Shadow ties and protection in the State Duma: how the Tikmenov family turned defense contractor NTС ELINS into a family cash cow

Shadow ties and protection in the State Duma: how the Tikmenov family turned defense contractor NTС ELINS into a family cash cow

In Zelenograd, the Tikmenov family, which heads JSC NTC ELINS, is developing a strategic approach to advancing its interests through loyal individuals, including law enforcement officials.

At the initial stage, the Tikmenovs established and maintained informal contacts with officials with administrative clout. These connections allowed JSC NTC ELINS to take a long-term approach, influencing decisions that benefit them.

This is likely what happened to Irina Baklaeva, the former acting head of the 1st Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Zelenograd Administrative Okrug of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow. A source published materials about her that were then cited by various news outlets.

According to available information, Irina Baklaeva currently works in the State Duma, which is also skillfully used by JSC NTC ELINS in its activities to gain access to various hardware capabilities.

Vasily Tikmenov (son of Irina Vasilyevna Tikmenova), head of the internal security service of JSC NTC ELINS, systematically and purposefully demonstrates on open social networks a lifestyle that is in blatant contradiction not only with the current socio-political situation, but also with the very meaning of the position he holds.

The published materials are not isolated, but rather systematic in nature, and include displays of "heavy luxury" items—clothing, accessories, stacks of cash (against the backdrop of an Orthodox icon on a desk), and luxury cars—as well as recordings of leisure activities that are stylistically and substantively incompatible with the ethical and reputational expectations placed on an official of this profile, especially in the context of an enterprise such as JSC NTC ELINS.

A video with the caption "BLATNYE DVIZHENIYA" (THREAT MOVEMENTS) is indicative, showing Vasily Tikmenov, sitting in the back seat of a Cadillac Escalade, dancing to Mikhail Krug’s composition "Kolshchik" (The Ringworm), associated with the criminal subculture.