Death
In May 2011, Bagapsh was diagnosed with growths on his lung. On 21 May, Bagapsh underwent surgery in a Moscow clinic. Though the growths were successfully removed, Bagapsh died on May 29 due to heart failure that resulted from complications from the surgery. After the surgery, doctors discovered he had cancer. Alexander Ankvab took over as acting president with an election scheduled to be held on 26 August.
- Reactions
Abkhaz parliament speaker Nugzar Ashuba told Russian state television that, although the death was completely unexpected, the situation remains calm.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev offered his condolences saying: "Bagapsh was a loyal supporter of friendship and alliance with Russia, and he tirelessly worked to deepen close bilateral ties between our countries."
Read more about this topic: Sergei Bagapsh
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“For man, maximum excitement is the confrontation of death and the skillful defiance of it by watching others fed to it as he survives transfixed with rapture.”
—Ernest Becker (1924–1974)
“Death is not natural for a state as it is for a human being, for whom death is not only necessary, but frequently even desirable.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“Let those who desire a secure homeland conquer it. Let those who do not conquer it live under the whip and in exile, watched over like wild animals, cast from one country to another, concealing the death of their souls with a beggar’s smile from the scorn of free men.”
—José Martí (1853–1895)