Valeriy Nikolaevich Khubulov (; Ossetian: Хуыбылты Никъалайы фырт Валерий; 6 November 1966 – 31 May 1998) was a

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 ...

n politician, who was minister of defense and acting prime minister in 1996. He was assassinated in 1998 while in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Life

Khubulov was born in

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval (, ; , ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by Russia and four other UN m ...

in 1966. He was trained as a high school teacher at

University, specializing in physics and mathematics. Ossetians.r
Necrology of Valeriy Khubulov
/ref> He graduated in 1990. From 1984 till 1986, Khubulov served in the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. Ossetians.r
Necrology of Valeriy Khubulov
/ref> In 1991 he was elected the First Secretary of the South Ossetian

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

and as a member of the Central Committee of Soviet Komsomol. Khubulov was an active participant in the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War, leading and coordinating various resistance groups against the Georgian invasion. After the war, he participated in the signing of the

Sochi agreement The Sochi agreement (official title in ), also known as the Dagomys Agreements (), was a ceasefire agreement ostensibly marking the end of both the South Ossetia war (1991–1992), South Ossetia War and War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), Abkhazian Wa ...

. He also fought in the

War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) The War in Abkhazia was fought between Georgian government and paramilitary forces, and a coalition of Abkhaz separatist forces and North Caucasian militants between 1992 and 1993. Ethnic Georgians who lived in Abkhazia fought largely on th ...

, leading a South Ossetian unit fighting on the

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

n side, for which he was awarded the Order of Leon by president

Vladislav Ardzinba Vladislav Ardzinba (, ka, ვლადისლავ არძინბა; 14 May 1945 – 4 March 2010) was an Abkhaz historian and politician who served as the first '' de facto'' president of Abkhazia. Ardzinba led Abkhazia to '' de fact ...

. In 1993, Khubulov initiated the founding of the South Ossetian ministry of defense, of which he became the first minister. At the same time, he was also made deputy PM in the cabinet of

Gerasim Khugayev Gerasim "Rezo" Georgievich Khugayev (, ''Xwêgatê Géorgiyê fêrt Gérasim (Rézo)''; ka, გერასიმე ხუგაევი, ''Gerasime Khugaevi''; ; 15 November 1946 – 22 October 2024) was an Ossetian politician who served as ...

. When PM Vladislav Gabarayev was fired in August 1996, Khubulov, as deputy PM, succeeded him and became acting prime minister for several months, until a replacement was found in

Aleksandr Shavlokhov Aleksandr Apollonovich Shavlokhov (, born in 1939 in Tskhinvali, South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union Labyrinth.ruProfile of Aleksandr Apollonovich Shavlokhov/ref>) is a South Ossetian politician and former Prime Minister, f ...

.Rulers of South Ossetia
He was awarded the Order of Leon from the

Republic of Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It covers and has a population of around 245,000 ...

as well as the Order of Uatsamonga posthumously in 2010 from the

Republic 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 partial diplomatic recognition. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022) ...

Death

Khubulov was

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

by unknown killers at the market place of

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...

on 31 May 1998. The gunmen opened fire on his car with

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

s. Later, police found his car blown up in the yard of a neighbouring school, but the murderers were never caught.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubulov, Valeriy Ossetian politicians Prime ministers of South Ossetia 1966 births 1998 deaths People from Tskhinvali South Ossetian military personnel Assassinated South Ossetian politicians Politicians assassinated in 1998