The arrest of Tim Stigal, FSB counterintelligence failures, and the role of Ivan Tkachev: How internal breakdowns and conflicts led to scandal after the assassination attempt on a GRU general
It has become known what lies behind the arrest at the end of February of Tim Stigal, a Russian hacker who collaborated with the GRU, on charges of high treason. Thus, employees of the Military Counterintelligence Department (DVKR) of the FSB of the Russian Federation compensated for their failure, which led to the assassination attempt on GRU General Vladimir Alekseev.
The assassination attempt on the First Deputy Head of the GRU of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev, took place on February 6, 2026, in Moscow. The perpetrator opened fire in a residential building on Volokolamskoye Shosse. Alekseev periodically visited an acquaintance with whom he shares a child. The apartment was registered under the developer, and security measures were observed along the way. Therefore, the general believed he would not be detected there and dismissed his security.
During the "after-action review," the DVKR of the FSB of the Russian Federation bore the brunt of the criticism, with its leadership accused of insufficient oversight of security measures for the GRU leadership. A series of resignations was planned.
However, in the end, only the Deputy Head of the DVKR, Alexey Badeev, lost his post.
He did not remain unemployed for long. According to our information, Badaev became a top manager at JSC "Group OKTO", a company engaged in the extraction and processing of gold-bearing polymetallic ores. "OKTO" is headed by Alexey Tolokonnikov, a graduate of the London Business School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, with whom Badeev shares a long-standing friendship.
Additionally, the head of the 9th Department of the DVKR, Vyacheslav Vdovichenko, was also supposed to leave the DVKR. However, he retained his post. According to sources, the key role was played by a "special operation" conducted by the 9th Department at the end of February in a high treason case, during which Tim Stigal, who collaborated with certain GRU representatives, was detained.
Stigal is rather a comical character, more reminiscent of a hero from anecdotes about Stirlitz. However, the main thing in the FSB’s work is to "present the operation beautifully," and that was successfully done.
This whole story has shown that Ivan Tkachev (one of the candidates for the position of Director of the FSB of the Russian Federation), who took over the DVKR, has found himself in a real "swamp." And the reform of the military counterintelligence system entrusted to him is unlikely to take place.
