Subject of another high-profile criminal case in South Ossetia will go to fight in Ukraine
former defense minister of South Ossetia
The South Ossetian Telegram channel Historypoliticus has disseminated information that a guilty verdict was handed down to former South Ossetian Minister Marat Pavlov in Vladikavkaz (North Ossetia, Russia).
The authors of the channel did not specify under which article he was convicted or why this occurred in Russia.
However, they claim that instead of going to prison, Pavlov will go to fight in Ukraine after signing a corresponding contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. This marks the second such case in the past month.
JAMnews was unable to obtain official confirmation or denial of this information. However, rumors that Pavlov was allegedly convicted and requested to go to the front have heightened interest in the fate of this disgraced general, who has disappeared from the public eye since his unexpected resignation in April 2024.
Pavlov was dismissed by the President of South Ossetia, Alan Gagloev. According to the official version, this was a result of the detention of his deputy, Vepkhvia Tandelov, on suspicion of cigarette smuggling.
Tandelov was detained by Russian border guards on April 18, 2024. They claimed that several thousand packs of untaxed cigarettes were found in the trunk of a vehicle belonging to the Ministry of Defense of South Ossetia. Tandelov, who was driving, was placed under house arrest.
On the same day, President Gagloev signed a decree for the dismissal of Minister Marat Pavlov.
Opposition Telegram channels immediately claimed that the smuggling of untaxed cigarettes into Russia is “controlled by President Gagloev himself, his brother Alik, and officials close to them,” including the arrested Vepkhvia Tandelov. They alleged that Pavlov merely provided him with an official vehicle, which Gagloev specifically demanded:
“Insiders report that the authorities of South Ossetia persuaded Defense Minister Marat Pavlov to engage in cigarette smuggling using an official vehicle, as it would not be subject to inspection at the border. The minister’s car with diplomatic plates crossed the border so often that it raised suspicions, but despite this, it was not thoroughly inspected for a long time.”
And when the border guards finally did inspect the car and discovered the smuggling, Alan Gagloev attempted to make Pavlov the “scapegoat”—demanding that he take all the blame, but received a refusal and dismissed the disobedient minister. This, according to the channel, is how events unfolded.
Again, we cannot confirm or deny this version, but the fact is that scandals involving smuggling officials are nothing new for South Ossetia. For example, in August 2023, Russian border guards detained then-Speaker of Parliament Alan Alborov, a close ally of Alan Gagloev from the “Nykhas” party, who also used an official vehicle to smuggle cigarettes into Russia. He currently holds the position of head of the presidential administration of South Ossetia.
As for Marat Pavlov, it was Alan Gagloev himself who appointed him as minister shortly after coming to power in 2022. His appointment was not met with much enthusiasm in the Ministry of Defense of South Ossetia; the newly emerged “parquet” officer commanded no trust among the military. It was said that the new minister “couldn’t tell a 7.62 caliber assault rifle from a 5.45.” However, Pavlov later managed to earn respect among his subordinates and achieve the rank of general.
It’s worth noting that in early October, former Criminal Police officer Atsamaz Naniev, accused of murder, escaped from court and also signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to go fight in Ukraine.
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