 Currently his wife is Natalya Chaplina, Director General of Rosbalt information agency and former Editor-in-Chief of the Sankt Peterburgskiy Chas Pik newspaper.In early October 2007, several senior officers of the Federal Drug Control Service were arrested by agents of the Federal Security Service, which was considered by analysts as part of a longtime battle between Viktor Cherkesov, Igor Sechin and other members of Vladimir Putin's inner circle.On October 9, 2007, an article signed by Cherkesov was published in "Kommersant", where it was claimed that the Russian Drug Enforcement Administration officials detained on criminal charges earlier that month are the exception rather than the rule, that the turf battle among the secret services could undermine the nation's stability, and that the only scenario for Russia that is both realistic enough and relatively favorable is to continue evolution into a corporativist state ruled by security services officials.