Stanislav Lakoba

Stanislav Lakoba
Станислав Лакоба
Secretary of the Security Coucil of Abkhazia
In office
February 2005 – 25 August 2009
Deputy Aleksandr Voinskiy
Succeeded by Aleksandr Voinskiy
Personal details
Born 23 February 1953
Sukhumi
Political party Amtsakhara
Alma mater Sukhumi State Pedagogical Institute

Stanislav Lakoba (Abkhaz: Станислав Лакоба) is an academic and politician from Abkhazia. Lakoba was current president Bagapsh's Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2004 Presidential election and until 25 August 2009 he served as Secretary of the Security Council. He is Professor in Archeology, Ethnology and History at the Abkhazian State University.

Contents

Early life and career

Stanislav Lakoba was born on 23 February 1953 in Sukhumi. He graduated from the History faculty of the Sukhumi State Pedagogical Institute.

Lakoba was the author of the 1989 Lykhny declaration. During the 1992-1993 war with Georgia Lakoba was a member of the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet. From 1993 to 1994 he served as First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council and from 1994 to 1996 as the First Deputy Speaker of the Supreme Soviet.

During the October 1999 Presidential election Stanislav Lakoba published the controversial Выборы по Хичкоку - Hitchcock's election - an article in which he criticised the fact that in the election incumbent president Vladislav Ardzinba ran unopposed.

From 2000 onwards Lakoba became first Acting Professor and then Professor in Archeology, Ethnology and History at the Abkhazian State University. From 2000 to 2004 he was a Visiting Professor at the Hokkaido University Center for Slavic Studies.[1]

Vice Presidential candidature in the 2004 Presidential election

Stanislav Lakoba is a member of the socio-political movement Amtsakhara. In the run-up to the 3 October 2004 Presidential election, Amtsakhara decided to enter into an alliance with fellow opposition party United Abkhazia. On 20 June, the two movements announced that they would nominate United Abkhazia's Sergei Bagapsh for the post of President and Lakoba for the post of Vice President.[2]

Bagapsh and Lakoba narrowly won in the first round with just 50.08% of the votes, but this was hotly contested by supporters of Raul Khajimba. The resulting stand-off lasted until on 5 December Bagapsh and Khajimba struck a deal in which the pair would run on a combined ticket in a new election.

Secretary of the Security Council

The deal between Bagapsh and Khajimba meant that Lakoba would no longer become Vice President. Instead, after the new election on 12 January 2005, Lakoba was appointed Secretary of the Security Council on 17 February.[1]

When Khajimba resigned as Vice President on 28 May 2009 he declared that within the government he had received most support by Lakoba.[3] On 18 August Lakoba himself handed his resignation over the Abkhazian citizenship crisis, which was ratified on 25 August by President Bagapsh.[4] On 17 September Lakoba's deputy in the Security Council Aleksandr Voinskiy was appointed to temporarily succeed him.[5]

In an interview with Caucasian Knot on 3 September Lakoba stated that he would not participate in the December 2009 presidential election and he called absurd the notion that he would join the opposition.[6] Nevertheless, in an interview with the newspaper Nuzhnaya on 17 November, Lakoba stated that as a private citizen he supported Khajimba's candidacy and he praised his work in the Security Council.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Лакоба Станислав Зосимович" (in Russian). Caucasian Knot. 2004-09-24. http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/62032. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
  2. ^ "Абхазия: кандидатом в президенты от блока "Амцахара" и "Единой Абхазии" будет Сергей Багапш". Caucasian Knot. 20 July 2004. http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/60805. Retrieved 15 February 2009. 
  3. ^ "ВИЦЕ-ПРЕЗИДЕНТ РАУЛЬ ХАДЖИМБА УШЕЛ В ОТСТАВКУ" (in Russian). Apsnypress. 2009-05-28. http://www.apsnypress.info/news2009/May/28.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
  4. ^ "Кавказ за неделю: обзор главных событий 24-30 августа" (in Russian). Caucasian Knot. 2009-09-01. http://abkhasia.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/158745. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 
  5. ^ Kuchuberia, Anzhela (2009-09-17). "В Совете Безопасности Абхазии назначен временно исполняющий обязанности секретаря". Caucasian Knot. http://abkhasia.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/159501. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  6. ^ Kuchuberia, Anzhela (2009-09-03). "Станислав Лакоба не намерен бороться за пост президента Абхазии" (in Russian). Caucasian Knot. http://abkhasia.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/158904. Retrieved 2009-09-05. 
  7. ^ Kuchuberia, Anzhela (2009-11-20). "Рауль Хаджимба пожаловался на власти Абхазии в Центризбирком" (in Russian). Caucasian Knot. http://abkhasia.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/162224/. Retrieved 21 November 2009.