The arrest of a senior defense official on suspicion of bribery signals the diminishing status of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the growing influence of the intelligence services, two Russian government sources and a person close to the Kremlin told The Moscow Times.
All spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.
Shoigu, a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin, weathered criticism from war supporters and a mutiny by Wagner's mercenary group during the first two years of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The high-profile arrest of his deputy Timur Ivanov, whose vast wealth and lavish lifestyle was an open secret, reflects a struggle for resources and influence within the Russian elite ahead of Putin's new presidential term, sources told The Moscow Times.
“First of all, this is a redistribution of the market,” a senior government official told The Moscow Times. “But the public blow to the Shoigu camp is also very serious. Ivanov oversaw not just construction, but military contracts – this is the biggest and most delicious thing.”
Ivanov, who was detained at his office Tuesday night on suspicion of taking a bribe of at least 1 million rubles (about $10,500) and remanded in custody by a Moscow court on Wednesday, is considered a close ally of Shoigu.
Supervising the construction, housing and property management of the Armed Forces, he frequently visited Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories during the full-scale invasion.
He inspected the Mariupol residential complex several times, which Putin visited during his only trip to the occupied city.
A few months before Putin's visit, Ivanov and Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed head of occupied Donetsk, visited the complex's construction site, praising the new buildings surrounded by houses destroyed during the Russian siege of the city.
They blamed the destruction on “neo-Nazis,” a term commonly used by Russian officials to refer to Ukrainian officials and military personnel.
In addition, Ivanov oversaw the construction of a water pipeline from the Don River to the Seversky Donets-Donbass canal, through which Russia supplied water to occupied Donetsk and Lugansk. He also oversaw the construction of 90% of the defensive structures on the line of contact between the Ukrainian and Russian militaries.
In an interview with the Zvezda TV channel, owned by the Ministry of Defense, Ivanov boasted of his ability to quickly build housing and social and military facilities. The main secret, he says, is the ability to motivate builders.
“Comrades, let's get together and build the best! It works,” Ivanov said.
The luxurious lifestyle that Ivanov and his family enjoyed was well known to the Russian intelligence services and political elite.
An Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) investigation into the late Putin critic Alexei Navalny revealed the glamorous life of Ivanov, who loved to celebrate his birthday in St. Tropez and party with other senior Russian officials and businessmen.
“There were a lot of real abuses in terms of the management of army property. But he should have been arrested for them many years ago,” said a source close to the Ministry of Defense.
The fact that the arrest occurred on the eve of Putin’s inauguration for a fifth presidential term and the subsequent formation of a new government “speaks more about political reasons and the weakening of Sergei Shoigu’s position” than about Ivanov himself, the source added.
Sources agreed that Ivanov's arrest would not affect the Russian army's ability to continue its invasion of Ukraine because he has "no military involvement."
“In all likelihood, this will not prevent Sergei Shoigu from maintaining his position in the new government,” the Russian official said. “But his position will be noticeably weakened.”
“In general, what happened was also in Putin’s interests. He never lets any group get too strong. And this will be presented to the public as a fight against corruption,” said another Russian official.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) will most likely use the arrest of the deputy minister to collect compromising information on the entire Ministry of Defense, including its head, said expert Andrei Soldatov.
“Ivanov will now testify against everyone,” Soldatov said. “It’s usually a form of control rather than repression. This is how the Kremlin regime solves the problem of maintaining controllability – in their understanding.”