On the evening of September 18, Kambolov spoke in the center of Tskhinvali before supporters and said that “there is a lot of work ahead”. A festive rally and concert were held in the central square, and the main prize in the lottery was a new Niva car; tickets for participation were handed out after voting.
Marat Kambolov is a Russian official and top manager born in North Ossetia. He had not lived in South Ossetia before, and in Russia he worked in the antimonopoly service and the Ministry of Industry, was deputy minister of education and science, and then headed the Kurchatov Institute.
On May 9, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-head of South Ossetia Alan Gagloev signed an agreement on expanding cooperation, which a number of experts called a step toward Russia’s annexation of the region. On May 27, Gagloev appointed Kambolov as an adviser, on June 16 — head of the government of the self-proclaimed republic, and on June 23, after a meeting with Putin, he resigned and became an adviser to the Russian president; after that, Kambolov took the post of acting president.
Before his nomination, amendments were made to the republic’s constitution that allowed Kambolov to run. In Georgia, this territory is considered part of its country occupied by Russia, and Russian military personnel are stationed in South Ossetia.
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the vote violates the fundamental norms and principles of international law and “cannot confer legitimacy on the occupation regime”. The ministry also condemned the opening of polling stations for voting in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in South Ossetia and self-proclaimed Abkhazia.
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