Media. Something strange is going on. Another member of the Russian elites has been found dead.
Reports suggests that he fell out of a window, poisoned with mushrooms.
Died of heart failure, died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
How comes you are they?
Dozens of Russian oligachs, politically motivated millionaires have died in the space for three years, most of them in suspicious circumstances. Many have hidden links to the Kremlin. This is sad Oligach Season two, an ongoing investigation into these recently dead Russian power brokers. Sad Oligach is created by me Jake Hanrahan and my Ukrainian colleague Sergey Slipchenkong. This is a
H eleven Studio and Coolso Media production. Last week, in part one of this episode, Tycoon in a Gulag I laid out the train of events that led to Aygor Kotlnikov's sudden death. He was a key part of a conspiracy to pinch pennies on a very large scale, WHI was providing produce for Russian military rations as they continued their invasion of Ukraine. Kotelnikov died somehow in a solitary
confinement cell in a Moscow pre trial detention center. We still don't know much about his death, literally just the day and where it happened. July eighth, twenty twenty four, in a cell. Before Kotlnikov was announced dead, it said he was healthy and appeared generally okay. A human rights organization in Russia met with him in jail just days before he passed. Before we dig deeper into the other defendants around this strange case, I want to have another
look at the detention centers themselves. Research shows that they are excellent places to have people killed in if you were so inclined. They've become a core tool of Putin's Russia. You'll see why this is relevant in a bit. Russia's pre trial detention centers are known colloquially as sizo's. It's a Russian acronym that means investigative isolation facility. Whilst Caeso's are often described as prisons. Now, they were never quite meant to be that. Jail's sure, but prisons not so much.
Prison is where you go after conviction. Caeso's a replaced for the Russian authorities to turn the screws on you. They exist to apply pressure on an inmate before anything has fully been proven. You're in there until the final decision has been made a court. However, under Putin, this distinction between prison and jail has become largely meaningless in practice. Pre trial detention in Russia functions as punishment, leverage, and warning, all of this at the same time as you sit there,
rotting in some of the worst conditions imaginable. Whilst Putin has added Caeso's to his tallkit of cruel weaponry, they weren't invented by him. These are inherited state structures that were planted as seeds by the nightmare of the Soviet Union's justice infrastructure. In the USSR, it was as simple as this, if you've been arrested, you're probably guilty. Pre Trial detention existed to isolate suspects, extract confessions, and prepare cases.
It was by no means whereas suspects rights would be respected. Frankly, once in that system, your rights ceased to exist, at least as far as the Soviet authorities were concerned. The Soviet Union collapsed, Russia attempted reform in the country in the late nineties. They even signed up to adheer to European legal standards, considering the hypocritical authoritarianism of Europe's so
called justice system. That sounds laughable now, but back then, in comparison with what the USSR had been up to, it actually meant something. And so as part of this attempt at reform, Russia transferred control of the detention facilities from the Interior Ministry to the Justice Ministry. On paper, this was meant to put an end to the abuse in the hellish limbo of pre trial detention jails. In reality,
almost nothing actually changed. When Putin took power in the early two thousands, The so called reform period died quietly. Justice sectors were brought and the firm control of the new political elite. The result wasn't a return to gulags, but something subtler and more efficient. Detention centers were turned into pressure cookers for inmates awaiting trial. All of this was done legally with a wave of Putin's iron fist. These jails have been modernized just enough to remain functional
or keeping the same core purpose total control. Most of the cazos used today were not freshly built under Putin. They are old, infested, structures. Some of them SAAREHST era prisons and former Soviet gulacs. They've been patched up here in there. But as we explained in the last episode, these caeizos are a nightmare. Putin era Russia focuses on consolidation of prison control as opposed to reconstruction and criminal reform. In that respect, it's just like the West. In these
squalid cells. There's very little natural light and airflow is often non existent. There reguards everywhere, watching constantly as detainees are squashed together like sad deans and shut off from the outside world almost entirely. Remember this is not a place for the guilty, not officially anyway. The people inside are all await in trial. They're being punished before even seeing a jury. Now, don't get it confused. These buildings
are not accidental relics. They're literally engineered and designed to make time drag and for personal autonomy to evaporate. In Moscow, especially Caeso's, are these huge brick compounds surrounded by high walls with spools of sharp razor wire and constant watch towers. They often sit just blocks away from offices, apartments, and metro stations, a looming specter for anyone who thinks to
cross the state. For those who do and end up trapped in these monoliths, their life becomes defined by waiting and waiting and waiting, waiting for court dates, waiting for investigators, waiting for letters, waiting for a release date that may never come. These cells are high pressure containers for the worst. Days are sometimes due to nothing ever happening, at least not in regard to updates on a person's case. As I mentioned in Part one, the cells are us usually overcrowded.
