President condemns “neglect” of cultural heritage after destroyal of artworks in occupied Abkhazia

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Monday condemned the recent destruction of artworks in the central exhibition hall of Sukhumi, located in the Russian-controlled Abkhazia region. 

The fire, which resulted in the loss of nearly all the exhibited artwork, was attributed by the President to the “neglect of cultural heritage” by both the de facto authorities and Russian occupation forces in the region.

Expressing her deep sorrow, President Zourabichvili characterized the incident as a “tragedy for each of us” and called upon the international community to focus attention on safeguarding the cultural treasures in the occupied territories of Georgia.

Dinara Smiri, the de facto Minister of Culture, revealed that only 150 paintings out of the gallery’s four thousand managed to survive the blaze. All works by Aleksandre Chachba-Shervashidze were among those lost in the destruction.

The National Gallery of Abkhazia, established in 1963, played a crucial role in preserving and exhibiting the rich cultural heritage of the region.