A few days ago, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov was detained on suspicion of accepting huge bribes. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison. It is worth noting that Ivanov took a tough attitude after his arrest this time, not only refused to admit his guilt in the face of charges, but also appeared on the day of his trial wearing a general's uniform, medals and medals, as if he was deliberately showing his identity and merits, and there was quite a sense of seeing who dared to touch me.
[Ivanov's trial scene]
In fact, although Ivanov has many meritorious deeds, such as being awarded a number of "Meritorious Service to the Motherland", he has also won the Russian Government Science and Technology Award, and the title of "Honorary Builder" of Russia. But its reputation in Russia is not good.
You must know that Ivanov is in a very high-profile position, and he is responsible for the management of assets of the Russian armed forces, the stationing of troops, and the procurement of materials; moreover, he is also the general manager of an enterprise under the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the areas under his management include the construction of housing and important military facilities for the Russian army. In such a position, it is easy to collect benefits from it.
Already a few years ago, Ivanov was questioned in the media. The daily life style of his family is not an exaggeration to describe it with the word extravagance. In 2016, the Ivano couple held a grand birthday party at the Moscow Yacht Club, and invited a number of Russian celebrities and social celebrities to attend, and it is said that the appearance fee of one of the singers alone was as high as 4.5 million rubles. Later, the Ivanovs were also exposed to crazy travel spending in Dubai and the Maldives, even during the conflict in Ukraine, the couple also went to Courchevel, France for vacation skiing.
[Ivanov and his wife live in luxury]
According to the Russian wage standard, Ivanov's annual income should be about 13.6 million rubles, even if he has a large number of family businesses under his name, but according to the amount of revenue on the surface, it cannot support the huge consumption of his family. Earlier, a source revealed that it was already well-known news that Ivanov had taken kickbacks at work; moreover, Forbes magazine had listed Ivanov as the richest person in Russia's "security apparatus," and some foreign media had also called Ivanov the "king of kickbacks."
Of course, this is not just talking, but it is supported by relevant evidence. For example, Ivanov had presided over a related construction project when Russia was rebuilding Mariupol, and then Ivanov began to spend frantically and bought a large number of luxury goods, and the same construction company from Mariupol paid for it, which is obviously openly accepting bribes.
It can be said that Ivanov has never thought of covering up his bribery behavior, and the reason why he is so arrogant and so confident is undoubtedly because he has an extremely tough "backer" -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Previously, it was reported that as early as 5 years ago, someone had launched an investigation against Ivanov, but there has been no follow-up, and it is obvious that someone is behind it.
[Shoigu has a close relationship with Ivanov]
Speaking of the relationship between Shoigu and Ivanov, it can be traced back to 2012, when Shoigu served as the governor of the Moscow region, and it was Ivanov who was the deputy governor of the region at the time, and the two were established as each other's work partners. In 2013, the second year of Shoigu's tenure as defense minister, Ivanov was transferred to a state-owned enterprise under the Russian Ministry of Defense as general manager, and in 2016, Ivanov, who had almost no military experience, was transformed into deputy defense minister under Shoigu's hand. Its promotion speed is comparable to that of a "rocket".
But the "backer" is not always working, this time Ivanov was arrested, Shoigu is not unaware, according to Russian presidential press secretary Peskov, before he was arrested, Shoigu "has been notified in advance" - that is to say, Shoigu does not intend to protect Ivanov, and Shoigu can not recruit, obviously only Russian President Putin.
Previously, there was news that after Putin began his new term in May this year, he may undergo a "big reshuffle", specifically involving the transfer of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the arrangements under him. This news is not groundless, according to the past practice, every time the new term of office of the Russian president begins, the government will undergo a dissolution and reorganization, of course, the president also has the right to retain the original government team. For example, in 2018, Putin did not make much changes to the Russian leadership.
[Russian President Putin may want to carry out a major reshuffle at the top]
And this year, for example, Putin has vaguely hinted about taking action, for example, earlier this month, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation appointed a new president, Podnosova, who was a student of the same period as Putin and graduated from the law department of Leningrad University. Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also over 70 years old and has long reached the age of retirement, and it was previously reported that the Russian side has already decided on a candidate for the next foreign minister, which may be the current Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak; on this basis, it is not impossible for the Russian defense minister to be replaced.
If there is a change in the defense minister, his subordinates will naturally have to be replaced, and Ivanov, who has the most obvious problems, is naturally the first person to be used for "surgery". It is worth mentioning that, in addition to the involvement of corruption, Ivanov's family problems are clearly much greater. His wife is Israeli, his daughter is Israeli, his daughter is a dual Israeli, and he has even written against the "special military operation".
In general, even if Ivanov refuses to admit his guilt, there is a good chance that he will not be able to escape this prison sentence, and his dismissal may be just the beginning, and more officials may be involved later. As for whether this "reshuffle" will involve Shoigu himself, the outcome is uncertain, after all, the conflict in Ukraine is not over yet, and the temporary change of positions will be a taboo on the battlefield, and we still need to pay attention to how to develop in the future.