A space designed for four might hold six or eight. A place for six might hold over a dozen. Beds are narrow metal frames, often shared in shifts. In some facilities, beds are even folded up upright during the day, forcing detainees to stand or sit on the floors for hours. The toilets are usually just a metal bowl in the corner. There's no privacy, and some cells the lights stay on around the clock, often in cells without windows twenty four
to seven halogen bulbs. Noise carries constantly through the corridors. Sleep becomes shallow, fragmented, and for some non existent. As for food, it's basic and repetitive. You get just enough to survive, but not enough to stay healthy. Medical care is minimal. Chronic conditions worse than mental health support is a complete myth. Inside Russia's Caizo's you're not only on your own, you're stock in conditions designed to make you lose your mind. In these facilities, Katelnikov would have been
treated particularly badly. His crimes are essentially traitorous. He was stealing from Russian troops as they got pink misted out on the front lines of Ukraine. He became, in the eyes of the hypernationalist Putin government, an enemy of Russia. Now I actually know a charge to quote unquote enemy of Russia. He's a British born Ukrainian soldier who was taken as a prisoner of war. His name is Aidan Aslin. He was captured by Russian forces in April twenty twenty
two in the east of Ukraine. Okay, now it's time for a quick adbreak, all right, enough for that, Now back to the shore. He was on the front fighting for the freedom of the country. He was captured and held in pre trialed attention for almost half a year. Here's what he had to say about the conditions he experienced.
There was like a filtration place. He took us there. That's when they started getting a bit more like rough like man handling. They put us in stress position against the wall, and then one way one they like processed all of us, and then eventually it came to me. I got a fucking punch of the nose and a few more punches around. It wasn't too hard, it was just like more more manhandling like punches, and then they
told me to get on my knees. That's when I thought that maybe they're going to fucking might execute me or something like right here. And then they told me to get back up and fell back in, got taken to the Netsk. And when they loaded me into the car, like we were driving out the compound, and like one of them turned and said, like we're taking you to be shot. I pretended I didn't understand him, even though I understood what he said, I just like stayed quiet
and just expected that this is how I die. Eventually we get to the Netsk. I've got a hood on at this time, well a plastic bag. I get taken to some place in the nets. I get taken out. They take the handcuffs off me, and then this guy says says something to me in Russia, and I didn't understand a word he said. And then me being me, I asked him to repeat himself because I didn't understand.
As soon as I said that, like, I just got a hit around the head with police baton and then he also stabbed me on my left shoulder blade.
He stabbed you with a knife. Yeah, mean, man, that's the police office though or whatever.
It's some sort of weird like special police like investigation thing. It's like some Soviet bullshit. But yeah, they drove me into that building and then they beat you for like
two hours, just asking those sorts of stupid questions. So when I was in the prison, I was in this cell block like five months, and it was it was basically the solitary confinement with this prison for the swimmers, they kept two people and they said for the POWs they kept like fucking in one of the cells I was in there, it was like five of us for like a two man like self. Like it was like super tiny cell. One of the guys had to sleep on the floor is concrete. So I was in this
cell boop for five months. You had some pretty like nasty, statistic like prison guards there, but there was like one or two that were pretty all right, but like you would have like some that were just like the guy that would make us sing the anthem all day or just fucking trying to scare us, or the guy that liked to try and beat guys for reason.
Now, of course, Aslyn was in a very specific situation during his detainment, but the way he was treated gives you an idea of what prisoner's rights mean in Russia. One of the most important features of the Putin era pre trial detention centers is how long you have to stay in them. These seizel detentions regularly last months, sometimes even years. Judges almost always approve extensions requested by investigators.
