"A conscientious and honest man": the arrested general wrote a letter to Putin

General Kuznetsov declared his innocence in a letter to Putin.

Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, accused of bribery, wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin from jail. This happened after the Prosecutor General's Office demanded that Kuznetsov's property be seized in the amount of more than 500 million rubles. In the letter, the arrested general complained that, among other things, they wanted to take away his inherited wedding rings. For more information, see the "Gazeta.Ru".

What did the general write to Putin about?

The former head of the personnel department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, accused of bribery, wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin from jail, Vedomosti writes. In it, he described himself as "an innocent, conscientious, honest man." Kuznetsov's representative confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

In his letter to the president, the arrested man draws attention to the fact that the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit for the seizure of his property before sentencing in a criminal case. Kuznetsov writes that the agency demands to seize the apartment building, which was purchased by the parents of his wife Yulia in 2011, as well as the apartments of the daughters who have children under the age of majority. Among the property that they want to turn into state income, there are also jewelry inherited, including wedding rings, the general claims.

According to Kuznetsov, his total income since 2010 completely covers the value of the property and the funds that they want to withdraw from him. The letter claims that all his income was received "legitimately" from the Center for Special Programs of the Ministry of Defense for "performing relevant official tasks."

What was found at Kuznetsov's place during the search

During searches "at the places of actual residence and registration" of the accused general, investigators found and seized funds in rubles and foreign currency, gold coins, collectible watches and luxury goods, in addition, funds in his accounts were seized. The value of the seized property is estimated at more than 260 million rubles, the Investigative Committee said.

According to the case file cited by TASS, during the searches Kuznetsov was found to have "shoulder straps made of 925 sterling silver worth 183,929 rubles." In addition, the general was found to have a collection of more than 80 silver coins, including sets from Tanzania and Kazakhstan.

According to the Telegram channel SHOT, the Kuznetsov family is unhappy that they are trying to confiscate all jewelry "up to pendants for 600 rubles." Among the items planned for seizure are 55 gold coins worth 2 million rubles, which his wife gave Kuznetsov for his 55th birthday, and a Swiss watch for 160 thousand rubles (a gift from his daughter).

The arrested general has two cars, including a BMW E70 X5 xDrive 30d worth 3.1 million rubles and a 1969 GAZ 21P for 390 thousand rubles, RIA Novosti reported with reference to the lawsuit of the Prosecutor General's Office. In 2015, Kuznetsov had a BMW X5 and Toyota Corolla in his fleet, and his wife had a Nissan Tiida.

From 2010 to 2023, Kuznetsov declared income of 47.6 million rubles.

What is Kuznetsov accused of?

The general was detained in May 2024. He was placed in the Moscow pre-trial detention center-2 "Lefortovo" in a cell with an area of 8 to 12 square meters, Alexey Melnikov, executive secretary of the Moscow Public Information Committee, told Regnum news agency. In October 2025, Kuznetsov complained that he was malnourished in the detention center, according to him, he had lost 20 kilograms during his arrest, SHOT wrote.

On August 27, it was reported that the Prosecutor General's Office demanded that the property of Kuznetsov and his family worth 500 million rubles be converted into state income. On October 8, 2025, the Investigative Committee (IC) of the Russian Federation announced the completion of the investigation into the case against the former head of the personnel Department of the Ministry of Defense, as well as Krasnodar businessman Leva Martirosyan. Kuznetsov is accused of taking a particularly large bribe (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), Martirosyan is accused of giving a bribe (part 5 of Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). On October 10, the Khamovnicheskiy Court of Moscow began considering the prosecutor's office's claim.

According to the Investigative Committee, in 2021-2022, Martirosyan handed over a bribe to Kuznetsov, who at that time held the position of head of the 8th Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in the form of a land plot and a building in the Krasnodar Territory. In return, Martirosyan wanted to receive "assistance in concluding government contracts and contracts for the provision of services by the entrepreneur's hotels." The investigators found that the total value of the real estate that was transferred to Kuznetsov as a bribe was over 80 million rubles. According to investigators, the general issued property to relatives, including his wife, mother-in-law and two daughters.

As Kommersant wrote, referring to the version of the investigation, Kuznetsov ensured Martirosyan's victory in two competitions for the provision of hotel services to cadets of the Krasnodar Higher Military School named after Army General S.M. Shtemenko. The total cost of the services provided is estimated to be 372.3 million rubles.

The case has been referred to the prosecutor for approval of the indictment and transfer to the court. The maximum penalty under the article imputed to the general is up to 15 years in prison.

Egor Kulchitsky