High-Profile Arrests in Russian Military: Corruption Cleanup or Power Play?

Maj. Gen. Valery Mumindzhanov was detained over a bribery case, marking the ninth high-ranking Russian military officer arrested recently. The crackdown coincides with substantial changes in the Ministry of Defence, including the replacement of Sergey Shoigu as Defence Minister. Analysts suggest these arrests point to a major anti-corruption drive and power restructuring within Russia's military leadership.

A senior Russian military commander was detained in a fraud case on Monday, marking the latest high-profile arrest in what appears to be a sweeping investigation into abuse of office in Russia's military leadership.

Maj. Gen. Valery Mumindzhanov, deputy commander of the Leningrad Military District, was detained on suspicion of receiving a bribe of more than 20 million rubles (USD 223,000), Russia's Investigative Committee said.

He is the ninth top military figure to be arrested on charges of fraud, bribery, or abuse of office in recent months, including Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, who was arrested for bribery in April and later dismissed from his position.

The arrests began shortly before President Vladimir Putin replaced Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu with an economist, Andrei Belousov.

Analysts suggest the arrests are a sign that Shoigu's associates are being removed from power and that the most egregious corruption in the Defence Ministry will no longer be tolerated.

Mumindzhanov received the bribe from suppliers who wanted to secure a contract with Russia's Ministry of Defence for the supply of military uniforms, including for soldiers fighting in Ukraine, the Investigative Committee said.

It added that, at the time the bribe was paid, Mumindzhanov was the head of a department which sourced supplies and resources for the Defence Ministry and that the contract for uniforms was worth 1.5 billion roubles (USD 16.75 million.) Investigators are also assessing how Mumindzhanov and his family acquired more than 120 million roubles (USD 1.3 million) of property in the Moscow and Voronezh regions and whether it was legal, the committee said.

Last week, former Deputy Defence Minister Pavel Popov was ordered held on fraud charges. Popov is accused of forcing companies that had contracts with a military park in Moscow to do work on his own properties for free. Investigators are also assessing whether Popov's property portfolio — worth USD 5.5 million — was acquired legally.

Graft in the Defence Ministry "is so rife" that the choice of who is arrested will be informed by "internal turf wars," said Richard Connolly, a specialist on the Russian economy and military at the Royal United Services Institute in London, on Friday.

The arrests are "sending a message in a strategically important sector. But also offering the chance to settle some scores," he said.

Officials have not said how long Mumindzhanov will be detained.

He is deputy commander of the Leningrad Military District, which was reformed this year as part of a broader Russian response to Finland and Sweden joining NATO. The district — which encompasses St. Petersburg — had previously existed until 2010, when it was absorbed into another district.

(With inputs from agencies.)