On June 23, the president of partially recognized South Ossetia, Alan Gagloev, announced his resignation. He said he had accepted an offer to become an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that the decree appointing him had already been published.
“I supported our historical leader Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and am ready to stand beside him. From today, I am moving to service in the Russian presidential administration and resigning my powers as president of the Republic of South Ossetia,” Gagloev said.
The announcement came a day after Gagloev met Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said they discussed further expansion of bilateral dialogue, including in light of an agreement signed in Moscow in May.
The agreement in question, on deepening allied cooperation, was signed on May 9, 2026. Among other things, it allows Russian citizens to hold public office in South Ossetia, and citizens of the republic to do the same in Russia. The State Duma ratified the document in mid-May.
On June 8, Gagloev nominated Marat Kambolov for prime minister. Kambolov is a Russian citizen who worked in the Russian government and held senior posts at the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center. On June 16, parliament approved him, and a week later, after Gagloev stepped down, he became acting president under South Ossetian law until an early election is held.
Meduza’s sources say that in 2022 the Kremlin briefly considered a scenario in which South Ossetia and Abkhazia would join Russia or the Union State of Russia and Belarus. One source told the outlet the idea was dropped, in part because of Abkhazia’s position. Another source said Meduza now believes such a project may again be under consideration.