Russia Another Russian army general arrested for corruption

A court in Moscow has ordered the pre-trial detention of another Russian army general on suspicion of corruption. Former Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov has been taken to the Lefortovo remand prison, the Russian state news agency Tass reported. Former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov is also being held there.

According to the agency, 69-year-old Bulgakov had unsuccessfully requested to serve his pre-trial detention in house arrest. The general was responsible for the material and technical equipment of the armed forces during the first months of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine until he was dismissed on September 24, 2022 after numerous mishaps.

According to investigators, under Bulgakov a system was allegedly created to supply the troops with low-quality provisions from dry rations at inflated prices. For example, beef was replaced by pork and chicken and the number of calories in the rations was reduced. The soldiers who had been at war with Ukraine since the invasion on February 24, 2022 had received inferior provisions. Bulgakov has been the recipient of the prestigious "Hero of Russia" award since 2016.

The general is said to have lived in luxury while the soldiers were inadequately supplied. With an annual income of 15 million roubles (around 158,000 euros), he is said to have lived in a villa with 620 square meters of living space and also owned an apartment and several plots of land.

New minister to clean up military leadership

The Russian military apparatus is considered to be extremely corrupt. Under the new Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov, the military leadership is to be purged of abuse of office and embezzlement. The most recent arrests included the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Vadim Shamarin, and the Chief of the Main Cadre Department, Yuri Kuznetsov.

In particular, the head of the Russian private army Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had repeatedly complained of a bribery economy in the military leadership and blamed previous defeats in the war of aggression against Ukraine on this. The former confidant of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin died in a plane crash in August - two months after a failed uprising. Prigozhin's criticism was primarily directed at Sergei Shoigu, whom Putin dismissed as defense minister in June and appointed as the new secretary of the National Security Council.

SDA