Sergei Shoigu, Mr. Putin's longtime defense minister, was removed earlier this month.
It's noteworthy when a senior defense official gets detained in Russia.
It's a purge when five top defense officials are shackled in less than a month.
Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, the commander of the Russian Armed Forces' Main Communications Directorate and deputy chief of staff of the army, is the most recent senior military figure to be imprisoned.
He had been held in pre-trial custody for two months after being accused of widespread bribery.
Soon after, it was revealed that Vladimir Verteletsky, a top procurement officer in the defense ministry, had also been taken into custody. The Russian Investigative Committee claims that he is accused of abusing his position of responsibility in carrying out a state defense directive.
Lt-Gen Yuri Kuznetsov, the chief of the personnel department of the defense ministry, and Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov are among the Russian defense officials who, in less than a month, have fallen from favor due to corruption allegations.
At the highest top of the ministry, there have also been changes. President Vladimir Putin recently shuffled his cabinet, replacing 12-year defense minister Sergei Shoigu with technocrat economist Andrei Belousov. The action was largely seen as a Kremlin effort to combat corruption and increase military effectiveness in Russia.
A new position as secretary of the Russian Security Council was offered to Mr. Shoigu. Valery Gerasimov, the commander of Vadim Shamarin, is still the head of the Russian military's general staff as of right now.
However, prominent apprehensions inside the ministry and the general staff cast a negative light on the military hierarchy overseeing Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
This whole situation is rife with irony.
Do you recall Yevgeny Prigozhin? The head of the Wagner mercenary outfit had openly criticized military officials a year before. He has held high-ranking officials accountable for his failings on the battlefield in Ukraine, accusing them of corruption and ineptitude. Prigozhin had targeted Valery Gerasimov and Sergei Shoigu in particular with his ire. He'd insisted on having them swapped out.
The very visible argument got out of hand and resulted in a 24-hour rebellion. Wagner fighters advanced on Moscow after seizing control of important military locations in southern Russia. It was an unprecedented threat to the power of the Kremlin. However, its main goal had been to remove the nation's senior military hierarchy.
It was unsuccessful. Putin took the side of his military generals. Prigozhin was defeated by Mr. Shoigu and Gen. Gerasimov in their power struggle. And he died in an aircraft accident not too long after.
However, a year later, the army is undergoing a purge supported by the Kremlin.
Additionally, this provides some insight into Vladimir Putin. The president of Russia dislikes making decisions under duress. If you tell him to fire a general in the army or a minister, he is not likely to comply right away. He will not get instructions.
It does not imply that Mr. Putin will do nothing. at a time that suits him.
How far this purging of the Russian military will continue and how many more high-ranking officials will be imprisoned remain to be seen.
This week, Maj-Gen Ivan Popov, the former head of Russia's 58th army, was taken into custody on charges of widespread fraud. He had revealed last year that he had been fired for protesting to military authorities about issues facing the front lines in Ukraine.
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