Executive Summary:
- President of Georgia’s Russia-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia, Alan Gagloev, resigned on June 23 after accepting an appointment as an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating his task is to “reunite with North Ossetia, reunite with Great Russia.”
- Marat Kambolov, a former Russian official, became the acting president of South Ossetia after Gagloev’s resignation. Gagloyev named Kambolov as state adviser on May 27, shortly after his arrival in South Ossetia from Russia, and then appointed him prime minister on June 16, which made him president by succession upon Gagloyev’s resignation.
- Kambolov’s mandate as state advisor to the president of South Ossetia was to ensure the enactment of Russia and South Ossetia’s Treaty on Deepening Allied Cooperation, which allows Russian citizens to hold state and municipal positions in South Ossetia, marking a clear step in Moscow’s goal of annexing the Georgian breakaway territory.
On June 23, the president of the Russia-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia (Georgia’s Tskhinvali region), Alan Gagloev, resigned after accepting an appointment as an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Upon his resignation, he stated that the self-proclaimed South Ossetian republic, which is only recognized as an independent state by a handful of countries, must “overcome the fate of a divided people and reunite with North Ossetia, reunite with Great Russia” (Republic of South Ossetia State News Agency; President of Russia, June 23). Following Gagloev’s resignation, South Ossetian Prime Minister Marat Kambolov became acting president under the breakaway region’s constitutional rules of presidential succession (Telegram/@ia_res, June 23). Kambolov was appointed prime minister on June 16 by presidential decree, just under three weeks after being appointed “state advisor” to Gagloev on May 27(Republic of South Ossetia State News Agency; OC-Media, June 16). His appointment followed the resignation of former Prime Minister Dzambolat Tadtayev, who took office in February of this year (President of South Ossetia, June 8). Kambolov is a Russian official from North Ossetia who has worked in numerous governmental bodies in Russia, including the Ministry of Nationalities and Regional Policy, the Ministry of Industry, Science, and Technology, and the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (Radio Tavisupleba, June 8). Gagloev’s resignation and Kambolov’s appointment are clear steps by Moscow toward annexing South Ossetia.
Russia and the self-proclaimed government of South Ossetia signed a Treaty on Deepening Allied Cooperation on May 9, granting Moscow greater control over the region (TASS, May 9; see EDM, May 27). The treaty allows Russian citizens to hold state and municipal positions in South Ossetia, enabling the Kremlin to place its officials in the South Ossetian government. The treaty also aims to further integrate the energy, transport, and telecommunications systems, to converge legislation, and expand cooperation in the fields of education, culture, and health between Russia and South Ossetia (Radio Tavisupleba, June 8). Gagloev stated that the treaty “will be the beginning of the reunification of the Ossetian people” (Kommersant, May 9). As the state advisor to the president of South Ossetia, Kambolov was responsible for overseeing the treaty’s realization in the economic and social spheres (Official Legal Acts of Russia, May 25; Republic of South Ossetia State News Agency, May 27).
Upon being appointed prime minister, Kambolov emphasized strengthening connections with Russia. This included improving work on the Russian–South Ossetian border, stating that “residents of South Ossetia should not feel only security, but also ease of movement.” He claimed that South Ossetia is “connected by a common history, a common memory, and a common responsibility for the future” with Russia (Republic of South Ossetia State News Agency, June 16). In the short time since his appointment as prime minister and now as acting president, Kambolov has repeatedly promoted deepening integration with Russia. He met with the head of the Russian Federal Customs Service, Valery Pikalev, on June 19 to discuss ways to optimize crossings at the Russian–South Ossetian border. On June 25, he conducted an unscheduled inspection of the checkpoint at Nizhny Zaramag at the Russian–South Ossetian border, stating that there is a lack of workers and that people have to wait hours to cross the border (Republic of South Ossetia State News Agency, June 25). The focus on improving border crossings between Russia and South Ossetia following the enactment of the Treaty on Deepening Allied Cooperation may reflect efforts to facilitate the region’s eventual annexation by Russia.
Since Gagolev became Putin’s advisor, Moscow and Tskhinvali have taken more steps to integrate South Ossetia into the Russian legal system. On June 25, Russia and South Ossetia’s ministries of justice signed a Cooperation Program for 2026–2027 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. The program will maintain legal information resources and develop legal information systems on the basis of the Scientific Center for Legal Information under Russia’s Ministry of Justice, which provides policy and information support for the Russian Ministry of Justice (Republic of South Ossetia State News Agency, June 25). Also on June 25, the prosecutor generals of Russia and South Ossetia, Alexander Gutsan and Grigory Sobaev, signed documents on cooperation between their prosecutor’s offices and military prosecutors’ offices. The agreement includes digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence by prosecutors, fighting cybercrime, the protection of the internet space, and supervision of tax, budget, and customs legislation (Republic of South Ossetia State News Agency, June 25). These agreements further entwine Russia and South Ossetia’s legal systems under the guise of strengthening “law and order in Russia and South Ossetia” and are another step toward the creation of a “single legal and economic space.”
The recent treaty and appointments signal Moscow’s renewed focus on the eventual annexation of South Ossetia (JAM-News, May 15; see EDM, May 27). The annexation of South Ossetia has been a topic of discussion in the breakaway region for years and is a major point of contention between Russia and Georgia (see EDM, January 12, 20; The Moscow Times, June 12). The State Security Service of Georgia’s annual report, released in April, stated that the Russian occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is Georgia’s main challenge and risk (see EDM, May 6). Kambolov’s appointment as state advisor to the president of South Ossetia with the task of overseeing the treaty’s realization and his quick transition to prime minister and then president of South Ossetia are a clear sign of Russia’s direct infiltration of the South Ossetian government and the rapid steps being taken for South Ossetia’s integration with Russia. If the Kremlin decides to officially annex South Ossetia from Georgia, the South Caucasus could see a revival of Russian influence.(see EDM, March 5).
