Eduard Kokoity
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Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoyty (; born 31 October 1964) is an Ossetian politician who served as the second
president of South Ossetia The president of the Republic of South Ossetia (, ) is the ''de facto'' head of state of the International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partially recognized South Ossetia, Republic of South Ossetia that is ''de jure'' part of Geor ...
of the partially recognized state of
South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...
from 2001 to 2011.


Early life

Eduard Kokoyty was born in Tskhinvali, in the
Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...
, a part of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
at the time. He was a member, and champion, of the Soviet Union's national
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
team. Prior to 1989, he was the First Secretary of the Tskhinvali branch of the Komsomol, the Young Communist League. He moved to Moscow in 1992, where he became a businessman, after learning about capitalism. In 2001, he moved back to South Ossetia.


2001 presidential election

Kokoyty was elected president, at the age of 38, with a majority in the presidential elections of November–December 2001. In the first round of the elections on 18 November 2001, he collected 45% of the vote, with Stanislav Kochiev collecting 24%, and incumbent Lyudvig Chibirov collecting 21%. In the Second and final round, he won 53% of the vote to Stanislav Kochiev's 40% on 6 December. Kokoyty assumed office on 18 December 2001. Kokoyty's victory was unexpected and owed much to the support of the Tedeyev clan, one of South Ossetia's most powerful families. He had gained key support from Albert "Dik" Tedeyev and his brother Dzhambolat, also a champion wrestler, who organized and financed Kokoyty's election campaign. The clan had previously supported Lyudvig Chibirov, but broke off support for him after he attempted to move against them. After Kokoyty was elected president, members of the Tedeyev clan took over responsibility for the republic's customs service and for
freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...
traffic along the
Transcaucasian highway The Transcaucasian Highway () or TransKAM (ТрансКАМ) is a mountain highway in the South Caucasus region, connecting southern Russia and Georgia (country), Georgia. Geography As the A164 highway (Russia), A164 highway, it crosses the Greate ...
. Revenues from the highway provide much of the South Ossetian government's revenue. In July 2003, Kokoyty moved against the Tedeyevs. Sacking Albert Tedeyev, the Secretary of the Security Council, and ordering their private militias to be disarmed. According to Kokoyty, the Security Council Secretary, along with the Defense and Security Chiefs had links with criminals. The affair prompted an outbreak of gunfire in Tskhinvali, but no casualties were reported.


President

Kokoyty has taken a strong position against reunification with
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, although he has expressed a willingness to negotiate a peace settlement on the basis of South Ossetia being treated as an independent state (a precondition rejected by the
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
government). Following a tense stand-off with the central Georgian government in July 2004, he claimed "Georgia wants war. But we are ready for self-defense." Prior to the 2006 presidential elections, he stated that the Georgian-Ossetian conflict was not an inter-ethnic, but clearly a political one caused by Georgia's desire to impose on Ossetians the norms of Western democracy which could not be superior to the Caucasian traditional laws. He has also criticized the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
mission in the region on several occasions, accusing the organization of bias and likening its activities to " hoseof Georgia's secret services". He was reelected on 12 November 2006 following the 2006 presidential election. On the same day, Georgian-backed forces organized an alternative election in the territories controlled by Georgia or only loosely controlled by the South Ossetian government. Dmitry Sanakoyev, a former prime minister of South Ossetia, who was sacked by Kokoyty in 2001, was elected as a rival president. On 10 December 2011, he resigned as President of South Ossetia. Prime Minister Vadim Brovtsev was acting president until the presidential election rerun on 25 March 2012. Eduard Kokoyty was constitutionally barred from serving a third term in office. Although attempts were made to call a referendum to change the constitution, this was blocked by the Supreme Court. Kokoyty himself stated he had no intention in seeking a third term, and called on everybody to refrain from initiatives to allow him to serve a third term. After multiple elections and several rounds of voting,
Leonid Tibilov Leonid Kharitonovich Tibilov (; ; ka, ლეონიდ თიბილოვი, Leonid Tibilovi; born 28 March 1951) is a South Ossetian politician who served as the third president of South Ossetia from 2012 to 2017 after winning the 2012 So ...
was elected president 8 April 2012.


Cabinet

Following in 2008, Kokoyty broke precedent and sacked almost the entire executive cabinet, except for the Foreign Ministry, the sole holdover.


Controversy

On 11 September 2008 Kokoyty stated that independent South Ossetia would eventually become part of the Russian Federation, a claim that was quickly denied by Russian officials and shortly thereafter retracted by Kokoyty. Kokoyty is a Eurasianist and argues that
South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...
never left the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. Since December 2008, Kokoyty's former allies have subjected him to heavy criticism in a series of interviews with the Russian media. Kokoyty's erstwhile insider and the Russia-based businessman Albert Dzhussoyev accused the Kokoyty administration of hijacking Russian funds meant for South Ossetia and claimed the region was on the brink of a "social catastrophe". Similar charges have been brought by South Ossetia's former defense minister Anatoly Barankevich and prime minister Yury Morozov. Barankevich further claimed that Kokoyty had fled Tskhinvali during the
Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...
and accused him of personally torturing a captured Georgian soldier. South Ossetia's former interior minister and chair of the supreme court, Alan Parastayev, told the Georgian Imedi TV that Kokoyty had organized a series of terrorist attacks and ordered murders for which he blamed Georgia. Representatives of the Kokoyty administration dismissed the allegations, claiming these allegations were part of a plot against Kokoyty. On 3 March 2009, the Russian newspaper ''
Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
'' reported that Kokoyty's administration and the Kremlin were at odds over the control of aid funds allocated from Russia's federal budget to South Ossetia and Tskhinvali was at the verge of "social explosion". In May 2009, Albert Dzhussoyev and Dzhabulat Tadeyev announced they would seek to organize early presidential elections in order to remove Kokoyty whom they accused of authoritarianism, corruption and being "unreliable" for Russia. The first attempt at organizing an Ossetian opposition rally in Moscow was dispersed by the Russian OMON. In spring 2010, Kokoyty again received much criticism, mostly regarding the use of Russian aid. An opinion poll held by the International Center of Political Analysis (MTsPA) showed an approval rating for Kokoyty of 12.4%, with 66.3% of respondents having a negative opinion. Kosta Dzugaev, an advisor to Kokoyty, immediately blasted the poll as "lies", claiming the MTsPA had never actually done any research in South Ossetia. The MTsPA has been linked to Prime Minister Vadim Brovtsev, who is himself under attack for mismanaging Russian funds.


See also

* Kokoity Fandarast


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokoyty, Eduard 1964 births Living people People from Tskhinvali People of the Russo-Georgian War Presidents of South Ossetia Soviet wrestlers Unity Party (South Ossetia) politicians