Oleg Teziev

Oleg Dzherikhanovich Teziyev (, ; born 16 January 1948) is a military commander and soldier from the partially recognized Caucasian Republic of South Ossetia serving as the Republic's first prime minister.

Biography Oleg Teziev was born in North Ossetia, and is a resident of Vladikavkaz.

Prime minister Teziev served as the first prime minister of South Ossetia, starting on 28 November 1991 as an Independent. As the Republic's Head of government, he accepted the JPKF, a joint peacekeeping force of Georgians and Russians, into the Republic while also stating that the ultimate goal of South Ossetia was its annexation into Russia, sooner rather than later.

Later career Teziev would also serve as a member of the Parliament of South Ossetia. During which he stated that:

After leaving office, Teziev served as chairman of Civic Initiative, a Vladikavkaz-based support group for South Ossetian refugees into North Ossetia. As chairman, Teziev commented on why Ossetians don't want to return to Georgia proper, stating that "Refugees don't trust the law or Georgian authorities," and that "Most of them have settled down in North Ossetia. Their children go to Russian schools and are being raised in another cultural environment."

Teziev returned in an attempt to run for the 2001 South Ossetian presidential election. However, then-incumbent president Lyudvig Chibirov passed a law requiring all candidates to live in South Ossetia for 15 years, barring Teziev from running. During the 2012 South Ossetian presidential election, Teziev accused both Leonid Tibilov and David Sanakoev of misusing public funds for their campaigns, instead of funding the construction of houses. This resulted in upwards of 18,000 Ossetians moving to Russia.

Teziev was a leader of the so-called "Moscow Opposition", consisting of South Ossetians who moved to Russia after the South Ossetia war but returned after the Russo-Georgian War and were discontent with policies of Eduard Kokoity. Teziev helped organize a series of street protests against the Kokoiti administration in 2014.