Dmitry Vladislavovich Shalkov was born in Moscow on August 10, 1967. His parents, police colonel Vladislav Kuzmich Shalkov and Valeria Ivanovna Shalkova were born in 1937 and lived in Moscow at 44 Leningradsky Avenue. His grandfather Kuzma Nikolaevich Shalkov was a technical troop’s major general (1901 – 1958) and is buried at the Preobrazhensky cemetery in Moscow.
Being the Head of the State Traffic Inspectorate in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Vladislav Kuzmich Shalkov is a significant personality. According to colleagues, he is “a great erudite, who knew how to draft orders of the head of the main department and decisions of the collegium of a so amazing quality that they were named “hammered”: with perfect wording, explicit linkage with the operational situation, balanced personnel decisions.” This quality was inherited by the son Dmitry.
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In 1984 he graduated from secondary school No. 152 in Moscow and decided to continue his career in the military. He entered the Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School named after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, from which he graduated in 1988. In 1992 he received a law degree, and in 2001 he became a PhD.
The biography of Dmitry Shalkov is the most classified among current leaders of Russia. Only information about his date of birth and work in the FSB during 2015-2018 is available officially. This describes those secret assignments that he had to carry out.
As it turned out, since 1993, Shalkov was working in the 8th Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation – the so-called “Special Department”, which deals with the protection of military secrets.
Yevgeny Pospelov gives a following description about Shalkov: “Dmitry Vladislavovich is a fighter, who is ready for a long battle (whether constructive or destructive). He has great inner strength. Stubborn, persistent. Stranglehold. Independent, freedom-lover, does not tolerate pressure. Is self-esteem and imperious. Divides the whole world into good and bad with no halftones. He is good at hiding his thoughts and emotions. Has small patience, and does not accept authorities. Holds a desire of taking revenge on the offender (if such appears). He has a certain magnetism and influence on people. Can be rude, whimsical, and tyrannical to himself and others.
Has a pleasant appearance that causes sympathy in others. Sometimes emotions prevail over common sense, which lets him be biased in his thoughts. The person is impressionable and emotional. Optimist. Sensitivity makes him empathetic and understanding. Has a powerful imagination.
Maintains uncontrolled sexual behaviour. His sentimentality and strong sensitivity play in favour of persons of the opposite sex, which might manipulate him.
Tends to eat well and tasty hence has overweight.
Caution, conservatism, organizational talent. Strict, disciplined. Attributes of external life comforts do not play importance to him. Describes himself as having self-esteem and a sense of duty.
A strong physique gives the impression of strength. Ambitious and has a desire for recognition and cheering for his deeds. Does not accept interference. The one who acts and achieves; has a strong will. Vigorously and resolutely achieves the goal.
Has a desire for sensational action due to selfishness. It happens that he loses self-control. He is attracted by war, all sorts of confrontations, and contradictions. Has ambitious thoughts, and a strong will to win. He wants to be influential and leave his mark on history. A generous and optimistic person with a cheerful and friendly character. Sociability and willingness to help are his streaks.
Impatient for hypocrisy and social injustice. Applies nuanced methods to deal with assigned task.”
Nikolai Gorokhov describes him as the following: “A patriot of Russia who enjoys great prestige in law enforcement agencies, his main streaks are loyalty, dedication, diligence, and an ability to remain in the shadows in any situation.”
Since 2010, Shalkov worked in the Main Military Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee, especially, he has been investigating cases associated with the activities of former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. Since Serdyukov is the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, who, in turn, is a relative of Nikolai Patrushev, at a certain time Shalkov came into conflict with Patrushev’s institutions. After considering all the pros and cons, he arranged a compromise: he was voluntarily repositioned from the Investigative Committee to the FSB, under the control of Patrushev (although it was previously believed that Shalkov was the closest associate and friend of the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, who traditionally had confrontations with teams of Patrushev and Chemezov). Obviously, Serdyukov’s case was stifled. In February 2014, Shalkov shut the case on Serdyukov’s corruption, as he was subject to an amnesty for the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
In March 2014, Lieutenant General Shalkov was promoted to Colonel General of Justice.
A year later, in March 2015, 65-year-old Colonel General of Justice Yuri “Beard” Gorbunov, who served as the State Secretary of the FSB and oversaw the FSB investigation for 11 years, was dismissed. His place was taken by Dmitry Shalkov, who was assigned to the department of Alexander Bortnikov from the Investigative Committee.
An important point: in the role of Secretary of State and First Deputy Director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Shalkov was responsible for the interaction of the special service with the authorities, and also oversaw issues of cyber operations and cyber security. It was he who acted as the main speaker of the department in respect of hacker attacks. He also presented a report on the successes of the FSB in the fight against cybercriminals to the State Duma.
On January 27, 2016, Shalkov briefed: “Comparing with 2015, the number of hacker attacks on Russian official information resources almost doubled. The FSB is ready to resist cyber attacks, and it does not need any “intermediate boosting” for this.” Shalkov also stated that a criminal case on the fact of DDoS attacks on Russian banks, which took place last autumn, has already been initiated and an investigation is underway.
In early 2017, Shalkov announced that a criminal case had been opened after hacker attacks on Russian banks that occurred in the fall of 2016.
“Sberbank, Rosbank, Alfa-Bank, Bank of Moscow, Moscow Exchange Stock and others became attackers’ targets,” Shalkov said, remarking that all attacks were neutralized. According to him, more than 70 million hacking attempts were made in 2016. This number is three times more than a year earlier, he added.
