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KOKOITY, Eduard Dzhabeyevich

President of the Republic of South Ossetia

Eduard Kokoity (Эдуард Джабеевич Кокойты {in Russian}; Кокойты Джабейы фырт Эдуард {in Ossetic}; surname also rendered as Kokoyty or Kokoiti or in a Russified version as Kokoyev) was born on October 31, 1964 in the South Ossetian town of Tskhinvali, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union.

In 1980 Kokoity graduated from high school, during which time he was champion of Georgian in freestyle wrestling and held an athletic rank of Master of Sport. From 1980 to 1983 he worked as an electrician in the Tskhinvali Department for Communications. From 1983 to 1985 he served in the armed forces based in Kursk and was assistant platoon leader commander. Following his military service, Kokoity entered the South Ossetian State Pedagogical Institute, from where he graduated in 1988 with a specialization in physical education. During his years as a student, Kokoity was in charge of the institute's Komsomol committee.

From 1988 to 1990 Kokoity was the secretary and first secretary of the Tskhinvali Municipal Komsomol Committee. From 1990 to 1993 he served as a deputy within the parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia. During the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict of 1990-1992, Kokoity assembled and led an armed detachment, which formed a part of the military group of Gri Kochiev, a public figure and sportsman from South Ossetia.

Following the conflict years, Kokoity moved to Moscow where he became a businessman. From 1993 to 1995 Kokoity managed the sports charity foundation "Youth", which provided relief to Ossetian veterans from the recent conflict. In September 1996 Kokoity was appointed deputy director-general of the company "Frang", which specialises in Russian-Ossetian trade initiatives, as well as real estate projects in Moscow and St. Petersburg. During this time, Georgian officials - in particular the secretary of the Georgian Council on National Security Gela Bezhuashvili - accused Kokoity of involvement in arms and drugs contraband schemes.

In 1997 the first president of South Ossetia Lyudvig Chibirov named Kokoity as trade representative and minister to the Russian Federation. From 1999 to 2001 Kokoity served as assistant to Russian State Duma deputy from South Ossetia Anatoly Chekoyev. In February 2000 he was relieved of his ministerial duties and became general director of "Frang". He kept this position until March 2001, after which he led the social movement group "For Ossetia".

In December 2001 Kokoity, at the age of 38, won the presidential elections for South Ossetia, having received 53% of the vote against 26% for Stanislav Kochiev in the second round. According to media reports, Kokoity's electoral campaign was supported by the Moscow Ossetian diaspora. On December 18, Kokoity took office as the second president of South Ossetia.

According to observers, Kokoity's successful election was the result of protest voting on behalf of residents of the unrecognized republic who were dissatisfied with the governance of Chibirov. According to reports, bloodshed between Chibirov and Kokoity supporters was averted following the intervention of North Ossetian president Alexander Dzasokhov, who showed his support for Kokoity. Moreover, his electorial victory was aided thanks to the backing of the Tedeyev clan, one of South Ossetia's most powerful families. He had gained key backing from Albert "Dik" Tedeyev and his brother Jambulat, a champion wrestler, who organised and financed Kokoity's election campaign. The clan had previously supported Chibirov but broke off support for him after he attempted to move against them. After Kokoity was elected president, members of the Tedeyev clan took over responsibility for the republic's customs service and for freight traffic along the Transcaucasian highway. Revenues from the highway provide much of the South Ossetian government's revenue. In July 2003, Kokoity moved against the Tedeyevs, sacking Albert Tedeyev from his position as secretary of the security council, and ordered their private militias to disarm. According to Kokoity, the security council secretary as well as the defence and security chiefs had links with criminal activity. The affair prompted an outbreak of gunfire in Tskhinvali but no casualties were reported.

Kokoity has taken a strong position against reunification with Georgia, 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 government). Following a tense stand-off with the central Georgian authorities in July 2004, he claimed "Georgia wants war. But we are ready for self-defense." Prior to the 2006 South Ossetian 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.

On November 12, 2006, Kokoity was reelected as president of South Ossetia, having received 96 percent of the votes.

