Excerpt
As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on, Moscow is moving to solidify its hold over another neighbor’s territory—this time not with tanks but by the stroke of a pen. The Kremlin last week installed new leadership in Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of South Ossetia, possibly as a precursor to absorbing the breakaway province. At the same time, Georgia’s increasingly authoritarian ruling party remains more concerned with preserving domestic control than rallying international opposition to Russia.
On June 23, Alan Gagloev, who had served as de facto president of South Ossetia since 2022, resigned his post and announced he was joining Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration as an advisor. In an address announcing the move, Gagloev called it a step toward fulfilling his “cherished dream” of South Ossetia’s incorporation into the Russian Federation. Marat Kambolov, a former Russian government official of Ossetian descent, has been installed as Gagloev’s replacement.
Russia and South Ossetia laid the legal groundwork for this move on May 9, a major holiday celebrating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. The two sides signed a “Treaty on Deepening Allied Interaction Between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia,” allowing Russian citizens to hold government positions in the occupied region, and vice versa. The Russian State Duma ratified the treaty in mid-May.
In the treaty, Russia and South Ossetia also commit to take further steps toward creating a “single economic space.” These include harmonizing legislation governing business activity and moving toward common rules for external borrowing and foreign investment. It also provides for the gradual integration in the energy, transport, communications, and telecommunications industries.