British intelligence: FSB Interrogated Another Shoigu’s Deputy

An even higher-ranked.

British intelligence said that the Russian FSB interrogated the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Ruslan Tsalikov in the case of corruption in the ministry.

This is stated in the British Ministry of Defense intelligence report published on Wednesday, May 1.

Intelligence officers noted that Ruslan Tsalikov, a more senior First Deputy Minister of Sergei Shoigu, was likely involved in the investigation into the case of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.

The UK Ministry of Defense noted that Tsalikov is called Ivanov’s “patron”. He is actually the third person in the Russian Ministry of Defense after Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

Tsalikov, like Ivanov, has long-standing ties to Shoigu. He worked under his leadership at the Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Situations, and then followed him first to the governorship of the Moscow region, and in 2012 to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Intelligence officials suggest that the investigation into Ivanov could also affect Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, as some sources say that the ministry's construction agencies built a house for Siluanov.

British intelligence added that corruption has long been a problem for the Russian Ministry of Defense. In 2019, Chief Military Prosecutor Valery Petrov said that corruption is “practically the root of most problems in a rule-of-law state.”