Major protests have hit Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia, as opposition groups call for the resignation of the de facto government.

Their grievances largely revolve around the Russian-backed region's fragile sovereignty and demographic situation, but also include economic woes.

Two parallel rallies were held in Sukhumi on May 30 - a long-planned opposition protest and a pro-government counter-demonstration. 

"Can we consider this government as anti-national?" Adgur Ardzinba, leader of the opposition Abkhaz People's Movement party, asked as he addressed the crowd during the May 30 rally. "What is our mission? To protect Abkhazia from this anti-national government."

The night before the rally, government buildings were encircled with barbed wire, metal barricades and parked buses. The event went ahead without incident though, and Ardzinba announced a further "series of protest rallies."

Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in an armed conflict in the early 1990s. Moscow recognized it as an independent state in 2008 and has supported it economically and maintained a military presence there.

Fears that Abkhazia's sovereignty is eroding amid its steadily growing dependence on Russia are at the center of the region's politics. 

Near the top of the protesters' list of complaints was the widely-opposed agreement, awaiting ratification by the de facto legislature, about the handover of a famous Soviet-era vacation complex in Pitsunda to Moscow. And in February, the de facto authorities also introduced a bill that would allow foreigners to own and build "apartments" for commercial (but not residential) purposes. 

Citing the need to boost tourism and the economy, the authorities have claimed that apartment ownership, as per the draft law, does not foresee land ownership or citizenship for the foreigners in question. But critics still fear a demographic crisis for the Abkhaz ethnicity (which numbered 122,000 in the region according to the last census in 2011) should there be an influx of (mainly Russian) foreigners. 

There are related worries of environmental and energy shortage risks as well as real estate price hikes if the bill passes and leads to a construction boom. 

The constitution of the self-proclaimed state forbids selling land to foreigners, and selling real estate to foreign nationals has also been restricted due to fears of Russian developers overrunning the place. Moscow has long pressured Sukhumi to ease these curbs. 

Local critics were also unwelcoming of another recent deal between Sukhumi and Moscow about the mutual recognition of arbitration rulings on economic matters. They fear the judicial system of the de facto state will be placed on unequal terms with Moscow's courts. 

Among the social woes are electricity prices that have been rapidly rising since last year.

The mounting dissatisfaction led opposition politicians to press for the reversal of the above-mentioned moves. In a briefing held late in April, six opposition groups gave Aslan Bzhania, the de facto president of Abkhazia, two weeks to dismiss his "anti-national" cabinet of ministers or brace for protest rallies. 

Bzhania refused to comply, but he did take the protests seriously. He fortified his residence and prepared for turmoil, despite the opposition's insistence that the rally would be peaceful.

It's no wonder that he did. Bzhania came to power after Raul Khajimba, his predecessor, was forced to resign as a result of protests three years ago. Khajimba's tenure, in turn, followed the similarly turbulent departure of his predecessor Aleksandr Ankvab in 2014.

Meanwhile, new grievances were added to the original ones, such as a lack of reforms and the government's recent controversial decision to ease restrictions on imports from Georgia. 

Bzhania promised to seek solutions while refusing to grant any concessions.

"Needless to say, there are issues and problems that we have not yet had time to solve. But I want you to know that today, and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, we will do everything to create the conditions for their resolution," Bzhania said as he addressed his supporters on May 30. 

The protests come amid growing anxiety in Abkhazia over geopolitical shifts caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. De facto officials have expressed worry that a pro-Western government could take power in Georgia and try to retake Abkhazia by force (in saying so they are parroting a conspiracy theory put forward by the Georgian government). 

Opposition politicians, on the other hand, have negatively reacted to Moscow's recent decision to lift visa requirements for Georgian citizens and resume direct flights with Tbilisi.