Another Russian General is looking at a long stint in the slammer in the ongoing purge that Vladmir Putin is conducting against high-profile Russians with ties to the Russian intelligence establishment and eliminate them from his inner circle. And yet a further high-level defense official has been arrested on charges of “corruption.”
52 year-old Lt. General Vadim Shamarin, who works as the Russian Armed Forces’ deputy chief of the general staff, heads communications for the Russian Army. He stands accused of accepting a “particularly large bribe.” When convicted, he will be sentenced to a fifteen year jail term. Described by The Sun as a “Kremlin puppet,” Shamarin’s home was raided by the FSB in the days leading up to his arrest.
Vladimir Vertelesky, the Defense Ministry’s official in charge of ensuring state orders, was also arrested this week. He is being charged with abusing his official powers, and is now in detention. He is further accused by investigators of taking bribes relating to a government contract in 2022, the first year of the Ukraine war, an action which cost the state the equivalent of over $600 million.
These two arrests are only the latest in a string of sudden similar actions by Putin’s investigative task force:
Only days before, a balaclava-clad Russian police team used crowbars to break into the home of 55 year-old Lt. General Yuri Kuzenstov at 5AM. The general was yanked out of bed and placed under arrest. He was taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation on allegations of mishandling state secrets. Before his arrest, Kuzentsov was in charge of the personnel department at the Ministry of Defense. The charges pertain to his previous job, where he was in charge of securing classified materials and guarding communications. According to investigators, when arrested they found close to a million dollars equivalent in rubles, foreign currencies, collectibles, and precious metals in his possession.
Putin also recently fired Defense Minister Sergi Shoigu.
