Passports As Leverage: the kremlin Signals that Support for Occupied Regions Depends on the Obedience of Elites

moscow uses passportization as a flexible tool of political pressure on the temporarily occupied regions of Georgia, demonstrating that administrative preferences directly depend on the obedience of local elites. On February 14, 2026, an internal passport issuance office was opened in Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) at the centre of the ministry of internal affairs of the rf. At the ceremony, “prime minister” d. tadtaev and russia’s ambassador m. kulakhmetov emphasized “alliance relations” and shared history – rhetoric that traditionally accompanies russia’s expansion of control over the region.

At the same time, policy toward Abkhazia has become noticeably tougher. On February 6 this year, moscow shut down passport and driver’s license issuance offices in Sukhumi. Now, documents can only be obtained on the territory of the rf for a fee of 4,000-6,000 rubles, which creates additional costs and logistical barriers for the population. The formal reason was statements by some Abkhazian members of parliament about the legality of the work of employees of the ministry of internal affairs of the rf, although the local parliament did not pass any decisions.

The contrast is particularly striking given approximately 190,000 residents of Abkhazia out of a population of about 244,000 have russian documents. The registration offices had been operating since April 2025 on the basis of a dual citizenship agreement and issued passports free of charge. On February 13, “president” b. gunba was forced to publicly ask the kremlin to resume the procedure, acknowledging that its suspension undermined the legitimacy of the documents and payments already issued.

This alternate strengthening and curtailment of support for the two regions is consistent with the style of curatorship associated with sergei kirienko, first deputy head of the russian presidential administration. The simultaneous opening of a passport office in Tskhinvali and blocking of a similar mechanism in Abkhazia signals the kremlin’s switching to an openly selective model of control, where the level of assistance is determined solely by the degree of political obedience of the local elites.