Former Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov has been arrested on corruption charges, Russian law enforcement authorities announced today. The army general has been moved to a detention center in Moscow.
Bulgakov, 69, is the seventh high-ranking Defense Ministry official to be arrested since April, signaling a possible purge of the military’s top ranks as the invasion of Ukraine continues.
The Investigative Committee of Russia, which handles major crime investigations, stated, “Bulgakov has been taken into custody” as part of a corruption probe. The Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed he was placed in the notorious Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow.
Neither the FSB nor the Investigative Committee provided details about the specific corruption charges against the general in their brief statements.
Bulgakov served as deputy defense minister for administrative issues from 2008 to 2022 and managed military logistics before being replaced in September 2022, marking the first significant military reshuffle since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February of that year.
The state-run TASS news agency, citing his case materials, reported that Bulgakov is accused of large-scale embezzlement, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Law enforcement agencies informed TASS that Bulgakov was involved in creating a system to supply low-quality food rations to Russian troops at inflated prices. According to sources cited by the RIA Novosti news agency, three other individuals linked to the scheme were arrested in April.
Several senior defense ministry officials have been arrested recently on various charges, including bribery and abuse of power, suggesting an ongoing military purge. This began with the arrest in April of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, considered an ally of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
In May, President Vladimir Putin dismissed Shoigu, who faced criticism for mishandling the war in Ukraine. Shoigu was replaced by economist Andrei Belousov, who, like his predecessor, had no prior military experience.
Earlier this week, Russian media reported the arrest of Andrei Belkov, head of the Defense Ministry’s construction company, on abuse of power charges. Investigators are examining Belkov’s contracts, personal earnings, and other connections during his tenure as head of the military construction company, which was sanctioned by the United States in 2023 for its role in reconstructing occupied Mariupol.
