South Ossetia: surprising beginning to election campaign

Observers paid close attention to the visit to Tskhinvali by Russian sportsmen, public activists and journalists. The head coach of the Russian freestyle wrestling national team, Dzambolat Tedeyev, visited his father, though he hasn’t been home for six years.

The visit isn’t accidental. This autumn the presidential elections will take place in South Ossetia. Eduard Kokoity cannot take part in these elections, which makes election campaigning very unpredictable. In this context, one of the most famous South Ossetians, Dzambolat Tedeyev, has presented himself as one of the candidates.

Tedeyev was an unofficial leader of the South Ossetian opposition. He is a respected person in the republic. Young people adore the best wrestler of Russia. Of course, Kokoity’s crew was highly concerned about his coming to Tskhinvali. Moreover, he came with a big company of major officials of North Ossetia, Olympic champions, public activists and journalists.

A tense atmosphere led to an unpleasant incident. When Tedeyev’s cortege was driving away from his house, the road was blocked by a troop of Special Police Forces. About 40 police officers made Tadeyev and his guests come out of their cars. The police stated that they were insulted by an obscene gesture made from one of the cars. The guests denied this. The quarrel could have escalated into a serious scandal, but things turned out right.

Tadeyev’s side says that the incident was a provocation. However, on Wednesday the General Prosecution of South Ossetia initiated a criminal case against Tedeyev for insulting police officers.

What the end of the confrontation will be is hard to say. One thing is obvious: the election campaign in South Ossetia has just begun.

Oleg Kushaty. Exclusively to VK.