Bail is rare, and house arrest is selectively applied. As Sergei said in Part one, Kotelnikov requested to go back to one of his big houses and rest up whilst on bail, but it was immediately denied by the judge. All of this turns the seizo into another weapon for the state. By the time the case reaches caught, the suspect has already been punished, even if they're later acquitted or given a light sentence, the damage has basically already
been done. Investigators know it, defense lawyers know it, and the defendants of course definitely know it. In this hellish groundhog day of misery and detention, a confession can become a bargaining hip. Cooperation can lead to transfers, better conditions, or a faster case resolution. Resisting authorities, however, leads to total stagnation or worse. Many many people have died in these cazos under suspicious circumstances. To make matters worse, there's
an unspoken social hierarchy inside the season. This is inherited from Russia's criminal underwe World gods officially deny any involvement, but in practice the system is often tolerated or quietly manipulated by them. Some even help to facilitate an inner detention criminal network, a sort of caizo mafia. Certain detainees are placed together deliberately. Informants might share cells with political prisoners or businessmen. Businessmen like Kotelnikov. Vulnerable prisoners can be
exposed to pressure from hard and criminals. The state doesn't need to issue explicit orders. This way, the predesigned hostile environment does the work for it. Of course, violence doesn't always need to be physical. The threat of isolation, humiliation, or being labeled in prison culture as a weakling or a snitch is often enough to break people. There's a ton of this going on inside the Moscow Seizo, specifically
where Kotelnikov was held. In fact, the Moscow detention centers are some of the most infamous in the whole of Russia, partly because that's where high profile cases end up. Places like Botraaka, Matroskaya, Tishina, and Lafortovo have a long histories. Lefortovo in particular is notorious, but in a different way. It's a former KGB prison that still operates under heavy FSB influence Putin's henchmen. Unlike most szo's, Lefortovo is quiet,
too quiet. It's very different there. It's strictly controlled and much more hygienic than others, but that doesn't mean it's humane. The nightmare here is more psychological than physical. Detainees have described constant surveillance, strict silence, and extreme isolation. No shouting, talking, no noise, no sense of time. Contact with family is tightly restricted. Lawyers face regular stonewalling letters arrive late, if
at all, it's a different kind of pressure. That's all to say that caeso's are used not only as a weapon of the state, but a sort of laboratory, a testing ground using experimental methods for abusing prisoners who were not even yet found guilty. Whilst it's said that Kotelnikov was in fairly good condition, the medical neglect in these
places is literally a defining feature. Tuberculosis, skin disease, and untreated chronic illnesses are very common, not to mention psychological deterioration, which is almost guaranteed during long stays in Putin's caesos. Deaths in pre trial custody are usually quickly explained away as natural causes or suicides. Investigations are rare. Accountability is almost unheard of, so when Kotelnikov dropped dead in solitary with no explanation, no one was surprised that the jail
did fuckal to investigate. Now you might be wondering why I am so focused on the detention centers themselves in part two of the episode. Well, it's not just Kotelnikov who died in one. Other defendants in his case also seem to have perished without a trace whilst awaiting justice. This politically inconvenient conspiracy of chain linked corruption involving stealing food from Russian soldiers went away swiftly, and it went away quietly. You see under Putin, Caesar's have become more
than detention centers. They're a threatening signal in the dark. They show a businessmen what happens if you fall out of favor. They signal to activists what resistance will cost them. They even let ordinary everyday citizens know that legal protections are conditional. This sort of system doesn't even need mass physical repression. Stormtrooper boots on the tarmac are not always necessary. The Kremlin only needs enough visible abuse to maintain fear.
A few people disappearing into pre trial detention for months or years does the job perfectly. Okay, now it's time for a quick outbreak, all right, enough for that. Now back to the shot. So now we know the true horror of the Russian pre trial detention center, the CAIZO, we can understand the context of Kotelnikov's situation a lot better. That puts his refusal to give evidence against Tima Ivanov
into a different light. As we know now it would have likely been very beneficial as a bargaining ticket for Katelnikov to rat out Ivanov. So why didn't he? Well, first, let's understand who Tima Ivanov is. This from Man and Sergery's notes. Tiva Ivanov was born on August fifteenth, nineteen seventy five, in Moscow. Little information is available regarding his childhood. His father was from Moscow and his mother was from so Dagastan. That's all we can find. Timar Ivanov was
a teenager when the Soviet Union began to unravel in disintegrate. Nevertheless, in nineteen ninety seven, he went on to receive a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow State University. In two thousand and four, he received another degree, this time in economics and finance. That same year, Tima Ivanov's father, Vadim Ivanov, became the general director of a company that manufactured light bulbs and other electrical devices. Keep this in mind, as
this will come up again in a minute. Ivanov went on to receive and defend a PhD in economic sciences in twenty eleven, focusing on financial and organizational models of nuclear power plant projects. Something very useful to the Russian government, although he was getting a higher education. Throughout the nineteen nineties and two thousands, Ivanov also went through several notable
jobs during that time. For example, he was a vice president and then the first vice president of Adam Stroyer Export and russa Tom's engineering company, which helped construct nuclear power plants outside of Russia. He also worked as an advisor to the Minister of Energy of Russia between two thousand and eight and twenty twelve, and as the Director General of the Russian Energy Agency, which is part of
Russia's Ministry of Energy part of the government. All of his positions were important in their own industries, and Ivanov certainly was doing well for himself by this point, but all of his previous roles pale in comparison to his professional speed run to the highest echelons of the Russian government.
