Marat Kambolov won the South Ossetia elections with 85% of the vote and was congratulated by Vladimir Putin

Marat Kambolov, a former official in the Russian federal government, won the presidential election in South Ossetia with 85% of the vote and was congratulated by Vladimir Putin. The election took place on Friday in the Moscow-backed Georgian separatist region, with voter turnout at 73%.

Kambolov’s victory, presented by Russia as a sign of the population’s desire for stability and closer ties with the Russian Federation, came at age 61. The Russian president sent him his congratulations on Saturday in a telegram published on the Kremlin’s website.

Originally from North Ossetia, Kambolov had no previous ties to South Ossetia. He was appointed the region’s prime minister in June, following the resignation of Alan Gagloyev, who became an adviser to Putin. Kambolov previously held important positions in the Russian federal administration, including at the Ministry of Education.

The election result comes after the signing in May of a Russian-Ossetian treaty on deepening cooperation in defense, foreign policy and security. The agreement also provides for the integration of energy and transport networks. Georgia condemned the document, calling it a consolidation of the “de facto annexation” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The region, with approximately 50,000 residents, depends heavily on Russia for salaries, pensions, energy and infrastructure.