Former Chelyabinsk Culture Committee Head Released from Pre-Trial Detention

Eleonora Khalikova, the former head of Chelyabinsk's culture committee, has been released from pre-trial detention after two months, similar to her alleged accomplice.

Apr 23, 2026

The custody following her arrest came as a surprise to the former culture committee head.
Source:
Natalya Laptsevich

Former head of the Chelyabinsk culture committee, Eleonora Khalikova, has been released from a pre-trial detention center under house arrest. The Central District Court made this decision on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.

«The investigation requested an extension of the custody period, but the court changed the preventive measure to house arrest until March 5, 2026,» the Investigative Committee department for Chelyabinsk Region reported.

Recall that the 39-year-old official was detained on December 5, 2025; the next day, the court sent her to a pre-trial detention center despite defense arguments. Eleonora Khalikova is accused of multi-million ruble fraud (equivalent to millions of dollars at current rates) involving attractions at Gagarin Park.

Note that the former director of the municipal institution «Gagarin Central Park of Culture and Leisure,» Zhazit Nurgazinov, was detained in October 2025, after which the head of the city culture committee quietly stepped away from duties and resigned. Nurgazinov was released from the pre-trial detention center a day before Eleonora Khalikova«s detention.

Recently, Gagarin Park has seen its third manager change in less than a year. On January 31, the city hall reported that this position was taken by former director of Victory Garden, Alexander Yeremin.

All about the criminal case and fraud with attractions at Gagarin Park — in the special section of 74.RU.