazia, but also in the North Caucasus, Russia is introducing absolute archaism, religious fanaticism, petty local traditions that hinder education and progress.

In exactly the same way, in the region beyond the Inguri, Russia stimulates the slogans of traditionalists — backwardness, ostentatious Orthodoxy, intolerance toward dissent, xenophobia.

Sometimes it seems like this is just coincidence, but if you look closely, it is a deliberate policy. The more backward and uneducated a people are, the easier it is to keep them subordinate through religion, homophobia, and “traditional values.”

Educated and independently thinking people are much harder to control — therefore, an empire must do everything possible to ensure that there are fewer of them.

Nevertheless, every nation that is not directly part of some other dominant country has the right and the opportunity to choose. And everyone must make that choice.

In the end, there are no bad governments and good peoples. Every people has exactly the government it deserves.

Devastation is not in murders, not in the energy system, and not in parliament. Devastation is in the minds.

Tengiz Ablotia