Ossetian man spends six months in neutral zone between Georgia and Russia — how did he end up there?
Ossetian stranded on border
For the past six months, Alan Gatsoyev — an ethnic Ossetian who holds Tajik citizenship — has been living on the Russian-Georgian border. He is barred from entering Russia, yet Georgia also refuses him entry.
As a result, Gatsoyev has been stuck for half a year in his car, stranded in the neutral zone between the Upper Lars and Dariali border checkpoints. Taxi drivers and lorry drivers have been supplying him with food and water.
Gatsoyev told his story to bloggers from North Ossetia. He says he is an ethnic Ossetian. All his relatives live in North Ossetia, and his parents are buried there. Until recently, he also lived in North Ossetia. But he does not hold Russian citizenship, and the authorities fined him for that and banned him from entering Russia for five years.
In the summer of 2025, Gatsoyev left North Ossetia and tried to enter Georgia, but Georgian border guards refused him entry. He could not return to Russia either, and he became stuck in the neutral zone.
“I’ve already spent five months living like this. Summer was still manageable, but now the cold is coming, and I don’t know what to do next,” Gatsoyev said on social media.
Interior ministry’s version: “A repeat offender”
The public attention generated by the unusual case reached North Ossetia’s Interior Ministry, which stated that “this citizen of the Republic of Tajikistan has repeatedly faced administrative penalties for violating migration rules.”
According to the ministry, Gatsoyev has been banned from entering Russia several times since 2021, yet “took no steps to resolve his legal status” and continued working illegally in the country.
“He never applied to migration offices to regularise his status in the Russian Federation,” the ministry claimed.
The statement went on to say that in July 2025, Gatsoyev attempted to challenge the entry ban in court. However, the court reviewed the case materials and rejected his appeal, deeming the ban “lawful and justified.”
“These facts point to the foreign national’s repeated failure to comply with the established rules of stay in the Russian Federation and to the absence of any intention to regularise his legal status.
The decision to bar his entry is temporary and does not prevent future family reunification,” North Ossetia’s Interior Ministry concluded.
Blogger: “Give him South Ossetian citizenship”
As Gatsoyev prepares to face winter in the Dariali Gorge, Ossetian bloggers are looking for ways to help him. One of them, Alik Pukhayev, has suggested granting him South Ossetian citizenship — even though there is no legal basis for doing so.
“The Gatsoyev case is certainly extraordinary, but it highlights a broader problem. Other Ossetians have found themselves in similar situations. Each solved it in their own way. But this man, as we can see, has literally become stuck between two states and now risks dying there, in the neutral zone, in his car, with no help.
If that happens, it will be a disgrace for all of Ossetia — both North and South. A way out could be to grant him South Ossetian citizenship and transport him through Russia to Tskhinvali, from where he could lawfully enter North Ossetia,” Pukhayev wrote.
Former ombudsman: “A compromise is possible”
Former North Ossetian ombudsman Tamerlan Tsgoev, meanwhile, argues that Gatsoyev is entitled to apply for Russian citizenship through a fast-track procedure:
“If a person is a compatriot living abroad, they have the right to obtain Russian citizenship under an expedited process. This situation requires urgent intervention from humanitarian organisations, the head of the border service and the migration authorities. It’s an unhealthy situation. Winter is approaching, and these are mountains.”
At the same time, Tsgoev does not excuse the stranded migrant, stressing that “the law must be followed, especially when you are in another country — even if it is your historical homeland.”
Even so, the former ombudsman believes legalising Gatsoyev’s status is possible:
“In this situation, it would make sense to show some flexibility and go to the border to receive his application to regularise his status in the Russian Federation.”
Ossetian stranded on border