During a speech in the State Duma in March 2017, the deputy director of the FSB presented a package of government bills “On the security of the critical information infrastructure (CII) of the Russian Federation.” It envisages the basic principles for ensuring the security of CII, the powers of state bodies of the Russian Federation in the area of ensuring its security, as well as the rights, duties and responsibilities of persons owning CII objects based on ownership or otherwise legally, telecom operators and information systems that ensure their interaction.
It is considered that it was Dmitry Shalkov who oversaw the process of assembling institutions involved in cyber attacks in the interests of the Russian Federation (the most famous project is the “Internet Research Agency”, based in Olgino). These structures were financed by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin from Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. It was also Shalkov who came up with the idea to launch pranksters copying the voices and manner of speech of the first persons of various countries: pranksters Lexus and Vovan periodically contact politicians in different countries and, misrepresenting themselves as either a president, prime minister, head of organizations, are trying to collect necessary information, or to put officials in a stupid position, making the conversation publicly available. The method for organizing a conversation, access to special communications, keys and ciphers are under the control of Shalkov.
In spring of 2018, an announcement appeared that Dmitry Shalkov might be appointed as an Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation – Head of the Presidential Control Department. The main tasks of the presidential control department are to control and verify the implementation of presidential decisions by federal and regional authorities; to control the implementation of program documents of the head of state, including annual messages to the Federal Assembly. From August 1996 to March 1997, Alexey Kudrin (currently head of the Accounts Chamber) was the head of the department. After him, the department was headed by Vladimir Putin (from March 1997 to May 1998), Nikolai Patrushev (August – October 1998) and Evgeny Lisov (October 1998 – May 2000).
For 10 years, Konstantin Chuichenko, a former member of the Gazprom structures, and a classmate of the Prime Minister, headed the presidential control department. In 2008, it was Dmitry Medvedev who called him to work in the presidential administration. Chuichenko at that time was listed as a successful businessman and manager: he headed the legal department of Gazprom and at the same time served as executive director in the Swiss company RosUkrEnergo AG, which managed all trade on Russian natural gas.
The presidential control department is not a very public structure, but it plays a vital role in the fight against corruption. Together with the Accounts Chamber and law enforcement agencies, the control department monitors who and how implement the Kremlin’s initiatives and who commits violations.
After Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012, Konstantin Chuichenko retained his post. The media wrote that the past of Medvedev’s classmate could play a role in this: before joining Gazprom, he served in the state security agencies. However, in 2018, after the scandal with Sergei Prikhodko’s trip on a yacht in the company of oligarch Oleg Deripaska, the post of chief of staff was vacant in the government. In early May, Dmitry Medvedev invited Konstantin Chuichenko.
At the end of May 2018, Colonel General Dmitry Shalkov headed the position of the head of the Control Department of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation. His first deputy was also a representative of the FSB, General Valentin Letunovsky, who is described as a “tough and strong-willed functionary.”
He immediately changed the style of leadership and gave new guidelines. If under Chuichenko the main focus was on controlling executions by the government and governors according to the President’s instructions, now there a tilt was made towards power control from the FSB and the Investigative Committee (with the intensification of criminal prosecution of the perpetrators). Shalkov interacts closely with the Accounts Chamber.
New requirements were made for federal ministers and governors: that their reports should not exceed three pages of A4 format, aiming to foster them to speak briefly getting straight to the point (while Chuychenko demanded lengthy and detailed reports). Also, ministers and governors became responsible for spelling errors and text style. Each report must be accompanied by additional analytical material.
At the end of August 2018, a rather remarkable occasion that illustrates rising the influence of the Control Department happened. During the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Akimov, representatives of almost all ministries were listening to reports from deputy ministers in charge of digital development. Representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives spoke on the “digital” budgets of national projects separately. All speeches, as well as proposals for the minutes of the decision on the results of the meeting, were agreed upon in advance with the Government Office and personally with Akimov. But General Valentin Letunovsky, the deputy chief of the Control Department of the Presidential Administration, arrived at the meeting unexpectedly. He listened to the speeches of officials and experts for 2 hours silently and then said that he does not agree with anything, asking all speakers to coordinate their proposals with the Control Department of the Presidential Administration individually.
At the very beginning of September 2018, reports appeared that Dmitry Shalkov wrote a memorandum addressed to President Putin about the necessity to dismiss Vyacheslav Volodin from politics by 2020, lowering him from speaker of the State Duma to an ordinary deputy (allegedly “of his own free will” ). Shalkov believes that it is Volodin who should be blamed for the fact that pro-government political party “Yedinaya Rossiyaa” became a bulky and totally ineffective structure, and Volodin also “gathers all the negativity of governance.”
It is noteworthy that after Shalkov moved to the Presidential Administration, he still remains one of the most mysterious functionaries of the Kremlin. According to Ascolta, he continues to maintain influence on a number of projects related to cyber attacks and protection against them. Various sources name many structures that are engaged in such activities under the wing of Shalkov, but it is difficult to find any evidence in the public domain, which indicates pedantry in carrying out such tasks.
Against the backdrop of a number of cyber attacks on a number of Ukrainian structures, including telecommunications companies, banks, strategic enterprises and government resources, it can be assumed that the activities of structures controlled by Shalkov are highly popular in Russia’s war against everyone.
In 2020, the Agency for Political and Economic Communications published its annual rating of “100 Leading Politicians in Russia”, in which Shalkov was ranked 83rd. In 2022, according to the “Authority Index” rating published by the “Davydov.index” project, Shalkov took 95th place.
Married (no information about his wife is available), and has a daughter named Dasha.
