On April 17, 2019, Aleksey Filatov, under the Directive of the President of the Russian Federation, was appointed on the position of the Head of the Directorate of the Cross-Border Cooperation, previously occupying position of the Deputy to Head of the same Directorate. Under the same Directive Oleg Govorun, Head of the Directorate, resigned. His resignation was announced on April 4. Not much information is available in open sources about Filatov, according to existing information, we might presume, that he knows Tskhinvali Region well.

Why did Govorun resign?

According to the media of Russia, sources close to the Kremlin state that Govorun "resigned from Kremlin due to family circumstances". According to one of the sources, Govorun "has long wanted to leave. He was tired, and even last year wanted to quit the job." According to another source, the Kremlin "had claims to Govorun in direction of Ukraine".

Directorate of the Cross-Border Cooperation and its functions

Cross-Border Cooperation Division was established in 2018. On October 2, 2018, the President of the Russian Federation signed Directive on the establishment of “the Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation of the President of the Russian Federation“. According to the Directive, the Directorate replaced the former Directorate for Social-Economic Cooperation with CIS States and the Republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The Directorate supports President in cooperation with Abkhazia, Tskhinvali region and Ukraine (Donetsk and Lugansk self-proclaimed Republics), as well as with the neighboring countries of Russia, as directed by the President. The Directorate competence covers:  formulating the main directions of relations with the aforementioned regions and countries, preparing suggestions for joint social-economic programs and projects implementation, coordination of work with public organizations and state structures to formulate complex approaches to the implementation of cross-border cooperation, preparing expert opinions, analytical reports and other materials for the President and the Head of the Presidential Administration within the competencies of the Directorate.

Who is Filatov and what is his connection with Georgia?

Filatov, for years, occupied position of the Chief Consultant at the Directorate and was responsible for the relations with Tskhinvali Region. From October, 2018, following to the Directorate reorganization, Filatov, in the rank of the Deputy Head of the Directorate, was the curator of Donetsk and Lugansk self-proclaimed Republics and together with local de-facto leaders supervised humanitarian and political relations and conducting illegitimate local elections. Filatov replaced Maksim Polyakov on the position of the curator to Ukraine, who, according to existing information, was dismissed due to “ineffective management.“ According to experts Filatov did a good job in regard to working with Tskhinvali Region and was promoted.

Relations with Ukraine

• On October 10, 2018, in Moscow, Vladislav Surkov, Assistant to the President of Russia, who is the curator to Ukrainian direction in Kremlin, met with Denis Pushilin, Head of Donetsk self-proclaimed People’s Republic. At the meeting was discussed planned illegitimate elections in de facto Republic and Donbass social problems. Filatov also attended the meeting, who in the rank of the curator of humanitarian and political relations with the separatist republics of Ukraine, met with separatist leader for the first time.

Relations with Tskhinvali Region

• During the years, before appointing on the position of the Head of the Directorate, in the rank of the Chief Adviser, Filatov was curator to humanitarian issues in Tskhinvali Region and was actively involved in illegitimate Presidential Elections in 2017. Filatov frequently visited Tskhinvali Region as the member of Surkov’s delegation.
• On August 26, 2016, in Tskhinvali, Filatov also attended the ceremony celebrating the 8th  anniversary of Tskhinvali Region independence recognition by the Russian Federation. Filatov conveyed congratulation letter from Surkov to the ceremony participants.
• Surkov and Filatov role was well-defined on April 9, 2017, during the illegitimate Presidential election in Tskhinvali Region, while selecting Presidential candidates at the stage of pre-election campaign:
  • On January 31, 2017, Filatov was also in Tskhinvali to support de facto President Leonid Tibilov. At the meeting, the initiative group announced Tibilov’s candidacy for president. Tibilov was the only one among  6 candidates running for illegitimate election, who was supported by Kremlin representative’s presence.
  • Eduard Kokoity, former de facto President, failed to register as a candidate for illegitimate presidential elections, as he was not permanently residing in Tskhinvali for last 5 years. Kokoity accused Surkov for the decision made by election committee on March 4, 2017. Kokoity called Surkov “crook“, who, in his opinion, was acting “as if was the owner of South Ossetia“. Kokoity blamed Surkov, Govorun and Filatov in acting against him.
• On June 8-9, 2017, Surkov visited Tskhinvali, where discussed the region further integration with Russia. Surkov together with Anatoly Bibilov, de facto President of Tskhinvali Region, inspected ongoing Russia financed projects, including the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church construction in Tskhinvali. During his visit in Tskhinvali Surkov was accompanied  by Filatov.