An anti-corruption lawsuit against Ruslan Tsalikov has been filed in court.
The Nikulinsky Court of Moscow has received materials from an anti-corruption lawsuit against former First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov and his entourage, claiming over 7 billion rubles.
As reported by Kavkazsky Knot, investigators believe that former First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov created a criminal organization, whose members embezzled budget funds and laundered the stolen money between 2017 and 2024. He has also been charged with bribery. On March 5, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow placed Ruslan Tsalikov under house arrest. According to the court, the investigation did not insist on placing Sergei Shoigu's former first deputy in pretrial detention.
Ruslan Khadzhismelovich Tsalikov was born on July 31, 1956, in Ordzhonikidze, North Ossetian ASSR (now Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania). From 1989 to 1990, he was the chief controller-auditor of the Control and Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance of the RSFSR for the North Ossetian ASSR. From 1990 to 1994, he headed the Ministry of Finance of North Ossetia. In 1994, he transferred to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. From 1994 to 2000, he was the head of the Main Financial and Economic Directorate, then headed the Department of Financial and Economic Activities of the Ministry. From November 26, 1994, he was a member of the Board of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. From December 2015 to June 17, 2024, he served as the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation. His responsibilities included troop quartering, housing, property management, judicial and legal work, financial oversight, medical support for the armed forces, information policy, interaction with law enforcement agencies, and the activities of JSC Garrison, according to TASS.
According to investigators, in 2019, the head of Voentorg and his employees, along with accomplices in Moscow, North Ossetia, Stavropol Krai, Pskov Oblast, and other regions, signed government contracts for the supply of "army toiletry bags" worth approximately 625 million rubles. From December 2019 to December 2022, they purchased products from manufacturers through organizations controlled by them, the beneficiary of which was a native of North Ossetia. The defendants sold these products to the Ministry of Defense, unreasonably increasing the price of the goods by over 400 million rubles, RBK reported today.
In the lawsuit, the Prosecutor General's Office is demanding the transfer of land plots and buildings in the Moscow region and North Ossetia, registered to trusted individuals and affiliated commercial organizations, premium vehicles, and cash totaling over 7 billion rubles to the state.
The defendants in the case are Daniel and Zaur Tsalikov, the sons of the former deputy minister; Elizaveta Gogichaeva, his daughter; Chermen Gogichaev, her husband and Tsalikov's son-in-law; Yulia Gogaeva, Tsalikov's second daughter; Georgy Gogaev, her husband; and the legal entities Dominus Zed LLC, Sandora LLC, and Tectum LLC.
In 2024, Pavlov was arrested for embezzlement of over 400 million rubles during the execution of government contracts. Other defendants include businessman Sergei Tetruashvili, former general director of Voentorg-Retail Timur Isakov, and top manager of the Dzerzhinsk garment factory Rus Dmitry Gromov, the publication clarified.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that the property and accounts of relatives of the former head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Mikhail Nadezhin, have been frozen until the end of February in a bribery case. In early October 2025, Moscow's Basmanny Courtarrested Mikhail Nadezhin, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Ministry of Emergency Situations, for two months in a bribery case.