Russia authorities detained army high ranking officers on bribery charges

Russian media reported that Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, (55), head of the Defense Ministry’s main personnel directorate, was arrested in a raid on his home on the outskirts of Moscow on Monday, rising the arrested army officers’ number to 2 in this past week.

He was arrested on bribery charges and imprisoned pending investigation and trial, according to the Investigative Committee, Russia’s highest state criminal investigation agency.

Kuznetsov was accused of accepting an “exceptionally large bribe”, a charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The commission alleged that he had received bribes in his previous position as head of the Directorate of the Military General Staff responsible for preserving state secrets, a position he held for 13 years.

The FSB raided his home while he was sleeping, reportedly smashing the doors and windows, and confiscating gold coins, luxury goods and more than 100 million rubles (just over $1 million).

His wife, who previously worked in several Defense Ministry, was reportedly interrogated.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin replaced his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who served as defense minister for 11 and a half years, with economist and former deputy prime minister Andrei Belousov, in the biggest change in the military command structure since Moscow launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin appointed Shoigu as secretary of Russia’s Security Council, a role roughly identical to that of the US national security adviser, replacing Nikolai Patrushev.

Patrushev, a hardline and powerful member of Putin’s inner circle who held the post for 16 years, was appointed assistant to the president.

Aleksey Dyumin, the governor of the Tula region who is often referred to as Putin’s possible successor, was also appointed as an aide to the president.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Patrushev would oversee Russia’s shipbuilding industries in his new job, but could later take on other tasks as well.

Shoigu’s deputy, Timur Ivanov, was arrested last month on bribery charges.

Shoigu is seen as a key figure behind Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022.

The change came as Russian forces launched new offensives in a bid to capitalize on slowing Western aid to Ukraine in what many observers see as a defining moment in the war.