Ex-Russian Deputy Defence Minister from Vladikavkaz stripped of assets worth $77 million
A court has granted a lawsuit filed by Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office to seize assets belonging to former First Deputy Defence Minister and North Ossetia native Ruslan Tsalikov and members of his family after prosecutors claimed he and his family illicitly enriched themselves. The total value of the confiscated property is estimated at around ₽5.5 billion ($77 million).
Most of the assets listed in the case — worth ₽3.4 billion ($48 million) — consist of holdings linked to Sandora LLC, a company involved in fulfilling multimillion-ruble Defence Ministry contracts. Tsalikov denies receiving tangible benefits from the company.
Other assets subject to confiscation include flats, houses, non-residential premises, and bank assets registered both in Tsalikov’s name and in the names of his relatives. Alongside Tsalikov himself, defendants in the case included his children, their spouses, the mother of a former Defence Ministry press secretary, one businessperson, and several companies.
According to the lawsuit materials, Tsalikov registered property worth ₽73.2 million ($1 million) in the name of Vlada Markovskaya, the mother of former Defence Ministry spokesperson Rossiyana Markovskaya. The assets included a 93.8-square-metre flat in the premium Reka (‘The River’) residential complex in Moscow, as well as two parking spaces valued at ₽2.8 million ($40,000) each.
Tsalikov denies having a close relationship with Vlada Markovskaya. Nevertheless, property registered in her name was included in the list of assets prosecutors sought to transfer to state ownership.
Eight properties in the elite Razdory-2 cottage settlement outside Moscow were registered in Tsalikov’s name, along with two land plots, a mansion measuring 1,800 square metres, a Toyota Land Cruiser valued at ₽9 million ($126,000), and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle worth nearly ₽5 million ($70,000).
The lawsuit filed by the Deputy Prosecutor General reached court on 30 April. Prosecutors stated that the value of the assets listed in the claim ‘far exceeded’ the official income of the Tsalikov family, and alleged that after his appointment as deputy defence minister in 2012, Tsalikov ‘decided to use his powers contrary to the interests of the service, to the detriment of the state, for the purpose of personal enrichment’.
The case was heard behind closed doors. The judge said the materials contained information relating to state defence procurement contracts and personal data of Defence Ministry employees.
Tsalikov has not publicly commented on the court’s decision.
Tsalikov is one of the best-known figures from North Ossetia within Russia’s federal elite. He was born in Ordzhonikidze — now Vladikavkaz — and maintained ties with the republic for many years.
Tsalikov’s career is closely linked to the former Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. In the 1990s, he worked within the Emergencies Ministry, where he was regarded as one of Shoigu’s closest associates. He later served as deputy minister for civil defence, emergencies and disaster relief, vice-governor of the Moscow region, and subsequently moved to Russia’s Defence Ministry.
From 2015 he served as First Deputy Defence Minister. In that role, Tsalikov oversaw financial support, construction and the ministry’s property complex. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he remained part of the Defence Ministry leadership and took part in official events connected with army logistics and support.
Tsalikov’s dismissal came shortly after changes in the leadership of the Russian Defence Ministry in 2024, when Andrei Belousov replaced Shoigu as minister. Following that reshuffle, Russian law enforcement agencies launched a series of anti-corruption investigations targeting former and current officials within the defence establishment.
Over the past year, several senior Defence Ministry officials and associated contractors have become subjects of criminal cases and investigations. One of the most prominent involved former Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, but several generals and executives of military contractors were also implicated. Investigators allege they were connected to corruption schemes involving construction projects, state contracts and military procurement.
The Tsalikov case is unfolding amid an ongoing redistribution of influence within Russia’s defence establishment following the war against Ukraine. Since the invasion began, defence spending has risen sharply, making the Defence Ministry one of the largest distributors of budget funds in Russia. At the same time, scrutiny by law enforcement agencies of financial flows within the ministry and its associated contractors has intensified.
