Ruslan Khadzhismelovich Tsalikov (; born 31 July 1956) was a Russian First Deputy

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

and Order of Honour recipient. He has the federal state civilian service rank of

1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation 70px, Shoulder's rank 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal state civilian service rank of Russia. The rank of the 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation was first introduced ...

Early years in the USSR

Tsalikov was born on July 31, 1956, in Ordzhonikidze (now

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

North Ossetian ASSR The North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (; ) was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union. It existed from 5 December 1936 until 9 November 1993, when it became the Republic of North Ossetia (since 1994 t ...

. He graduated from the

North Ossetian State University North Ossetian State University after K.L. Khetagurov (NOSU, , СОГУ; ) is a university in Vladikavkaz, Russia. It was founded in 1920 and was named after Kosta Levanovich Khetagurov. The university is directed at education, cooperation, and ...

which was named in honour of

Kosta Khetagurov Kosta Levanovich Khetagurov (, ; ) was a national poet of the Ossetian people who is generally regarded as the founder of Ossetian literature. He was also a talented painter and a notable public benefactor. Khetagurov was born in the village of ...

in 1978 and five years later got a degree from the Moscow Institute of National Economy. Between those years he was an intern researcher in the same place. From 1983 to 1987 Tsalikov was a lecturer on

labour economics Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the Market (economics), markets for wage labour. Labour (human activity), Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding ...

and the same year became a subdean of the Economics Faculty at the same university. From 1987 to 1989, he was Economic Affairs' General Director, and from 1989 to 1990, worked at Control-and-Auditing Directorate as the Chief Controller.

Yeltsin years

Tsalikov worked as Minister of Finance of North Ossetia for four years starting from 1990 and from 1994 till 2000 was the Chief of the Main Financial and Economic Administration under

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

Putin years

From 2000 to 2005, he worked for Ministry of Emergency Situations. He was promoted to the State Secretary by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, a position which he held from 2005 to 2007. In 2010, he became a head of Ministry of Emergency Situations and then was invited as a guest on ''Special Correspondent'' on

Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...

. From May to November 2012, he was the

Vice Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...

of the

Moscow Region Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

. He was made Acting Governor of Moscow Region on 6 November 2012 and served until 8 November 2012, when he was replaced by current Governor Andrei Vorobyov. In November 2012 under

Presidential Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

in the Serdyukov- Shoigu shakeup, he was promoted to Deputy

of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He was scheduled to become Acting Governor of Moscow Region. In January 2017 Tsalikov visited

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

where he described it as Russia’s key regional ally. In August 2022 Tsalikov was rumoured by

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

to have distributed no less than $80 million to his children and other close relatives. In June 2024 Tsalikov was dismissed by Putin along with three others from the Ministry of Defence ( Nikolai Pankov, Tatiana Shevtsova and Pavel Popovin) in a shakeup marred by rumours of corruption. Another report had mention of his "sudden resignation" in the immediate aftermath of the May 2024 Shoigu-

Belousov Belousov (or Beloussov), feminine: Belousova is a Russian-Poland, Polish patronymic surname formed from the nickname Belous (which also became a surname) derived from ''Belye Usy'' (), () "White Moustache". Notable people with this surname include: ...

ministerial transition. He was linked along with Shoigu to

Timur Ivanov Timur Vadimovich Ivanov (Russian: Тимур Вадимович Иванов; born 15 August 1975) is a Russian politician who served as Deputy Defence Minister of Russia from 2016 to 2024. He previously served as the Deputy Governor of the Mosco ...

, an underling who provided the accounting firepower that the two senior men lacked, and who was arrested just prior to the May 2024 shakeup.

Sanctions

Tsalikov was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

References

1956 births Living people 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation Russian military personnel Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) People from Vladikavkaz Soviet economists 20th-century Russian economists 21st-century Russian economists Full Cavaliers of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" Governors of Moscow Oblast North Ossetian State University alumni Deputy defence ministers of Russia Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Recipients of the Order of Courage (Russia) {{Russia-mil-bio-stub