Born in
Vladikavkaz,
North Ossetian ASSR (now
North Ossetia–Alania),
Russian SFSR, in 1955, Mindzaev served in the Soviet and then Russian
Internal Troops, rising to the rank of colonel in 2005. In April 2005, Mindzaev — by that time Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Ossetia–Alania — was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs in the secessionist government of South Ossetia. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 2007. When hostilities broke out in South Ossetia in August 2008, Mindzaev remained in the region and accused the
Georgian government for the state of war. His duties during and after the war brought him in close contact with Russian forces. Mindzaev was dismissed as Minister of Internal Affairs of South Ossetia shortly after the war. He then served in Russia in various capacities, including Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of Russia's
Southern Federal District and chief of police of the
Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Local Ossetian media reported that Mindzaev was granted the title of
Hero of Russia in 2009, but the Russian news outlet
Izvestia was unable to verify the claim. == Notes ==