The Republic of South Ossetia is one of the most important subjects of international law in the Caucasus, so the appointment in May 2017 of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Kulakhmetov M. M. caused a great resonance. The biography and career growth of a military leader and diplomat is described in this article.
Childhood and youth
Marat Kulakhmetov was born in 1954 in the city of Penza, in the family of a distinguished military man. His father, Minyur Khalilovich, is one of the most prominent representatives of the Tatar people. Born into a large peasant family in the Penza region, Minyur Khalilovich began his service in the Soviet army as a lieutenant in 1947. He retired with the rank of lieutenant general. In his small homeland, the general is very revered. His eldest son Marat, after graduating from school, also decided to choose a military career.
The main stages of military service
Graduated in 1980 from the Leningrad Combined Arms Command School. Kirov young lieutenantwas sent to serve in the Leningrad Military District as a commander of a motorized rifle platoon. There he successively rose from platoon commander to division commander. Kulakhmetov Marat Minyurovich constantly worked to improve his military skills. After graduating from the Academy of the General Staff in 2001, Marat Minyurovich was awarded the rank of Major General and sent to serve in the North Caucasus District. In 2004, Kulakhmetov Marat Minyurovich became the commander of the mixed forces in South Ossetia, replacing Svyatoslav Nabdzorov at this post.
Service in the North Caucasus
Military clashes in South Ossetia are among the longest and bloodiest conflicts in the post-Soviet space. The first peacekeeping operation of the Russian armed forces was carried out in the period from 1991 to 1993. The co-chairman of the mixed control commission for stabilization of the situation from the Russian side was Sergei Shoigu, who served as chairman of the State Committee for Maintenance, Emergencies and Elimination of the Consequences of Natural Disasters. Then, from the Ossetian, Georgian and Russian motorized rifle battalions, mixed forces were created to ensure order in the region, maintaining peace in the region.
The situation in the republic escalated after M. Saakashvili came to power. A year later, under pressure from the President of Georgia, the parliament made a statement that the peacekeeping forces under the command of Major General Marat Kulakhmetov were not fulfilling their duties. Based on this assertion, the Georgian parliamentarians accused Russia ofmaintaining the conflict. A year later, the Georgian parliament adopted a resolution to replace the OSKF with OSCE peacekeepers. The Russian authorities said that the replacement is possible only after the consent of the authorities of South Ossetia to the introduction of the OSCE peacekeeping forces.
Tension grew, and on August 7, 2008, Georgia announced that it was launching a military invasion of the territory of the republic, considering the operation to restore constitutional order. The next day, Russian peacekeepers and civilians came under fire. There were a large number of casu alties among the civilian population and among the peacekeepers. At the same time, the observers withdrew, hastily leaving the territory of the republic. Formations of the 58th Army of Russia were sent to help the OSKF group and military facilities of the Georgian side were bombed.
A tough rebuff led to peace, and instead of the previous posts on the territory of the Ossetian Republic, Russian peacekeeping forces were deployed - Marat Kulakhmetov led these processes. All the actions of the commander of the peacekeeping forces to bring peace were open, consistent, effective and fully in line with all international agreements. As a result of the terrorist attack in 2008 in Tskhinvali, 11 people were killed, including the chief of staff of Russian peacekeepers, and Kulakhmetov Marat Minyurovich was seriously injured.
Diplomatic activity
In August 2009, Kulakhmetov decided to leave the military service and switch to diplomatic work, becoming an adviser to Lavrov. In thatAs Marat Kulakhmetov, he worked actively in Transnistria and Central Asia on the issues of the Russian military presence. Particular attention in this post was given to them in South Ossetia. During repeated visits, they were provided with substantial assistance in resolving various issues, including those of a socio-economic nature. In the spring of 2017, the adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of South Ossetia with the assignment of a diplomatic rank.
Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia
After the liberation of the republic and the recognition of South Ossetia by the Russian Federation, the post of Russian ambassador since 2008 was held by Elbrus Kargiev, an Ossetian by nationality. The residents of the republic greeted the change of ambassador with understanding, as they treat the Russian peacekeepers with great respect. Marat Kulakhmetov is a Tatar by nationality, but he knows the history of the Ossetian people well, the Transcaucasian realities. A high level of competence and analytical skills allow him to be well versed in a large flow of information, to provide Ossetian colleagues with the necessary support in the formation of a full-fledged diplomatic service.
With the arrival of Marat Kulakhmetov in the republic, the work of the Russian embassy has intensified in the direction of strengthening the Russian-South Ossetian partnership. The republic has successfully completed two-year investment programs (2015-2017) to accelerate the socio-economic development of South Ossetia. Currently, capital investment programs for 2018-2019 are being actively implemented.
Awards and prizes
For the strengthening of the military commonwe alth and peace in South Ossetia, Major General in the period from 2006 to 2008 was awarded medals of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as well as a badge of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In February 2008, the military leader was awarded the Order of Honor. In 2011, the President of the Russian Federation presented an honorary diploma to an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his active work in the diplomatic field. The biography of Marat Kulakhmetov is devoid of sharp turns, but everything he did and is doing, first in the military and then in the diplomatic field, is aimed at selfless service to Russia.
