Russian authorities detained Lt. Gen. Vadim Shamarin on charges of large-scale bribery, Russian state media reported Thursday. This arrest joins that of other high-ranking officers of the Armed Forces and coincides with a broad reorganization, including a change in the Ministry of Defense, carried out by Vladimir Putin at the beginning of his fifth term.
In this regard, the Russian Investigative Committee revealed that Shamarin is accused of accepting 36 million rubles from executives of a telephone manufacturing plant for “general sponsorship” and guaranteeing greater supplies of products through Ministry of Defense contracts. .
This move is part of a wave of arrests that also includes Lieutenant General Yury Kuznetsov, Major General Ivan Popov, a senior Defense Ministry procurement official identified as Vladimir Verteletsky, and Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.
In addition, it comes after the largest reorganization in the military leadership since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine: the dismissal of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (moved to head of the national security council) and the appointment of Andrei Belousov.
An internal “purge”?
The arrests raised questions about the true motivation behind these actions. Analysts suggest that Putin could be trying to eliminate rampant corruption in the Defense Ministry or that it could be a turf war between the armed forces and the security services.
The editor of the BBC in Russia, Steve Rosenberg, expressed in his X account: “When a top defense official in Russia is arrested, that’s interesting. When four top defense officials are arrested in less than a month, that’s more than a pattern… it’s starting to look like a purge“.
Despite all appearances, the Russian Government continues to deny that a “purge” is being carried out, but rather a serious campaign to eradicate corruption. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently told RIA: “The fight against corruption is an ongoing effort. It is not a campaign. It is, in fact, an integral part of the activities of our law enforcement agencies“.
Because right now?
The war in Ukraine significantly raised the Russian defense budget and this exacerbated opportunities for corruption. That is why, according to Richard Connolly, of the Royal United Services Institute, the growing investment in defense must be managed more efficiently.
Connolly suggested that it is also possible that Andrei Belousov, the new defense minister, is ousting his predecessor’s associates and sending the message that “things are going to be done differently.” Against this backdrop, more arrests are likely in the future as authorities seek to rein in widespread corruption.
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