Torez Georgievich Kulumbegov , was a political leader of South Ossetia

South Ossetia

South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....

, a former Soviet Autonomous Oblast

South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast

The South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union created within the Georgian SSR on April 20, 1922. Its autonomy was revoked on December 10, 1990 by the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian SSR, leading to the First South Ossetian War...

 which unilaterally elevated its status to Republic in 1990 and declared its independence from Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 in 1991. Kulumbegov ruled as chairman of the Presidium of the South Ossetian Supreme Council, i. e., head of the self-proclaimed Republic, from December 1991 to September 1993. Before this event, he was held prisoner by Georgian police in Tblisi from 29 January 1991 until January 1992.

Kulumbegov died in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 on 1 October 2006 after a serious illness. He was buried in Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region which has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru, and is regarded by Georgia and the rest of the world as part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.It is located...

.