Sergey Menyaylo

Head of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania

General Biographical Information

• Sergey Menyaylo was born on August 22, 1960, in Alagir, the North Ossetian ASSR, the RSFSR, the Soviet Union. His father, a military sailor, was ethnically Russian, and his mother - Ossetian. Menyaylo also speaks Ossetian.
• In 1983, graduated from the Kirov Caspian Higher Naval Academy as a navigation engineer.
• In 1995, graduated from the Kuznetsov Naval Academy, named after the Admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union.
• In 2004, graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
• Menyaylo is a war veteran, the Vice-Admiral of the Reserve.
• Menyaylo fell in the list of the US sanctions imposed on Russia for the annexation of Crimea in June 2014, as well as in the list of the EU sanctions imposed for the poisoning of the Russian opposition Leader, Alexei Navalny, on October 15, 2020. According to Menyaylo he will not be subject to sanctions since has no accounts or real estate abroad.

Military Career

• Menyaylo’s military career began in 1983. For years, he held command positions in the Northern Fleet, was a brigade commander in the Caspian Fleet, and served in senior positions in the Black Sea Fleet.
• In 2004 he was appointed as the Chief of Staff, and in 2005 – as the Commander of the Novorossiysk Naval Base of the Black Sea Fleet. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of the Vice Admiral. He participated in the naval operation against Georgia in the 2008 Russian-Georgian war. Menyaylo ensured the transfer of Russian military contingent and equipment on the territory of Abkhazia. After the end of the hostilities, the Russian military forces, under the command of Menyaylo, controlled the adjacent waters of Abkhazia for a certain period.
• In 2009-2011, Menyaylo was the Deputy Commander of the Black Sea Fleet. In April 2010, Menyaylo was among the three candidates which the United Russia ruling political party proposed to the President Dmitry Medvedev for the post of the Head of North Ossetia. However, Medvedev nominated another candidate to the parliament of North Ossetian.
• On December 22, 2011, Menyaylo retired from military service.

“Ukrainian” career

• In 2014, during the crisis in Ukraine, Menyaylo participated in the formation of “defense” units in Crimea. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, he became the Head of the “state” enterprise of “Crimean seaports.” The enterprise became the owner of all ports of the annexed Crimea.
• On April 14, 2014, by a decree of the President Vladimir Putin, Menyaylo was appointed as the Acting Governor of occupied Sevastopol. On October 9, the local de facto parliament elected Menyaylo as the Governor of Sevastopol for a five-year term. At the same time, he became the Head of the government of Sevastopol. According to media reports, during this period, Manyaylo had a conflict with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol, Alexei Chaly and local elites.

Political Career

• On July 28, 2016, by an order of Putin, the powers of the governor of Sevastopol, Sergey Menyaylo, were prematurely terminated. He was appointed as the Presidential Envoy to the Siberian Federal District. On August 12 of the same year, Menyaylo became a member of the Russian Security Council.
• On April 9, 2021, as per the Russian presidential decree, Vyacheslav Bitarov resignation  from the post of the Head of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania was approved.  By the same decree, Menyaylo was appointed as the Acting Head of the republic, replacing Bitarov. Putin talked with Menyaylo about this appointment during a video conference.
• On September 19, 2021, the parliament of Republic of North Ossetia - Alania elected Menyaylo by secret ballot as the Head of the region. Manyaylo was among three candidates nominated by Vladimer Putin.

Relations with the Tskhinvali Region

• On September 21, 2015, Manyaylo, the Governor of Sevastopol by that time, congratulated Leonid Tibilov, the de facto President of the Tskhinvali Region, on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of South Ossetia. 
• On April 15, 2021, Menyaylo met with the de facto president of the Tskhinvali region, Anatoly Bibilov. Bibilov congratulated Menyaylo on his new position, noting that Putin's trust in him was a sign of Menyaylo's patriotism, responsibility and efficiency. The sides discussed the issue of strengthening bilateral relations.
• On August 7, 2021, Menyaylo visited Tskhinvali to attend commemorative events dedicated to the 13th anniversary of the "Georgian military aggression" against the "Republic of South Ossetia". During the visit, he noted that the South and North Ossetians are one nation and the 2008 war is their common tragedy.
• On September 3, 2021, de facto President of the Tskhinvali region, Anatoly Bibilov, and Menyaylo laid flowers at the City of Angels memorial complex in memory of the victims of the Beslan tragedy.
• On November 15, 2021, a Travel Guide to South Ossetia presentation was held in Moscow. Sergey Menyaylo together with the de facto leader of the Tskhinvali region, Anatoly Bibilov, also attended the event. The guide is published by the AJAX-PRESS Moscow publishing house and includes maps and routes, history, culture, cuisine and other useful information about South Ossetia for tourists.
• On April 10, 2022, A delegation of the Russian Federation visited Tskhinvali before the illegitimate presidential elections scheduled for April 10. The delegation comprises: Menyaylo, the Head of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, Kazbek Kokov, a senator of the Russian Federation, Sergey Karelin, as well as representatives of the Russian State Duma and the Council of the Russian Federation.
• On May 18, 2023, at his annual press conference, Menyaylo stated that North and South Ossetia are one people with common history, culture and traditions. According to him, the main thing is mutual understanding between both parts of the divided people, because this is the basis for the development of relations, regardless the existence of the state border.
• On August 26, 2023, during his visit to Tskhinvali, Menyailo met with the de facto President, Alan Gagloyev. On August 26, Menyailo took part in events related to the 15th anniversary of the recognition of the independence of the de facto republic of the Tskhinvali region by Russia. Gagloyev and Menyailo participated in a signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between the parliament of the Republic of North Ossetia and the de facto parliament of the Tskhinvali region.
• On September 30, 2023, Menyaylo participated in the events dedicated to day of Victory and Independence of the Republic of Abkhazia. Menyaylo publicly congratulated the Abkhaz people on “Victory Day” and said that “the Abkhaz people did everything to defend their independence and live on their land.” In addition, Menyaylo noted that many of his fellow countrymen fought with Abkhazians in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict of 1992-93, and today they are participating in the military parade. It should be noted that Menyaylo had not been in the occupied Abkhazia for 15 years and he said that much has changed for the better during this period.