Just today we got news of a fresh firing within the Ministry of Defense. Or, excuse me, yet another promotion to a jail cell, as ZAnon would have you believe. Here:
Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces and Head of the Main Communications Directorate of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, was detained and arrested on suspicion of committing a crime under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - receiving a bribe by an official on an especially large scale, which provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 8 to 15 years.
But even 15 years in prison in this case is nothing, since the quality of communication, or rather the lack thereof, from the first days was one of the biggest problems in the Northern Military District, because of which several thousand people literally died.
It is noteworthy that 4 years ago, his predecessor, Colonel General Khalil Arslanov, was also arrested and charged with fraud on a particularly large scale in the amount of about 7 billion rubles.
As for the present time, this is the second Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov, detained this month. A week ago, the head of the Main Personnel Directorate (GUK) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov, was detained.
The deputies of former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu are so far getting away with “voluntary reports” of resignation. A number of sources say that this was a condition - either a report or an investigation.
Even cope-channels like Dugin’s (who used to call the Kremlin traitors and demanded the firing of Shoigu until he bent the knee!) aren’t claiming that this is a round of promotions. They are saying that this is a new special counter-corruption special operation.
The SMO (special military operation) somehow smoothly turns into SRO (special counter-intelligence operation). Which is also not bad. Dismantling the system of Rublevka [an area where the Moscow elite all live] and, as a consequence, putting away parquet generals is no less important than the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.
Why counter-intelligence? Yes, because where there is corruption and bribes, there is betrayal. Especially if there is a war going on.
Well, yeah, but we knew this more than a year ago. The Texeira leaks alleged that Shoigu’s MoD was telling Kiev beforehand where the strikes would land. Those leaks ended up getting A LOT of hits by the way:
As you may well know by now, Prigozhin has taken it upon himself to personally call bullshit on all the media efforts of the MoD and to continue his media assault on his opponents, who, so far, have not responded in kind. Once again, seeing as no one will do it, here are the bullet points from his latest video address concerning the Russian losses aroun…
And ZAnon ran cover against the obvious reality that these strikes were fake or rather for show — they still do, in fact! We all heard about the bunkers of the Shadow-NATO army being hit by “Mr. Kinzhal” and scores of SS (Soros-Satanists) being vaporized by The Shoigu. The well-meaning elderly, in particular, send me emails talking about the strikes as PROOF that what I am saying about Putin and the Kremlin simply can’t be true.
Well, OK, sure, maybe. But if the strikes are “fake” as in the information about where and when they will strike is leaked ahead of time, probably deliberately, then there goes another rhetorical bulwark against my claim that the Kremlin is essentially a satrapy of Langley.
In contrast to the others, I alleged that these strikes weren’t hitting anything and that the media was covering this up on both sides — colluding in fact, deliberately.
But now we are at the stage, I think, where the propagandists have to admit a little bit of tortured logic into their narrative. So, these generals in Russia are being fired, yes. And it is impossible to pretend that they are all being promoted!!! lol. Thus, now we pivot to saying that this is a clean-up operation of corruption, which is a good thing, right! But this begs the question — why then was Shoigu fired/promoted? Was this not part of this overarching anti-corruption clean-up? Well, I guess Shoigu got promoted for running such a tight ship at the MoD. So good that, in fact, the new MoD has to fire all these generals as the first act in office. This makes sense, somehow …
But it gets worse!
In truth, they are also purging generals who most Russian patriots support and who have counter-signaled The Shoigu before. Like General Popov who is facing huge corruption charges. This is the hero of Zaporozhye who stopped the UAF advance last summer, mind you.
Turns out he’s a Soros-Satanist-NAZI!
We covered Popov on the blog the last time he got in trouble with Shoigu and Gerasimov here:
But why is he in trouble again? Aren’t those dark days where people were getting sacked, arrested and silenced for questioning the Shoigu gone? Well, here:
The secret of General Popov.
The accusation of economic crime brought against him very much contrasts with the positive reviews of the soldiers about this general.
Under the leadership of this particular general, the 58th Army took the main attack of the enemy and survived the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces last summer. As we now know, for the enemy the main goal of that offensive was to break through to the Sea of Azov and cut off the Russian troops located in Crimea from the rest of the army.
At the same time, the soldiers of the 58th Army, which repelled the enemy offensive, turned out to be very well prepared and equipped. Much better than many other units and, most importantly, much better than the NATO generals who planned the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces assumed.
Remember the dozens of destroyed German Leopards and the triumph of Russian FPVs?
It was the 58th Army, under the command of Major General Ivan Popov, that showed how valiantly the Russians can fight. And it’s not just about valor; the 58th Army managed to create an effective system for extracting, generalizing and replicating experience. At least, the process of analyzing mistakes and forming lessons learned based on the results of the analysis of combat clashes was better developed there than in many other units.
