Konstantin Kosachev

Deputy Speaker of the Federal Council of Russian Federation

The Deputy Speaker of the Federal Council of Russian Federation, Konstantin Kosachev, is a distinguished personality throughout Russia. He has been in diplomatic and political work for years and Georgia holds a special place in his political agenda. Kosachev often makes statements about the issues regarding Georgia and is an active supporter of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region.

General Biographical Data 

• Konstantin Kosachev was born on September 17, 1962, in the village of Mamontovka, Moscow District, RSFSR, USSR. His father was a diplomat, specialist of Scandinavian states and worked at the Soviet Embassies in Sweden and Finland for some time. From 1962, Kosachev’s family lived in Stockholm, Sweden, from where they came back to Moscow in 1970.
• In 1979, he graduated from a secondary school in Moscow.
• In 1984, he graduated from the Moscow State International Relations Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of USSR, the Scandinavian Division of the International Relations Department.
• In 1991, he graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Soviet Union.
• In 2003, at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, he defended a dissertation on “Concept of Developing International Law in the Field of Combating Nuclear Terrorism.” He is a candidate of legal sciences.
• Kosachev has received numerous orders, including the ones for active support to the de facto republic of Tskhinvali Region. In 2009, he received a Government Friendship Order from the de facto President of Tskhinvali Region and the Order of Honor in 2016.
• In 2009, he was awarded the diplomatic title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
• Kosachev ended up on the sanctions list instituted by Ukraine against Russia on September 16, 2015. Apart from this, Kosachev was also included in the April 6, 2018 sanctions list published by the US.

Professional Career

• After graduating from the institute, Kosachev worked as an interpreter on various diplomatic positions in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of USSR and Russia.
• In 1991-1995, he worked at the Russian Embassy in Sweden.
• In 1995, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he was put in charge of the Division for Finland and Sweden. For some time, he was making statements about the developments in the field of international relations as a representative of the Ministry.
• From 1998, he worked with several Russian Prime Ministers, including Sergey Kiriyenko, Yevgeny Primakov and Sergei Stepashin.
• In 1999, during the pre-election campaign for the State Duma, he headed the Secretariat of the Leader of electoral block Fatherland – All Russia, Yevgeny Primakov.
• From 1999 to 2003 he was an MP in the Third State Duma from electoral block Fatherland – All Russia. From this year, his long political career in the State Duma started. From 1999 to 2012 he was an MP in four State Dumas. In the Third State Duma, from 2000 to 2003, he was a Deputy to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Dmitry Rogozin.
• From 2003 to 2011, he was an MP in the Fourth and Fifth State Dumas from the ruling party United Russia. From January 16, 2004 to December 21, 2011, he headed the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma.
• During his work at the State Duma, from 2004 to 2012, he was the Head of Russian Delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe, also being the Deputy Chairman of the Assembly.
• From 2011, he was an MP in the Sixth State Duma from the ruling party United Russia. He was Deputy to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Aleksey Pushkov.
• From March 5, 2012 to December 22, 2014, Kosachev was the Head of the Federal Agency for CIS States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Affairs.
• From 2014, Kosachev moved to the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russian Federation. On December 25, 2014, he became a member of the Federation Council from Chuvash Republic. On December 25, 2014, he was elected to the position of the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council. Before that, the Committee had been led by Mikhail Margelov for 13 years.
• From September 21, 2015, he represents the Mari El Republic at the Federation Council.
• On September 27, 2017, Kosachev was once again approved as the Chairman of the Committee.
• On March 17, 2021, Kosachev was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council.

Relations with Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region

Over his long political career, Kosachev has made numerous statements about Georgia while since the 2008 Russia-Georgia War, he has been an active supporter of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region in Russian legislative structures and international organizations alike.

