Shoigu's Former Deputy Detained on Corruption Charges, Placed Under House Arrest
Photo: Zvezda TV channel. Former First Deputy Minister of Defense Ruslan Tsalikov has been detained, reported Investigative Committee representative Svetlana Petrenko. According to her, Tsalikov has been charged with creating a criminal community (Part 3, Article 210 of the Criminal Code), 12 counts of embezzlement (Part 4, Article 160 of the Criminal Code), money laundering (Part 4, Article 174.1 of the Criminal Code), and two counts of bribery (Part 6, Article 290 of the Criminal Code). A measure of restraint will be chosen for him soon. UPDATE: Tsalikov has been placed under house arrest. Petrenko specified that Tsalikov is accused of creating a criminal community whose participants "committed embezzlement of budget funds in 2017-2024." He is also accused of legitimizing stolen property and bribery. According to Kommersant, this involves the overpriced supply of clothing and equipment through Voentorg. The declared damage to the military department exceeds 6.6 billion rubles. Tsalikov served as First Deputy Minister of Defense from 2012 to 2024; prior to that, he held leadership positions in the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the government of the Moscow region. After Sergei Shoigu was removed from his post as Minister of Defense, Tsalikov became a deputy of the Verkhovna Khural of Tuva from United Russia. Tsalikov is the fourth former deputy of Sergei Shoigu to come under investigation. Pavel Popov, Dmitry Bulgakov, and Timur Ivanov were previously arrested. Shoigu himself, after being dismissed from the Ministry of Defense, was appointed Secretary of the Security Council. According to Vazhnyye Istorii, testimony against Tsalikov was given last year by Andrey Esipov, the now-convicted former general director of Piket. In 2024, Piket concluded a contract with the Ministry of Defense for the supply of 30,000 body armor vests for 2.4 billion rubles and 30,000 helmets for 4 billion rubles. In November 2025, Esipov was sentenced to nine years in prison. His case was considered in a special proceeding – he pleaded guilty and entered into a plea agreement with the investigation.
