Russia’s FSB raided the home of a senior Defense Ministry official in the pre-dawn hours of Monday as part of a rapidly expanding probe of corruption within that ministry. The FSB kicked in the doors and windows of Lieutenant General Yury Kuznetkov’s suburban Moscow villa at around 5 a.m., dragged him from bed, and bundled him away to prison. According to Russian media, the search not only netted documents but over $1 million in cash, “gold coins, collectible watches and luxury items.” Kuznetsov stands accused of “taking a bribe on a particularly large scale.” Given the industrial scale of Russian corruption, taking a bribe large enough to draw the attention of the FSB is something of an accomplishment.
There was no word if the FSB sniffed their way through his wife’s underwear drawer, but they did arrest her. And they held a photo op.
Two boxes of documents were taken from the apartment of the arrested General Yuri Kuznetsov in the center of #Moscow. Searches are currently underway in Ruzheyny Lane.
There are police at the building. The military takes away documents and other evidence in the bribery case. pic.twitter.com/20UsnJBvdw
— Aurora Borealis 🤫 (@aborealis940) May 14, 2024
The 55-year-old Kuznetsov heads the Defense Ministry’s Main Personnel Directorate. Less than a year ago, he was in charge of the GRU’s 8th Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Russia’s special operations command.
A thorough purge seems to be underway in the Defense Ministry. About three weeks ago, the FSB arrested one of the senior henchmen of then-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on charges of corruption.
BACKGROUND: Top Aide to Russia’s Defense Minister Arrested for Corruption and Maybe Treason. What’s Going on?
That arrest was followed two weeks later by a reshuffling of Putin’s government (lolol) that moved longtime crony Shoigu from the Defense portfolio to Secretary of the Security Council of Russia.
BACKGROUND: Putin Sacks Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Shakes Up Russia’s Security Council
The Caveat
“Kremlin political intrigues are comparable to a bulldog fight under a rug. An outsider only hears the growling, and when he sees the bones fly out from beneath, it is obvious who won.”
— Winston S. Churchill
What We Know
The day after Shoigu was kicked upstairs, two of his top aides resigned. Those were First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Ruslan Tsalikov, who is the civilian counterpart of the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, and Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Aleksei Krivoruchko who is responsible for R&D and procurement. Russian human rights activist Vladimir Ovechkin says their resignations were predated May 9 to separate them from Shoigu’s transfer. There is an additional report that the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Tatiana Shevtsova, who is responsible for the finances of the Russian military, has also resigned.
Three of the twelve deputy defense ministers have resigned, and one is in prison.
Most observers expect Krivoruchko’s arrest in connection with a body armor procurement scandal that led to Russian troops headed to combat being equipped with fake ballistic armor, including the widespread use of AirSoft body armor.
To make room for Shoigu on the Security Council, Putin removed another longtime ally, Nikolai Patrushev. He has now resurfaced as a “presidential aide” without specific responsibilities. To make the landing even sweeter, his son was made deputy prime minister for agriculture. This would seem to indicate that not only is Patrushev not out of favor but that his influence inside Putin’s inner circle is increasing. As I noted, Patrushev was one of the geniuses behind the 2014 Crimea land grab and invasion of Donbas and the current war.
It is still too early for me to make a guess on what any of this means. Is it the new guy clearing out people loyal to Shoigu? Is it part of a broader corruption investigation? Or is it even related to corruption? A lot of Russian Telegram sites have been darkly hinting that one or more of the arrested men may have been involved in trafficking state secrets. Eventually, though, as Churchill noted, we’ll start seeing bones flung from underneath the metaphorical rug and know a lot more.