During the 2008 South Ossetian War, Kokoity was made Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of South Ossetia. According to sources, over the course of this particular conflict, over 1,500 inhabitants of South Ossetia were killed, and over 30,000 have fled. Due to the intervention of the Russian army, Georgian manoeuvres regressed.

On August 14, 2008, following the end of the South Ossetia War, Kokoity made an official visit to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in the Kremlin. At their meeting, Kokoity, along with Abkhazia president Sergei Barapsh, signed (on behalf of South Ossetia) the six principles for the regulation of the conflicts in the Caucasus, which was earlier signed by Medvedev and French president (and at the time president of the EU) Nicolas Sarkozy.

On August 18, 2008 Kokoity dismissed his South Ossetian government and proclaimed a one-month state of emergency. An emergency committee was also set up to deal with the aftermath of the recent conflict. At a government session, Kokoity heavily criticized his criticized his Cabinet over their management of the distribution of humanitarian aid to the residents of South Ossetia. "I'm completely dissatisfied with the work of the government," Kokoity said.

On August 21, 2008 the parliament of South Ossetia - along with the parliament of Abkhazia - unanimously accepted an official appeal, subsequently sent to Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev, the Federation Council and the State Duma, with the request of recognizing South Ossetia's independence.

Addressing a gathering in Tskhivali, Kokoity said: "Those who armed Georgia are also responsible for what happened in South Ossetia, and do not have the moral right to claim the role of peacekeepers."

On August 25, the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Russian Federation unanimously accepted the official appeal from South Ossetia, thus recognizing the independence of South Ossetia. The following day, President Medvedev signed a decree "On the Recognition of the Republic of South Ossetia," according to which the Russian Federation recognized South Ossetia as a sovereign and independent state. Medvedev also signed a decree on recognizing Abkhazia's independence.

Following the news of Medvedev's decree, people spontaneously gathered in the capitals of both republics. They shot in the air, waved their respective flags alongside Russian flags, beeped car horns, and shouted "Recognized! Recognized!" The residents of Tskhinvali and Sukhumi hugged and congratulated each other, chanting "We're free!" Fireworks were also let off.

Following Medvedev's announcement, Kokoity remarked: "This is a great day for our country and for our people. Russia has saved us from genocide and has granted us the opportunity to develop and live on our own land."

On August 27, Kokoity confirmed his intention to allow the Russian military to set up a base in South Ossetia. "As president, I will turn to the Russian leadership with that request," Kokoity told journalists.

Speaking about West European nations and the United States, which Georgia has asked to deploy peacekeepers in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone, he said countries that had armed Georgia cannot be peacekeepers, adding that Russian peacekeepers and the Russian 58th army were already in the republic.

Kokoity also said the new South Ossetian government, now being formed, would include specialists from Russia.

"We invite specialists from the Russian Federation to take a number of posts in the new government. There is nothing unusual in it," he said.

He also accused Germany, France, the United States and Ukraine of being involved in genocide against the South Ossetian people. "I want to stress that these countries are involved in South Ossetian people's genocide," Kokoity said.

He also added that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili should be brought to criminal account.

Kokoity also denied that South Ossetian security forces had been involved in killings of Georgian residents on the republic's territory. "I deny rumors that Ossetians have carried out mopping-up operations in villages where Georgian people live. We observe the human rights of ethnic minorities, and everyone else's," he said.

Kokoity is married, has three sons.

Sources

Wikipedia, Profile of Eduard Kokoity (In Russian)

Lenta.Ru, Profile of Eduard Kokoity (In Russian)

RIA Novosti, "S.Ossetian leader sacks government, proclaims state of emergency", August 18, 2008

RIA Novosti, "Abkhazia, S.Ossetia send sovereignty appeals to Russia", August 21, 2008

RIA Novosti, "Rebel Georgian regions celebrate their recognition by Russia", August 27, 2008

RIA Novosti, "S.Ossetian president confirms intention to host Russian base", August 27, 2008

Last updated August 28, 2008