TBILISI. Nov 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Major General Svyatoslav Nabzdorov of the Russian Armed Forces arrived in Georgia for taking the office of the commander of the Mixed Peacekeeping Forces in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone.
Deputy Commander of the Russian Land Forces for Peacekeeping Operations Lieutenant General Valery Yevnevich introduced Nabzdorov to Georgian Minister without Portfolio Malkhaz Kakabadze and Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Dzhoni Pirtskhalaishvili. Following that, Nabzdorov left for the peacekeeping headquarters in Tskhinvali.
"In a few days, after getting acquainted with the peacekeeping personnel, namely the Russian, Georgian and Ossetian battalions, Nabzdorov will present his vision of the activity of "blue helmets" who have been stationed in the conflict zone since 1992," Kakabadze told Interfax-Military News Agency on Monday.
Nabzdorov was born in the Vitebsk region of Belarus in 1955. He graduated from the Leningrad higher joint-arms command college in 1976, the Frunze Military Academy in 1987 and the General Staff Academy in 1999.
He served in motorized rifle units of the Leningrad, Central Asian and Turkestan military districts, as well as in the 201st Russian division stationed in Tajikistan. He became commander of the 201st division and later was promoted to commander of the 5th army stationed in the Far Eastern military district.
Nabzdorov will replace Major General Vasily Prizemlin, who will be transferred to the post of a teacher in the General Staff Academy in Moscow.
The Mixed Peacekeeping Forces consist of three battalions maintained by Russia, Georgia and the Russian internal republic of North Ossetia. Their total strength mounts up to 1,000 servicemen.