Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with the so-called acting de facto leader of Tskhinvali, Marat Kambolov.
“Vladimir Putin received the acting President of the Republic of South Ossetia, Marat Kambolov, at the Kremlin. The transcript of the beginning of the meeting will be published,” states the website of the President of Russia.
As a reminder, the de facto CEC (Central Election Commission) has set the date for the early so-called “presidential” elections in the occupied Tskhinvali region for September 18, 2026. It is already known that Marat Kambolov is a candidate.
To recall, the former de facto leader of Tskhinvali, Alan Gagloev, “resigned” early after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Ahead of this meeting, Ossetian social media channels reported that the Kremlin would dismiss Alan Gagloev on June 23, 2026, as Moscow had already prepared a new “protege” — Marat Kambolov, who had previously been appointed as the so-called “prime minister.”
And indeed: on June 23, 2026, Marat Kambolov became the acting “leader” of the Tskhinvali region — “in accordance with the Constitution of South Ossetia,” as was noted.
Kambolov is a Russian citizen, born in North Ossetia-Alania. He graduated from the agricultural institute in Gori and spent most of his career in leadership positions within Russian federal agencies — the Russian Ministry of Education, the Ministry for Nationalities and Federal Relations, as well as serving as deputy head of the Federal Agency for Science and Innovation, deputy head of the Ministry of Education, and at the Kurchatov Institute research center, which is considered one of Russia’s most influential scientific and technological structures.
According to observers and experts, he was the one tipped to become the “leader” of Tskhinvali during the “elections” of the so-called “president,” which were scheduled to take place in the occupied Tskhinvali region in 2027.
The story will be updated.
