Lt. Gen. Vadim Shamarin, deputy chief of the Russian military general staff, has been arrested on large-scale bribery charges, following the arrest of Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov earlier in the week. Shamarin is the latest in a series of high-ranking military officials to face corruption charges in Russia, with Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov also being arrested on bribery charges in April. Shamarin is being held in custody for two months, with few details of the case being reported.
The wave of arrests of defense officials in Russia does not indicate a campaign against the military, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. He stated that the fight against corruption is ongoing and an integral part of the activities of law enforcement agencies. In addition to Shamarin, the deputy head of the federal prison service for the Moscow region, Vladimir Telayev, was also arrested on charges of large-scale bribery.
Sergei Shoigu was dismissed as defense minister soon after President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration to a new term in May, after being widely blamed for Russia’s failure to capture Kyiv early in the Ukraine fighting and facing accusations of incompetence and corruption by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. Popov, a former top commander in Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, was dismissed as commander of the 58th Army less than a month after Prigozhin launched a mutiny in June 2023 demanding the dismissal of Shoigu and military chief of staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov.
Popov had been fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the most hotly contested areas in the Ukraine conflict. He claimed he had spoken to Shoigu about insufficient equipment that had led to excessive Russian deaths, and his dismissal was seen as a “treacherous” act against Russian forces in Ukraine. The arrest of high-ranking military officials in Russia, including Shamarin and Popov, highlights the ongoing issue of corruption within the Russian military and the government.
The arrests of Shamarin and Popov, along with other military officials, point to a larger problem of corruption in Russia that extends to the highest levels of government and the military. The dismissals and arrests come amid Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, with ongoing battles in various regions of the country. The arrests of such high-ranking officials raise questions about the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures in Russia and the extent to which corruption may undermine military operations and government functions.
