This week the names of three nominees to the position of North Ossetia’s head were announced. They are the acting head of the republic Tamerlan Aguzarov, the secretary of the local Public Chamber Elbrus Bokoyev, and an MP Elena Knyazeva.
On September 13th North Ossetia’s MPs should elect a new nominee from the presidential list. Almost nobody has doubts about who the next head of the republic will be. In early August, North Ossetia’s offices of The United Russia, KPRF, Patriots of Russia, A Just Russia and LDPR presented Vladimir Putin with a list of ten nominees. All the parties, except for Patriots of Russia, proposed Tamerlan Aguzarov as number one on the list. The President chose three nominees. It turned out that the rivals of Aguzarov became Bokoyev from United Russia and Knyazeva from KPRF, i.e. those who had already yielded the pass to the acting head on their party lists. It would be strange if United Russia, which has 44 of the 70 mandates in the parliament, doesn’t vote for Tamerlan Aguzarov, its election leader. The same concerns the Communists, as their actual leader in the republic, the MP Kazbek Taysayev, rejected participating in the election race.
Patriots of Ossetia expected to see their nominee on the presidential list more than others. It seems the leaders of the so-called only opposition party in the republic expected to see a real struggle for the position of the republic’s head. First of all, they didn’t include Aguzarov on their party list. Secondly, their list included two MPs who are Heroes of Russia – Valery Kukov and Victor Velichko. The military figures are especially respected in Ossetia; and these people could be supported by the Slavic population of the republic – 24%.
As a result, few people doubt Aguzarov’s victory on September 13th. Almost none of the local politicians and experts have criticized his work for three months. However, he is praised for declarations only, such as his desire to deal with the major markets of Vladikavkaz, which bring small sums to the budget. It is only about intentions, not about practical steps.
The Abon Internet portal made a list of priority promises by Aguzarov. The most significant are: intentions to agree with major Ossetian businessmen about investment in the republic, to increase fiscal performance, to return FC Alania to budget financing, to support the leading enterprises Baspik and Rokos, and to hold a youth forum similar to Mashuk. The acting head often speaks about the need to attract efforts for development of key sectors in North Ossetia – agriculture and healthcare. He also promises to support people with limited physical capacities.
North Ossetia wasn’t enthusiastic about recent statements by the Minister of the North Caucasus Lev Kuznetsov about priorities in the development of the NCFD. It turns out that the Federal Center intends to invest significant sums in the development of agriculture in all regions of the District, except North Ossetia. The government will develop tourist complexes in Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Chechnya, and Ingushetia. It means the promising project of the North Ossetian mountain skiing resort of Mamison is frozen. Experts sum up: North Ossetia is expected to be stable and to support South Ossetia. It is logical, as the small republic has always played a strategic and transport role in Russia – there are two only roads to the South Caucasus. However, difficulties in relations between Russia and Georgia actually turned North Ossetia from the gates to the Caucasus Range into a dead-end territory, which has influenced its socio-economic situation.
North Ossetia’s experts are also concerned about the environmental problems of the Elektrotsink plant, which is the major zinc, lead, cadmium and spirit of alum producer in the region. The plant has been criticised by the population for many years. Doctors believe that the growing number of cancer cases in the republic is directly connected with the plant’s work. The previous leadership of North Ossetia protected the plant, stressing its importance to the economy. The current authorities are not touching the topic today. Tamerlan Aguzarov has the trust of both North Ossetia and President Vladimir Putin. The republic’s population expects an answer to the question of which directions or spheres the potential head of North Ossetia will primarily use this trust.
