The Russian government has intensified its crackdown on top military officials, with the arrest of former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov on Thursday. Popov, who served as deputy defense minister for 11 years before being removed from his position in June, is now under investigation for fraud related to his management of resources meant for a military theme park near Moscow, known as Patriot Park.
The arrest is part of a broader campaign targeting high-ranking officials in Russia’s Ministry of Defense, a purge that has seen eight military officials detained since April. This crackdown, widely interpreted as a move to tighten control over the military amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, has particularly impacted individuals associated with former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was dismissed in May and replaced by economist Andrei Belousov.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Friday that the corruption investigations involve “serious charges” that will lead to court trials. Popov, who is accused of exploiting state resources between 2021 and 2024, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The Russian Investigative Committee, which opened the fraud case against Popov, released footage of him being taken to a Moscow court in handcuffs.
🇷🇺Russia’s Investigative Committee announced today that it has opened a fraud case against former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov.
Pavel Popov was taken to court in handcuffs. 👀 pic.twitter.com/L7lsQSDe5H
— WORLD AT WAR (@World_At_War_6) August 29, 2024
Popov’s arrest follows the detention of several other prominent military figures, including former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was arrested in April on bribery charges, and Vadim Shamarin, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, who was detained in May in connection with a separate fraud case. These arrests have been characterized by experts as a deliberate “cleansing” of the Ministry of Defense, likely ordered by President Vladimir Putin himself.
This wave of arrests has been seen as a significant blow to Shoigu’s influence within the Russian military establishment. Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, remarked on the implications of Popov’s arrest, noting that it further weakens the former defense minister’s network of loyalists.
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