Vladimir Fedorovich Anikeyev () is the former ringleader of the anonymous group
Shaltai Boltai. He was detained in Russia in November 2016, and was later sentenced to two years in prison for unlawful access to computer information.
Early career
Anikeyev worked in the St. Petersburg media during the 1990s. He reportedly was not regarded as a great writer, but he was able to acquire many contacts in the Russian government.
At a party in Russia around 2004, Anikeyev had reportedly met
Alexander Glazastikov and Konstantin Teplyakov, two future members of Shaltai Boltai.
In 2013, Anikeyev proposed the idea of occasionally publishing political materials that might be of interest to the public. Glazastikov concurred. The two would later discuss who would be called Shaltai and who would be called Boltai when communicating with reporters.
Shaltai Boltai
At the end of 2013, Shaltai Boltai gained instant fame in Russia when a leaked transcript of the speech that
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 ...
was planning to give on New Year's Eve was published on their blog.
The following year, communications from high-profile figures like
Arkady Dvorkovich
Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, currently serving as the president of the International Chess Federation, FIDE. He was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 Ma ...
and
Yevgeny Prigozhin
Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin (1 June 1961 – 23 August 2023) was a Russian mercenary leader and oligarch. He led the Wagner Group, a private military company, and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until launching a ...
were published, culminating in the Shaltai Boltai blog being blocked by Russia authorities.
In the summer of 2014, Anikeyev was reportedly approached by an intermediary of a potential client who was interested in acquiring the identities of members of Shaltai Boltai.
By early 2016, due to concerns that Russian intelligence services would soon be able to identify Anikeyev's source network, operations at Shaltai Boltai were reportedly halted.
FSB influence
Teplyakov claims that Anikeyev was recruited by the
FSB in August 2015.
Other reports say Anikeyev's cooperation with the FSB, specifically
Sergei Mikhailov (FSB) and
Dmitry Dokuchaev
Dmitry Aleksandrovich Dokuchaev () is a Russian convicted cyber criminal and a former intelligence officer of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the principal security agency of Russia. In April 2019, he was sentenced to six years in prison for t ...
, began sometime in 2016.
Anikeyev himself has denied these reports.
Arrest
In October 2016, Anikeyev was reportedly lured away from Kyiv and towards the border of Belarus, where he was detained and then transported to Russia.
In January 2017, Anikeyev pleaded guilty to unlawful access to computer information.
His arrest was first announced on January 28, 2017.
Conviction
In July 2017, Anikeyev was sentenced to two years in prison.
He was released in August 2018.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anikeyev, Vladimir
Hackers
1974 births
Living people
Russian cybercriminals