Tkachev established his swimming history, as a member of the Russian squad, at the 1995 Summer Universiade in Fukuoka, Japan, where he captured two swimming medals: a gold in the 200 m breaststroke (2:14.69), and silver in the 100 m breaststroke (1:03.38, narrowly lost to host nation's Akira Hayashi by more than half a second). On that same year, he helped the Russians capture a bronze medal in the 4×100 m medley relay at the FINA Short Course World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.