This started in May twenty twelve, when he was appointed as the deputy head of the Moscow Region, which was then led by none other than Sergei Shogu, the longtime Russian powerbroker who served as Defence Minister from twenty eleven until twenty twenty four. Remember, he was the one overseeing Russia's military, including the invasion of Ukraine. He was a
big part of Putin's inner circle. Now, Tima Ivanov didn't keep this role for long, but that's only because following Shogu's appointment as Minister of Defense, Ivanov was assigned to leave Oberon stroy the Defense Department's personal construction company, which oversees all of the military's construction projects such as training facilities, hospitals, research institutions, and more. Apparently, Ivanov led that agency very well. Any project was assigned to him was completed quickly and
to Putin's satisfaction, according to reports from that time. For example, shortly following Russia's annexation of Crimea in twenty fourteen, Oberon Stroyer was tasked with constructing a presidential cadet school, which Tima Ivanov made sure was completed in just three months. In twenty fifteen, following multiple successful projects, Ivanov received an award from Putin himself, called the Honored Builder of Russia. So clearly, at one point Tima Ivanov was very, very
connected to the Kremlin. In the following decade, Ivanov continued to successfully complete projects until he became the Deputy Minister of Defense, a role which had him oversee the construction and maintenance of all things related to the Russian military. At his peak, Ivanov was a a first class State Advisor, the highest possible rank a civil servant can receive, and is on the same sort of level with an army
general or a navy admiral. From what we can gather, Ivanov lived happily with his kids, a lot of money, and his second wife in Moscow while overseeing various components of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He very much has blood on his hands. Of course, this has made him a target of Western sanctions. However, his wife apparently now lives in Western Europe and is living it up big time.
We found out that she's been spending nearly a million US dollars to rent villas, yachts, and to purchase designer clothes priceless jewelry while her husband oversees the bloodshed caused by Russia in Ukraine. According to reports, Ivanov's wife received this money from companies that are doing reconstruction work in Russian occupied Maripol in Ukraine. This area was brutally raised
the ground during the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Still, after all of this, on April twenty third, twenty twenty four, Ivanov's successful career and peaceful family life came crashing down around him. He was detained by the FSB on the suspicion that he had received a massive bribe. Perhaps that's what his wife was spending out in Western Europe. The following day, the detention became an official arrest, and Ivanov
lost his government titles. According to the FSB investigation, Ivanov worked with companies which bribed him to grant them lucrative construction contracts from the federal government. On April twenty fifth, all of his official accounts and assets were frozen by the Russian government. This even included anything owned by his ex wife, his current wife, his five kids, and even
his parents. By the time Ivanov received an official sentence of thirteen years in prison in July twenty twenty five, he'd lost everything, including a Mercedes Benz, a Chevrolet Suv, and a fancy sports motorcycle. The government took it all off him and put it all to use elsewhere. Now, as I said at the start, keep a note of Ivanov's father and his company Crystal Development. From further research, it looks like that company ceased operations in November twenty
twenty four and it was liquidated. Court documents suggests that the company received a number of government contracts. However, there were no details regarding what the government ordered or how much the contracts were worth. No official connection between father and son had been made, and no additional details can be found on Vadim Ivanov. All a bit fishy, and remember this is the man that Igor Kotelnikov was asked
to turn witness against. The government wanted him to go to court and give evidence, but he said no, I'm not going to do that, which resulted in him being put into solitary confinement and dying whilst in there. It's clear to me that there was a lot more at stake for Kotelnikov. Him and Tima Ivanov were involved in cross department embezzlement, bribery and theft, and were funneling money out of the country into their own coffers and making
sure they lived a very nice life. I think it's highly possible that some kind of deal was made and that Katelnikov was killed as a warning to anyone else involved in this ring. Now there's another man in this story who was connected, who died at a very convenient time for anyone involved in this embezzlement case. His name was Magomed Kandaiev. He was a former official in Russia's Ministry of Defense and was overseeing the quote examination department
as well as a military construction unit. Now, surprise, surprise, he was hired and worked under Shogu and answered directly to Tima Ivanov. He was interrogated by investigators as a witness in the case of Ivanov, so he was not in the pre trial detention center, but he was brought in for questioning. This man could be a key part of the case in regards to giving evidence against the higher ups in this embezzlement ring. At least he could
have been. Turns out, Maghamed Kandaiev is also dead. And get this, he died on July ninth, the exact same day as Aigor Katelnikov. Now there's no further information whatsoever about where or how, but we do know for certain that he died on this day, conveniently for the embezzlement ring higher ups, specifically the ones closest to putin all the witnesses to their further crimes are now six feet underground.
What a stroke of luck You've been listening to? Sad Oliga season two Produced by H eleven Studios for Cool Zone Media. Writing, editing, producing, concept and recording by myself, Jake Hanrahan, Research and reporting by Sergei Slipchenko, me and Victim Mihail. Executive producing by Sophie Lichtman. Music by Sam Black, artwork by George Zutfu. Soundmixed by Splicing Block. See my other projects at Hanrahan dot Tv. Get me on social
media at Jake under School Hanrahan. That's h A N R A H A M A cat The cat Cat, The Catholic, Catholic, Catholic, Catholic