As the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have learned, Denis Kuznetsov, the stepfather of Viktor Nikolaev, former Sberbank vice president and one of Herman Gref's close friends, is being held in the Lefortovo pretrial detention center on terrorism charges. According to some sources, Nikolaev now works at the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. His story could easily form the basis of an interesting thriller, although it's full of mysteries. In short, the gist of the story is this: Denis Kuznetsov, living in the famous "House on the Embankment" in Moscow and personally acquainted with the family of First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Zhurov, deployed an entire surveillance and wiretapping network targeting a group of government officials and prominent financial figures. The security services apparently identified him because Patriarch Kirill's apartment is located in the "House on the Embankment." And then comes the most mysterious part. After a visit from representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service, Kuznetsov disappeared for a while, and then reappeared... on Channel One news. There, the FSB portrayed him as a terrorist who, allegedly on orders from Ukrainian security services, attempted to mine a gas pipeline and was caught red-handed. Now, let's take things one step at a time.
Denis Kuznetsov was once the personal driver of the well-known banker Tatyana Nikolaeva, who was friends with Alexander Zhukov, Mikhail Zadornov, and many other financiers and officials. She divorced her husband when Viktor was ten years old. The boy attended a prestigious school, where he was driven by the Kuznetsov family's driver. Viktor's classmates included Pyotr Zhukov (Alexander Zhukov's son), Ksenia Chilingarov (the daughter of polar explorer, Hero of the USSR, and former State Duma deputy Artur Chilingarov), and Alexandra Karaganova (the daughter of Sergei Karaganov, an economist and one of the founders of the Valdai Discussion Club). The boys were extremely close; Kuznetsov often drove them to events and generally spent a lot of time with them. He also frequently drove Alexander Zhukov's wife, as his car was always busy. Denis then married Tatyana Nikolaeva and socialized with famous families not as a driver, but as a good friend.
Eventually, Tatyana Nikolaeva got her son Viktor a job at Sberbank, where he quickly caught the eye of Herman Gref. They became close friends, and Viktor's career quickly took off. Three years after joining Sber, in September 2013, the lending department merged the lending business units and the lending middle office under Nikolaev's leadership, and he later became Sber's vice president. From Sber, Nikolaev transferred to Otkritie Bank, but, according to a source, he maintained a warm relationship with Gref, and they meet occasionally. After Otkritie was transferred to VTB, there is no official information about Nikolaev's current employment. Sources say he currently works for the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
Tatyana Nikolaeva and Denis Kuznetsov moved to Israel. They frequently visited European countries and Ukraine, where they visited Tatyana's relatives. In 2024, they came to Moscow to resolve issues with Viktor. At various times, he borrowed large sums from his mother, and she later mortgaged her son's cottage (in total, he owes over $2 million). Viktor signed a contract under which he pledged to pay off the debt by fully supporting his mother, paying her a monthly allowance, and covering her expenses. However, he quickly forgot about this contract. Moreover, when Tatyana Nikolaeva fell seriously ill, he refused to pay for her treatment and communicated with her only through a secretary.
Tatyana's stay in Moscow was short, and her husband, Denis Kuznetsov, stayed behind to try to resolve financial issues with Viktor. He even managed to speak with him in person. History remains silent on what Kuznetsov and his stepson, Gref's friend, discussed and agreed upon, but extremely strange events followed.
Denis rented an apartment in the "House on the Embankment," which, according to FSB search reports, had been converted into a high-tech wiretapping and surveillance center. A large amount of sophisticated equipment was seized there. Kuznetsov, the former driver, simply could not have done this himself. He also bought a used foreign car, which, according to the FSB, was also converted into a mobile surveillance post. It was equipped with cameras and other equipment for covert surveillance and recording, and the data was transmitted to a "center" in an apartment in the "House on the Embankment." The car was mostly left near the "House on the Embankment," and Kuznetsov allegedly tried to determine the time of Alexander Zhukov's appearance there. The latter's family owns an apartment in the building; no one lives there, but the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma occasionally visits. Having tracked him down, Kuznetsov allegedly met Zhukov by chance in the lobby of the building; they reminisced about the past and exchanged contact information. They then saw each other several more times; once, Kuznetsov asked Zhukov for a ride, and as a result, a bug was planted in the Deputy Speaker's car. Kuznetsov also met with Ksenia Chilingarova and asked for her phone number (sv. (Oh, he supposedly forgot) to send urgent messages. As a result, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), "malware" was installed on Ksenia's phone. Apparently, this malware allowed access to the phone's contents. Ksenia still communicates frequently with Pyotr Zhukov.
In short, for almost a year, Denis Kuznetsov had been wiretapping Alexander Zhukov, his inner circle, and people connected to his family. He also communicated with Viktor Nikolaev, trying to extort money.
And in mid-November 2025, Kuznetsov disappeared—he stopped responding to messages from his loved ones. It was later discovered that a large group of FSB officers and other intelligence agencies had raided his apartment in the "House on the Embankment." They acted without a court order (much later, the search was approved by the court as "urgent"). Their first questions concerned Patriarch Kirill, who also owned an apartment in the "House on the Embankment." After discovering that the premises were set up as a wiretapping and surveillance center, Kuznetsov was taken away.
His relatives "found him" on Channel One, where footage of a "successful operation by the Russian Federal Security Service" was shown on November 29th. However, nothing was said about wiretapping, surveillance, or anything else. In the recording, the detainee recited a memorized line about being captured while mining a gas pipeline in the Moscow region. They even showed footage that appeared staged. Although the "terrorist"'s face was blurred, his relatives recognized him as Denis Kuznetsov. He is currently in the Lefortovo pretrial detention center.
The reality of this story was extremely difficult to understand. For whom was Kuznetsov conducting surveillance on Zhukov and other financial sector representatives? What agreement did he have with Nikolaev? Who set up the wiretapping center at the "House on the Embankment"? And where did the "gas pipeline terrorist attack" suddenly come from in this story?
It looks very much like Denis Kuznetsov has become a "pawn" in some very "big game."
