In the capital of South Ossetia, the official opening of a monument to the Soviet-Russian illegal intelligence officer, a native of South Ossetia, Vladimir Iosifovich Lokhov, has taken place.
The bust was installed near the Parliament building of the Republic. The opening ceremony was attended by the leadership of the Republic led by President Alan Gagloev, Lokhov’s son and daughter Igor and Alla, Russian Ambassador to South Ossetia Marat Kulakhmetov, representatives of ministries and departments, as well as the public.
President Alan Gagloev called it symbolic that on the eve of the celebration of the Great Victory it was possible to perpetuate the memory of one of the outstanding compatriots of the Republic.
“It is also symbolic that on December 22 of this year, Vladimir Yosifovich would have turned 100 years old. Each of us should consider it our duty to preserve memory and our history. Today we see how brazenly they are trying to rewrite history and replace our values. This has already happened in some countries. Therefore, we must block the processes directed against our common history and do everything possible so that our younger generation grows up following our examples, young people must live with the same spiritual and moral values that our elders left us,” the President said and congratulated everyone on the upcoming Victory Day.
Acting head of the South Ossetian foreign intelligence service, Andrei Gagloev, has noted that Vladimir Lokhov devoted his entire life to serving his homeland and his people; his contribution to security was marked by high state awards.
“We have the honor to perpetuate the name of the great son of the Ossetian people, the legendary Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Lokhov. Thanks to President Alan Gagloev, today we have the opportunity to open a bust of Lokhov in his historical homeland. The work of an intelligence officer involves a risk to life, the service is difficult, mistakes are punished harshly, not everyone can withstand the hardships of this profession,” Gagloev said.
Lokhov's son, Igor, thanked everyone involved in installing the bust in memory of his father, emphasizing that he was always fulfilling his mission with honor.
“We never expected that his bust would be unveiled. But thanks to the relevant services, it was possible to partially reveal his identity, which we are very happy about. When we were told that the bust would be unveiled, we had some questions, but everything was resolved successfully without our participation and we have nothing to say other than gratitude to everyone who took part in the installation of the bust. This memory is important for everyone,” he said.
The initiative to erect a monument in 2023 was made by representatives of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Republic of South Ossetia.
The USSR KGB colonel was working from 1957–1991 and was carrying out intelligence activities abroad in 1963–1973.
He was the first to inform Moscow about the development in the United States of a large-scale military-technical program for the destruction of the Soviet Union. After returning, he headed not just one of the departments of illegal intelligence, but its most important direction.
The information about this person was officially declassified in 2020.
