The head of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, may lose his post in the new government that will be formed after the official inauguration of Vladimir Putin for a fifth presidential term. This is reported by Forbes with reference to a source close to the Russian military department.
According to the publication’s source, the impending change in the leadership of the Ministry of Defense is connected with the arrest of Deputy Minister Timur Ivanov, a long-time ally of Shoigu, who worked with him in the government of the Moscow region in early 2010.
The arrest of Ivanov, who is accused of receiving a particularly large bribe, is the beginning of a “purge of Shoigu’s cronies in the Ministry of Defense,” according to Forbes’ source.
Having managed all the major construction projects of the Ministry of Defense, as well as gigantic budgets for the supply of the troops, Ivanov could go to a colony for 15 years.
Ivanov is one of the closest people to Shoigu, and his arrest on the eve of the appointment of a new government indicates that the chances of the current minister to keep his seat are sharply decreasing, political scientist Abbas Galyamov agrees.
“In any case, (Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai) Patrushev considered it possible to hit him,” Galyamov points out. Security officials never liked Shoigu, he recalls:
“First, the special services are always afraid of the military and are constantly looking for conspiracies among them, and they respond with mutual dislike. But in addition to the institutional reasons, there is also a personal history. Shoigu has always acted independently in relation to the FSB (formerly the KGB), considering himself you are personally part of Putin’s nomenclature, and the service, of course, does not like such things.”
Holder of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” III and IV degrees, before serving in the Ministry of Defense, Ivanov worked in enterprises of the fuel and energy complex, was recognized as an honorary employee of the fuel and energy complex and headed “Oboronstroy”. In 2019 he entered the Forbes ranking of the richest security officials: his family’s income was estimated at 136.7 million rubles.
Ivanov led a luxurious lifestyle. He owns a secret estate in the elite village of Uspenskoe with an area of over 10,000 square meters. m.
Together with his ex-wife Svetlana Zakharova, they lived in the main house of the estate of Princess Sofia Volkonskaya on Chisti Pereulok in Moscow. The luxury property is registered in the name of Zakharova’s driver, Stanislav Kuznetsov. This is what he himself said in his testimony, reports Baza. Kuznetsov is listed as the owner of the company Noble Nest, which owns the mansion built for a Russian princess in 1821. An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Fund of Alexei Navalny states that Ivanov bought this house in 2012 for 600 million rubles and then registered it in the name of the said company by writing it to the driver.
The three-story building with an area of 1000 m² is a cultural heritage site of regional importance and an architectural monument of Moscow. According to the researchers of Mikhail Bulgakov’s work, it was in the basement of this mansion that the main character of the novel “The Master and Margarita” rented an apartment. The writer himself, together with his wife Lyubov Belozerskaya, for some time lived next door – in house No. 9.
According to data from the Anti-Corruption Fund created by Alexei Navalny, Ivanov used bribes to build villas in Rublyovka and Tver. Construction was done by military contractors.
Sources of the “Important Stories” publication, close to the FSB, claim that the real reason for Ivanov’s arrest is not corruption, but accusations of treason. It is understood that the authorities are still deciding whether to talk about it publicly, so as not to provoke a “scandal”. “Now they’re deciding what to do with him: either jail him for bribery or reclassify the charge,” the source told “Important Stories.”
Treason cases (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) are investigated by the Federal Security Service (FSB). Treason and espionage cases are classified as “secret” and “top secret”, hearings are held behind closed doors. In April last year, the president of the Russian Federation signed a law providing for life imprisonment for treason. Previously, the penalty was 12 to 20 years in prison.
On the morning of April 24, the Basman Court of Moscow sent Ivanov under arrest until June 23. According to the investigators, he entered into a criminal conspiracy with third parties to commit a crime – receiving a bribe in particularly large amounts in the form of providing property services in the awarding and subcontracting of works for the needs of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Together with him, another person involved in the case – Sergey Borodin – was arrested. He is charged under a similar article.