Over his career as MP, Kosachev has often made statements about important political developments in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region. However, his rhetoric towards Georgia was much more reserved before the 2008 Russia-Georgia War:

• On January 12, 2005, after the victory of Sergey Baghapsh (de facto Presidential candidate) and Raul Khajimba (de facto Vice Presidential Candidate) in an election held after a domestic Abkhazian crisis, Kosachev stated that “Baghapsh and Khajimba have managed to unite in a single team, which is mainly due to Russian mediation. This effort has not been and will not be directed towards artificially distancing Abkhazia from Georgia. Our interest is that after the disastrous bloodshed of the 90s, any future formation of the Republic, be it by Abkhazia entering Georgia or otherwise, should protect the interests of the Abkhazian people, who have been traditionally aspiring towards Russia.

In 2008, after the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region by Russia, Kosachev’s attitudes towards Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region changed cardinally, becoming a distinguished supporter of those regions throughout Russia.

• Kosachev often meets the representatives of the local de facto governments in Moscow, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region. He also has frequent relations with the “Embassies” of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region operating in Moscow.
• On August 26, 2011, Kosachev who was visiting Abkhazia to monitor illegitimate Presidential elections there, stated in assessment of the election process that the voter turnout was high and everything was in accordance with the international standards. Kosachev visited several polling stations together with the MPs from State Duma and Federation Council.
• On November 8, 2011, Kosachev arrived to Tskhinvali Region, together with the Russian delegation, with a charter flight, where he was to support the candidacy of Anatoly Bibilov in the illegitimate Presidential elections being conducted in Tskhinvali.
• On July 5, 2016, at the Tbilisi session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, while assessing the adopted resolution on Crimea, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region, Kosachev stated that “the resolution shows selectiveness in terms of its themes and is shedding crocodile tears on demand”.
• On May 29, 2018, according to Kosachev’s statement “the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Syria and the establishment of diplomatic relations between these countries, is just the beginning of the international recognition process of these republics”.
• On July 25, 2018, during his meeting with Abkhazian and Ossetian journalists, Kosachev stated that Georgia’s entry into NATO and the placement of alliance forces in direct proximity to Russian borders will cause response steps from the Russian side. According to him, by Georgia’s possible membership in the alliance “the perspective of Tbilisi normalizing relations with South Ossetia, Abkhazia, as well as Russia, will become an entirely unreal prospect”.
• On February 5, 2021, the Russian parliamentary delegation visited the Tskhinvali region. The delegation was chaired by  Kosachev. Members of the delegation were Krim Kazanakov, Oleg Seleznyov, and Kazbek Taisayev, the Deputy Charman of the State Duma Committee on the CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots. The purpose of the visit was to meet with members of the de facto parliament of the Tskhinvali region within the framework of the so-called standing commission on Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation. The Russian delegation held meetings in the de facto parliament. During the working visit, the Russian delegation also met with de facto president of the Tskhinvali region Anatoly Bibilov.
• On February 1, 2022, The “Ambassador” of the Tskhinvali region to Russia, Znaur Gassiev met with Kosachev, the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council. During the meeting, Kosachev assured Gassiev that Russia remains a staunch supporter of the region and expresses readiness for intensified cooperation. The main topics of conversation were the deepening of cooperation between Russia and the Tskhinvali region, the intensification of interaction in the parliamentary sphere, as well as the situation ahead of the April 2022 “presidential” elections in the region.
• On June 15, 2022, a delegation of the de facto republic of the Tskhinvali region, led by the de facto President, Alan Gagloyev, met with the Russian side in Moscow. The main topic of discussion was the issue of holding a referendum in the Tskhinvali region on the unification of the de facto republic and Russia. The Russian delegation included the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Dmitry Kozak, the Head of the Directorate for Interregional Relations and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries of the Presidential Administration, Igor Maslov, the Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, Rashid Nurgaliyev, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrey Rudenko, the de facto Ambassador of Russia to the Republic, Marat Kulakhmetov, the Deputy Head of the Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation of the President's Administration, Sergey Bovenko and Kosachev.
• On October 3, 2022, the Chairman of the de facto Parliament of Abkhazia, Lasha Ashuba, in Moscow met with  Kosachev.
• On August 25, 2023, during his visit to Sokhumi, Kosachev met with the Chairman of the de facto parliament, Lasha Ashuba. On August 26, Kosachev participated in events related to the 15th anniversary of the recognition of the independence of the de facto republic of Abkhazia by Russia.