In 2011, Brovtsev even served as the region’s acting president after disagreements among local political actors led to a brief electoral standoff. Perhaps more importantly, he is considered a close ally of the influential Kovalchuk brothers and a favorite of Sergey Kiriyenko, the Kremlin official overseeing policy toward Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region. In short, Kambolov may not be a political heavyweight by Kremlin standards, but he certainly dwarfs his predecessors and potential alternatives in Tskhinvali. By reopening transport routes through Tskhinvali, Russia could secure an additional land corridor to Georgia and Armenia, and more broadly to Turkey, one of its key economic partners, and Iran, its strategic ally. Indeed, Kambolov’s first decision was to visit Nizhny Zaramag, the only crossing point between Russia and Tskhinvali Region, where he pledged to work on easing traffic across the border.