Oleg Khorzhan

Oleg Olegovich Khorzhan (; ; 30 June 1976 – 16 July 2023) was a Transnistrian politician who served as the longtime chairman of the Transnistrian Communist Party and as a member of Transnistria's Supreme Council. He was a vocal critic of the Transnistrian government and led protests advocating economic and social reforms.

Khorzhan was imprisoned in 2018 following an altercation with police, a case widely seen by his supporters as politically motivated. He was released in late 2022 after completing his sentence, but was found murdered in his office only six months later.

Early life Oleg Olegovich Khorzhan was born on 30 June 1976 in the town of Camenca, in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union.

Career

Early work Khorzhan worked at the Dubăsari military hospital following the end of the Transnistria War in July 1992. From 1997 to 2000, he served as chairman of the parliamentary legal commission. Khorzhan was later awarded an honorary diploma by City Council for his work.

2000s In May 2003, he joined the newly created Transnistrian Communist Party (PKP) and was elected its chairman after the original party leader was imprisoned.

2010s In the 2010 parliamentary elections, Khorzhan became the first PKP candidate to be elected to the Supreme Council. During his first term he was assigned to the Committee on Education, Science and Culture.

On the anniversary of Transnistria's founding in 2014, then-President Yevgeny Shevchuk awarded Khorzhan the medal "For Labor Valor".

For his efforts in developing and strengthening relations between Transnistria and the other breakaway republic of South Ossetia, he was awarded an honorary diploma by the Parliament of South Ossetia. Khorzhan was also awarded the Order of Party Valor by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for his work in Moscow.

Khorzhan was elected again in the 2015 parliamentary elections, taking first place in the No. 40 constituency with 43.62% of the vote.

Khorzhan ran for president again in the 2016 presidential election, this time as a PKP candidate. He placed third with 3.17% of the vote.

2018 arrest and imprisonment On 2 June 2018, Khorzhan held a rally in Tiraspol, at which, a number of attendees were detained by police. Later that day in the evening, Khorzhan went to the city's internal affairs building to meet with the director and vouch for the detainees' release. Several other party members had been arrested by authorities prior to Khorzhan, including his wife, his son, and Tiraspol City Council deputy Alexander Samoniy. Khorzhan's arrest was immediately met with condemnation from members of the UPC–CPSU, who denounced his detention as illegal and politically motivated. Moldovan President Igor Dodon expressed his disagreement with the ruling and urged the Moldovan prosecutor's office to respond, but no action was taken by the latter.

Khorzhan was released from prison on 6 December 2022 after serving the entirety of his sentence.

Assassination On the night of 16 July 2023, Khorzhan was found dead in his own office, having apparently been murdered. Khorzhan's body was discovered by his wife lying next to an empty safe.

Investigation The leader of the Civil Congress, Mark Tkachuk, wrote about Khorzhan's murder on social media. CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov demanded an investigation into Khorzhan's murder. There have been no arrests linked to the murder.

Personal life Khorzhan was married and had two sons.