On Tuesday, the news came that Russia’s deputy defense minister, Timur Ivanov, has been arrested.
He is suspected of accepting bribes, according to Russia’s top investigative body. The investigative committee has not provided further details about the case.
According to Reuters, Ivanov risks 15 years in prison.
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A warning
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that President Vladimir Putin was informed of the arrest. Defense Minister Sergej Sjojgu was also informed in advance, according to the spokesman.
Several analysts have suggested that the arrest was a warning to Ivanov’s boss, Chief of Defense Sergej Shoigu.
– Putin does not approve the arrest unless he wants to send a warning to Shoigu. A warning that “it could have been you,” says David Silbey, a history professor at Cornell University in the United States, to Newsweek.
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Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov in the glass cage in the courtroom in Moscow Photo: Handout / NTB / AP / AFP
Weakened
That one of Sjojgu’s closest allies is arrested for corruption weakens the defense minister’s own position considerably. Bloomberg also learns that the arrest may be an attempt to undermine Sjojgu.
According to their sources, the arrest should represent a final warning that he needs to improve Russia’s performance in Ukraine.
– Since corruption among Russia’s top officials is so widespread, it is difficult to imagine that this arrest is only about corruption, says Professor Mark N. Katz to Newsweek.
On Wednesday, Shoigu is said to have removed Ivanov from his post as deputy defense minister.
