“I decided to intimidate him so that he would shut up and go to his Moscow”
Former advisor to the general director of TGC-14 Igor Ryzhkovwho was found not guilty by a jury of attempted murder of his appointee Andrey Artamonov, explained that he did not initially intend to shoot his colleague, but only wanted to intimidate him because of offensive remarks. According to him, he deliberately fired the shot wide, and Artamonov staged a hit. He told a Chita.Ru correspondent about this after the court hearing on December 18.
The motive for committing the crime is not reported. However, according to unconfirmed reports, the current head of security of this state monopoly began to audit the activities of his predecessor, who did not like it.
“It was not an assassination attempt, but rather an action.” The person behaved inappropriately, insulted and humiliated. And when this had already crossed all boundaries and switched to my relatives, to my mother, I couldn’t stand it any longer, I decided to intimidate him so that he would shut up and go to his own Moscow,” the publication’s interlocutor said.
Igor Ryzhkov noted that the forensic examination established that he did not deliberately aim at Artamonov. The court also proved that Artamonov himself pierced his jacket, claiming that this was a mark from an arrow.
“The examination revealed everything and proved that these were insinuations, which is why there was an acquittal. If I had aimed, I would have hit, the distance between us was about two meters, it was impossible to miss from here. Especially for a person who has been shooting all his life,” Ryzhkov explained.
During the investigation and until his acquittal, Ryzhkov was in pre-trial detention for more than six months. Artamonov also filed a claim for 30 million rubles in compensation, but the court did not satisfy the claim.
For now, Igor Ryzhkov does not plan to return to TGK-14, but notes that he will consider the offer if there is one.
The police published a video of the arrest and how Ryzhkov rode up to the company’s office on a scooter. He dropped the crossbow right under the cameras.
According to investigators, on May 31, 2023, the accused in the Central District of Chita shot with a crossbow at a man with the aim of murder, who, seeing the actions of the defendant, dodged. The arrow hit the victim’s clothing without causing him any harm. After this, Ryzhkov fled the crime scene and was detained by police. During the preliminary investigation, the property of the former top manager with a total value of more than 28 million rubles was seized.