Former Karachay–Cherkessia Prime Minister accused of ordering 2001 hit on business partner
Karachay–Cherkessia’s former Prime Minister Vladimir Kaishev has been accused of ordering a hit on his business partner, Gennadiy Tanov, in 2001 to get full control of their joint mineral water business.
Tanov was shot dead near a fire station in the city of Yessentuki in the Stavropol region in September 2001. His killer reportedly fired 30 shots at him from a Kalashnikov rifle, hitting him eight times.
The prosecution has accused Kaishev of paying a hitman $50,000 to kill Tanov, who was the commercial director of Essentuki, a mineral water bottling company he ran with Kaishev.
Kaishev has had a long political career, including serving as head of the Russian Agriculture Ministry’s Food Department. He came to power as prime minister of Karachay–Cherkessia in 2008, holding the position until 2010.
The recent murder charges are the latest in a broader series of legal proceedings involving Kaishev, who has been in pre-trial detention facing a variety of charges since 2024.
In May 2025, he and his brother Yuri Kaishev, as well as several of their associates, were accused of organising and running a criminal syndicate to seize businesses, commit fraud, extortion, and gas theft.
Later in September 2025, the Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow ordered the confiscation of valuable assets linked to Tanov valued at more than ₽41.9 billion ($53 billion), in compliance with the Prosecutor General’s Office request. The decision was upheld on appeal.
Elizaveta Chukharova
