High-ranking Russian defense officials caught in corruption probe

The investigation concerning the Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, Timur Ivanov, appears to be expanding to include Ruslan Tsalikov, the First Deputy Minister of Defense, who holds a senior position, as the British Ministry of Defense reported on Wednesday.

According to the daily intelligence update, there are allegations that Tsalikov was interrogated by the Federal Security Service in relation to the Ivanov case.

Tsalikov, often seen as a mentor to Ivanov, ranks third in the defense ministry hierarchy, following Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov. Tsalikov shares a long history with Shoigu, having served under his leadership at the Ministry of Emergency Situations and following Shoigu to the Moscow regional authorities and the Ministry of Defense.

The investigation into Ivanov's activities could potentially embroil the Minister of Finance, Anton Siluanov, amid claims that his residence was constructed by the Ministry of Defense’s building firms.

Corruption has long been a problem in the russian MOD. In 2019 Chief Military Prosecutor Valery Petrov said that corruption was "pretty much the root of most of the problems in the state of the rule of law". Corruption was a factor in russia’s poor performance particularly early in the Ukraine war, where corruption was blamed for expired ration packs and poor-quality tyres, and fuel embezzlement was also reported" - as noted.