Beslan Ardzinba is a former Mayor of

Pitsunda Pitsunda or Bichvinta ( ka, ბიჭვინთა, ; ; ) is a resort town in the Gagra District of Abkhazia/Georgia. Founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century BC, Pitsunda became an important political and religious centre of the region i ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

Early life

Beslan Ardzinba was born on 13 March 1954. In 1961, he entered high school in the village of Duripsh in the

Gudauta District Gudauta District is a district of Abkhazia, Georgia (country), Georgia's breakaway republic. It corresponds to the eponymous Administrative divisions of Georgia (country), Georgian district. Its capital is Gudauta, the town by the same name. The po ...

. From 1972 until 1974, Ardzinba served in the

Soviet army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. Between 1975, he entered the Institute for Subtropical Agriculture in

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

, graduating in 1981.

Career

In 1981, Beslan Ardzinba started work as foreman of a farm in Duripsh. He became Deputy Chairman in 1989 and Chairman in 1991. Between 1997 and 2006, Ardzinba was Director of Operations of the Gudauta forestry agency.

Mayor of Pitsunda

In October 2006, Ardzinba was appointed Mayor of Pitsunda. On 8 February 2007, the

People's Assembly of Abkhazia The People's Assembly – Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia (, ka, აფხაზეთის ე.წ რესპუბლიკის სახალხო კრება, tr, ) is the unicameral legislature of the Abkhazia, Republic o ...

granted Pitsunda town-status, whenceforth its mayor would no longer be appointed by the Governor of

Gagra District Gagra District is a district of Abkhazia. It corresponds to the Administrative divisions of Georgia (country), Georgian district by the same name. In medieval times, it was known as the southern part of Sadzen. It is located in the western part of ...

, but instead directly by the

President of Abkhazia The president of Abkhazia is the '' de facto'' head of state and head of government of the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia, that is ''de jure'' part of Georgia. The position was created in 1994. Before the office of president was cr ...

. In the February 2011 Town Council election, Ardzinba was re-elected and subsequently re-appointed as Mayor by President Bagapsh. Following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of

Raul Khajimba Raul Jumkovich Khajimba (, ka, რაულ ჯუმკას-ძე ჰაჯიმბა; born 21 March 1959) is an Abkhazians, Abkhazian politician who served as President of Abkhazia from 25 September 2014 until 12 January 2020. He was also ...

as President, on 28 October 2014 he replaced Ardzinba as Mayor with Chingis Bigvava.

Assassination attempts

On 20 September 2007, an anti-tank grenade was fired from an

RPG-26 The RPG-26 ''Aglen'' is a disposable anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher developed by the Soviet Union. It fires a one-stage rocket with jack-knife fins, which unfold after launch. The rocket carries a diameter high-explosive ant ...

launcher at Beslan Ardzinba's Mercedes-Benz E-220 while it was driving down the coastal road near the village of Blabyrkhua,

. On 1 June 2009 around 9:00, an improvised explosive devise planted at the entrance of the town hall was remotely detonated as Beslan Ardzinba and two colleagues entered the building, causing varying degrees of injuries. On 16 May 2012, in the course of the investigation in the Assassination attempts on Alexander Ankvab, the Prosecutor General also indicted Pavel Ardzinba for having organised the two attempts on the life of Ardzinba.

Personal life

Beslan Ardzinba is married with four children. In 1985 he received the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Notes

References

People from Gudauta District Living people 1954 births Mayors of Pitsunda {{Abkhazia-bio-stub