South Ossetian Prime Minister Dzambolat Tadtaev has resigned and his government dismissed. Reports have suggested that Tadtaev will be replaced by Marat Kambolov, a North Ossetian official who was recently appointed South Ossetian President Alan Gagloev’s adviser.
According to the decree published on Gagloev’s website, the government has been instructed to continue operating until a new cabinet is appointed.
Independent media outlet The Moscow Times has reported that Kambolov was appointed Gagloev’s adviser to oversee ‘the implementation of the integration deal between South Ossetia and Russia’.
The agreement was adopted in mid-May in Moscow between Gagloev and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It envisions deepening cooperation in trade and economic issues, with Gagloev stating at the time that it would ‘mark the beginning of the reunification of the Ossetian people’.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
According to Russian-language Georgian media outlet Sova, Kambolov was born in North Ossetia and has held a number of positions in Russia. He headed the Education Ministry, the Ministry of Nationalities and Federal Relations, and has also served as deputy head of the Federal Agency for Science and Innovation.
Sova further cited Vedomosti as saying that Kambolov was tipped to become the new South Ossetian Prime Minister, despite legislation stipulating that candidates for the role must have lived in South Ossetia for 10 continuous years. It additionally noted that Kambolov is not associated with any clans or families in South Ossetia.
Currently, however, Tadtaev’s first deputy, Konstantin Dzhioev, will step in to lead the government until the appointment of a new prime minister.
Tadtaev was appointed Prime Minister in February, but he began work in office in January, after Gagloev dissolved the previous government headed by Konstantin Dzhussoev.
For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.