Now about the accusation addressed to the general.
Economic charges can be very, very different. For example, you can compare 100 million rubles of bribes kept in cash, or 100 million budget rubles spent to protect against an emergency, but not formalized in compliance with all bureaucratic requirements. Formally, both are economic crimes, but in one case there is criminal intent, and in the other case there is no criminal intent. In one case there is a motive for selfish enrichment, and in the other case the motive is to protect others.
It is difficult, but one can believe that, recently exposed by law enforcement officers, Deputy Minister of Defense Timur Ivanov and the head of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Yuri Kuznetsov created such a situation in the structure that even military generals were forced to participate in corruption chains in order to have prospects for development in the system.
But this seems unlikely.
From a logical point of view, another scenario seems more likely.
When communicating with fighters from the 58th Army, I was surprised by their high level of equipment; they gave out what in other units soldiers usually purchased at their own expense, from drones to household equipment necessary to equip positions. Could a military general, who cares about preserving the lives of his soldiers, in the absence of funding for the purchase of FPV drones not provided for by regulations, exchange construction metal products that are surplus to the unit for equipment that is more vital for the unit?
If this is the case, then it is necessary not to punish the commander, who takes care of his subordinates in every possible way, but it is necessary to adjust the process that does not allow the military units that are repelling the main attack of the enemy to quickly acquire the necessary equipment.
If the matter is about some pieces of paper that were not completed during the fighting, then the tank columns of German Leopards destroyed by the soldiers of the 58th Army are clearly more important. Just one of the many destroyed Leopard 2s costs more than 500 million rubles, which is several times more than the amount of potential damage voiced in the accusation against the general.
The tragedy of the situation lies in the fact that if there really was some mechanism for exchanging surplus materials for equipment more necessary for the soldiers, then the commander, knowing the statistics of the meager percentage of acquittals, is unlikely to agree to reveal the entire mechanism for equipping the unit with equipment not provided for by the regulations, for fear of exposing their subordinates.
So, possibly, the general who didn’t embezzle all the money from his troops got punished for making sure his troops were properly equipped.
And the Kremlin has always ruthlessly punished competency of any kind because it makes them look bad, so I have no trouble believing this version of events.
That Popov was in charge of the 58th is not in dispute, nor is the fact that everyone was surprised by how well the Russian army suddenly performed. After correctly predicting where and when the next big action of the war would be, I was nervously chewing my tie worried that we’d hear the news about how the front had tragically been unprepared or some general had forgotten to issue his soldiers ammunition ahead of the AFU offensive (oops! led by the nose again ;^)) . Perhaps the reason that the attack was repulsed was partially because they attacked the section that Popov commanded.
Truthfully, I don’t know.
If this version of events is true, then the criminal charges brought against him are a kind of tit-for-tat revenge measure taken by the Shoigu people. That is usually how things work — mutually-assured destruction. You knife my guy, I take down yours. Standard organized crime tactics.
But it begs the question: who are the military factions involved?
We have the Shoigu mafia, sure, but who is Belousov mobbed up with? And who was Popov with? Was it the same Wagner-aligned faction that Surovikin was in? General Surovikin, as you will recall, was sent away to Africa after a stint in prison to atone for his rumored support for Prigozhin. And Prigozhin was assassinated by Putin, along with Russia’s top commanders like Utkin of Wagner fame.
In general, it is actually remarkable how many military leaders in Russia have been fired, arrested, killed since the SMO began.
I think we will be able to add Kadyrov to this list soon, even though he is basically just a feudal warlord or a barbarian auxiliary or a sellsword, frankly. Despite once being a notorious media hog, he has been making less and less appearances and the rumors of his profound brain sickness brought on by drug abuse I think are warranted. Not even a month ago, he declared that Odessa would be taken by May 9th and this was reposted on some Z-channels triumphantly. Clearly, the man has either lost his mind or doesn’t really care anymore about what is happening with the war.
All of this indicates that the Kremlin and the security state by extension are profoundly unserious institutions that focus more on internal squabbling and domestic repression. Apply pressure on them and within two years you get a failed SMO, a disgraceful rout from Kiev, sham referendums and then shameful abandonment of Russians in Kherson. A never-ending sabotage and assassination spree within Russia. Total shutdown of free speech critical of the government. A mutiny on Moscow.
And now it is knives out at the Ministry of Defense!
The drama never ends!
The loss of Popov is unfortunate, truly. On some level, the Kremlin is terrified of the military and military men because given half a chance, as we saw with the mutiny, they would overthrow Putin or at least not interfere with a coup should it occur. Speaking of, the old Wagner channels (Satanists! Nazis! Traitors!) are upset about Popov’s arrest. Here:
They write that the former commander of the 58th combined arms army of the Russian Armed Forces, Major General Ivan Popov (call sign “Spartak”), has been arrested (https://t.me/boris_rozhin/124404).
