The director of Russia’s main military congress center, Vyacheslav Akhmedov, and a top Defense Ministry official, Maj. Gen. Vladimir Shesterov, were arrested on Monday on fraud charges. This arrest is part of a sweeping probe into alleged abuse of power within the highest ranks of Russia’s military leadership.
The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top state criminal investigation agency, announced that Akhmedov, the head of the Patriot Park, was arrested for fraud. Akhmedov was detained alongside Shesterov, the deputy head of the Defense Ministry’s innovations department. The committee alleges that both men embezzled government funds designated for the Patriot Park, a massive military exhibition and congress center located just west of Moscow.
The Patriot Park, spanning over 5,400 hectares (over 13,300 acres), has hosted annual army forums, international meetings, and displays of Russian weapons since its opening in 2015. The venue encompasses conference halls, expansive exhibition grounds, an air base, a massive firing range, and even a large Orthodox Church. Notably, in 2019, President Vladimir Putin personally donated funds to commission the church’s main icon, according to the Kremlin.
These arrests follow a series of detentions targeting senior military officials who were part of the inner circle of Sergei Shoigu, dismissed by Putin as defense minister shortly after his inauguration for a new term in May. Shoigu, who had close ties to Putin, was given the prominent position of secretary of Russia’s Security Council. However, several members of his inner circle lost their positions, and many were arrested. This includes his top associate and deputy, Timur Ivanov, who has been imprisoned since April on bribery charges.
The former defense minister faced extensive criticism for Russia’s setbacks in the Ukraine conflict and was accused of incompetence and corruption by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, who staged a brief mutiny in June 2023 demanding Shoigu’s removal.
