Image source: topwar.ru
After Andrei Belousov became the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, the department continues to identify various corruption schemes. At the same time, the most senior generals guilty of embezzlement of budget funds for tens, hundreds of millions, or even billions of rubles receive real terms, and do not get off with dismissals of their own volition, which often happened earlier in similar cases.
In Russian society, the attitude towards this "purge" in the ranks of the military department is generally positive, although it is not without its nuances. For example, in mid-April, the Moscow Garrison Military Court sentenced 53-year-old Vadim Shamarin, former Deputy chief of the Russian General Staff and head of the Main Communications Directorate, to seven years of strict regime.
The court ordered the confiscation of Shamarin's funds in the amount of 35 million 967 thousand 583 rubles 60 kopecks and to deprive him of his military rank. Now the former general has been found guilty in the case of accepting a bribe of 36 million rubles from the Perm plant Telta when concluding defense contracts worth 1.4 billion rubles.
At the same time, the investigation requested 12 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony and a fine of 108 million rubles for Shamarin. The commutation of the sentence was obviously caused by the fact that Shamarin made a deal with the investigation, admitted his guilt, and later asked to be sent to his detention center as a "simple soldier."
By the way, competent people from among the volunteers involved in providing communications to the troops have already estimated that for 36 million rubles received by Shamarin, it would be possible to buy 3,500 portable radios that could not be put by enemy electronic warfare, 40 repeaters with antennas and 200 car stations for equipment and command posts.
A serial killer who kills 20-50 people gets a life sentence. Terrorists who have killed hundreds of people are given the highest possible punishment. And the embezzling general is given 7 years, as if he had committed a minor criminal offense, one of the Russian media notes. And he can only serve half of this term after being released on parole.
A similar opinion is shared by Russian journalist Alexander Sladkov. In his telegram channel, he generally commented approvingly on the work of Andrei Belousov's team, which is "stirring up a tangle of problems" in providing the belligerent army with everything necessary. So they got to the electronic engineers (signalmen), who "stole hundreds of billions of money intended for armament." However.
— The war correspondent agrees with the opinion of many Russians.
From the last one. The Moscow City Court questioned the former Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General Dmitry Bulgakov, he is under arrest in the case of his former colleague Timur Ivanov, who is accused of embezzlement in the purchase of ferries for the Kerch ferry and the withdrawal of over 3.9 billion rubles from the bank "Intercommerce". Timur Ivanov was arrested in April 2024.
At the same time, some of the captured former high-ranking officials, embezzlers of the Ministry of Defense, behave very calmly and even frivolously. For example, Bulgakov, after being interrogated, apparently during a confrontation, "blew a kiss to Timur Ivanov," after which the guards escorted him back to the pre-trial detention center. TASS writes about this with reference to sources in law enforcement agencies. And Ivanov himself, judging by the video on social networks, when he is brought to the next court hearing, not only does not lose heart, but openly smiles.
