A top Russian general has been arrested on bribery charges, according to the Tass news agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s purge of his top military officials continued with the arrest of Major General Mirza Mirzaev.
The detention of Mirzaev, the deputy chief of logistics of the Russian National Guard, for allegedly trying to extort a contractor marks the latest arrest of a high-ranking military figure and fuels speculation about a crackdown on dissent and corruption within Vladimir Putin’s top military brass.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Mirza allegedly tried to extort a defense contractor supplying prefabricated building modules, according to the Telegram channel Mash.
He allegedly threatened to end the government’s 480 million rubles ($4.9 million) contract with the company if it didn’t pay him 140 million rubles ($1.4 million).
A criminal case has been opened against Mirzayev, said Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
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The 52-year-old allegedly requested 140 million rubles from the supplier of modules for prefabricated buildings and “threatened to terminate the contract worth 480 million if there was no money,” according to Mash.
The Telegram channel reported that the company transferred the money to the general through an intermediary, leading to their detention.
The major general is in custody until January 2, 2025.
Dr. Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the defense and security think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told Newsweek that there is an “ongoing crackdown in the Russian military on key figures accused of corruption.”
“Corruption is one of the reasons why the war in Ukraine has gone badly; the Russian military is trying to show that it is calling out elements that are corrupt,” Ramani said.
Russia is trying to show that they are doing something about corruption,” he explained.
“Russia is likely trying to pressure this person into spreading more information with some of their colleagues and expose more about what’s going on inside the entire ministry,” he said.
In October, Major General Alexander Ogloblin, the former head of Russia’s military communications department, was arrested on suspicion of corruption after his former superior informed him.
In April, 48-year-old Timur Ivanov, a deputy defense minister responsible for overseeing significant military construction projects, including the reconstruction of Ukraine’s devastated port city of Mariupol, was arrested on suspicion of accepting a substantial bribe. This offense could lead to a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
In rapid succession, Shamarin, Major General Ivan Popov, a former top commander of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, and Lieutenant General Yury Kuznetsov, head of the Defense Ministry’s personnel directorate, were all arrested on bribery charges.
In May, Vladimir Verteletsky, a defense official, was arrested and charged with abuse of office, leading to losses exceeding 70 million rubles ($776,000), according to the Investigative Committee.
