Russian President Putin fires 15 generals just before major military exercises
Russian President Putin has fired 15 generals as Russia prepares to hold its largest military exercise in more than four decades.
Among the generals dismissed on August 28 were Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Vladlen Aksenov and head of the prison service in the Omsk region Sergei Koryuchin.
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| Russian Guards. Photo: Breaking Defense. |
Experts say Russian generals are often dismissed en masse. In April, 11 generals were dismissed. Several other groups of generals were dismissed in 2016 and 2017.
In previous dismissals, some officials were arrested on corruption charges, and this time too. At least one general, Mikhail Begun, the Minister of Emergency Situations in the Tomsk region, was also arrested on bribery charges.
Experts say there may be more arrests in the coming time.
The Russian military in general has a huge political influence in society. According to a recent report by Transparency International Russia, about 20% of the members of the State Duma (Russia's legislature) are also lobbyists for the Russian military and law enforcement agencies. Many lawmakers have deep ties to Russian intelligence agencies and the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The latest dismissals come as Russian Defense Minister Shoigu announced that the country is about to hold its largest military exercise since 1981. Accordingly, about 300,000 Russian troops and 1,000 aircraft will participate in the exercise in mid-September. Chinese and Mongolian soldiers are also expected to participate in this exercise.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such exercises are necessary in the context of many countries opposing Russia./.