And judging by the reactions, as well as comments on posts about this news, it becomes clear that commentators don’t even know who it is. A general was arrested - well, good. He deserved it.
And I want to remind you that Major General Ivan Popov is one of the most respected generals in the army. He is one of those who, commanding his subordinates, stopped the enemy’s counter-offensive in the Zaporozhye direction in June 2023.
A little later, in July 2023, he made a report to the Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, at the headquarters of the joint group of forces in Rostov-on-Don. There he spoke as is about the problems in the army, in particular about the lack of counter-battery warfare and artillery reconnaissance stations, rotations, and much more.
Yes, that is true. Popov was mirroring a lot of Strelkov’s and Wagner’s claims that soldiers weren’t getting supplies, weapons. He was doing it before Prigozhin, if memory serves.
A true traitor to patriots everywhere!
To which the Chief of the General Staff, in his usual hysterical manner, called Major General Ivan Popov a disinformer and an alarmist. In response, the latter said that he would try to reach out to the president. Within 24 hours, he was removed from his post by then Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Right, we covered it at the blog.
For discreditation of the Shoigu.
In his farewell voice (I’ll leave it below), he turned to his soldiers, whom he called the Spartans, and said that he could not be cowardly and silent, and that he did everything he could. To summarize, the enemy was unable to penetrate us from the front, but our own struck us from the rear.
Afterwards, Ivan Popov was sent to the Khmeimim united group of troops in Syria. In principle, everyone knows that in most cases, high-ranking officers are sent to Syria, or complete degenerates who have screwed up everything they can in their area of past responsibility, or similar undesirables.
If my memory serves me correctly, he spent about six months in Syria, after which he was summoned to Moscow, where he became a witness in a criminal case right at the airfield. Even then it was clear to me that the status of the respected general would soon be changed.
And so, if you believe public information, which is also confirmed from my sources, Major General Ivan Popov received the status of an accused and was even detained. He is charged with 159 Art. Part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely the theft of some space for his position 100 million rubles at defensive structures in the Zaporozhye region. That even for the “smallest” it is clear that this is a complete mess.
(…)
- “We don’t need smart people. We only need the faithful!”
Indeed!
That’s why we’re out here, in The Zone, warming out hands at the fire of a political no-man’s land for refusing to simply swallow and regurgitate spook propaganda blindly.
What do we do with the general officer of the only unit at anything close to paper authorization strength that has also repelled a concerted enemy main effort?
Erm, promote him to theater command and hope he can unfuck theater logistics?
Russia and the USA still have proper generals. Unlike say the UK or France or Germany. Current British, French, and German generals do the paperwork meticulously, stay strictly obedient to the hierarchy and politicians, and remain silent except when prompted to recite some script. But this a recent development. Having read history extensively, the normal behaviour of captains, admirals, colonels, or generals was quite different : they took liberties with orders and funds, they looted and dealt in weapons, they used their ships or troops in private quests for money or glory.
Even in the 1990's, when I served for one year in the French Navy, military ships moved some cargo (gold nuggets, precious wood, macaws) off the books for local strongmen, army units organised brothels, gendarmerie sold unspent ammunition. But the grand clean-up was underway. In the 2000's all these liberties and initiatives were gone.
Russia and the USA still have a general and officer corps that displays initiative. Corruption is an inevitable consequence. A good organisation allows for non-damaging forms of corruption and side initiatives. The British, French, German officers and generals have devolved into cogs. I doubt that cogs can fight and win.
What do we do with the general officer of the only unit at anything close to paper authorization strength that has also repelled a concerted enemy main effort?
Erm, promote him to theater command and hope he can unfuck theater logistics?
No, arrest him for corruption, obviously.
Wait, what?
Russia and the USA still have proper generals. Unlike say the UK or France or Germany. Current British, French, and German generals do the paperwork meticulously, stay strictly obedient to the hierarchy and politicians, and remain silent except when prompted to recite some script. But this a recent development. Having read history extensively, the normal behaviour of captains, admirals, colonels, or generals was quite different : they took liberties with orders and funds, they looted and dealt in weapons, they used their ships or troops in private quests for money or glory.
Even in the 1990's, when I served for one year in the French Navy, military ships moved some cargo (gold nuggets, precious wood, macaws) off the books for local strongmen, army units organised brothels, gendarmerie sold unspent ammunition. But the grand clean-up was underway. In the 2000's all these liberties and initiatives were gone.
Russia and the USA still have a general and officer corps that displays initiative. Corruption is an inevitable consequence. A good organisation allows for non-damaging forms of corruption and side initiatives. The British, French, German officers and generals have devolved into cogs. I doubt that cogs can fight and win.