INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
plea deal that incriminated a senior defense ministry official.Vyacheslav Akhmedov, director of Patriot Park, and Vladimir Shesterov, a
Weeks later, former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov was also arrested on similar charges.Akhmedov and Shesterov pleaded guilty and
testified against Popov, the Kommersant business daily reported last week, citing anonymous sources
Shesterov had already been moved to house arrest on Aug
7.In a closed hearing on Monday, a Moscow military court ruled to move Akhmedov from pre-trial detention to house arrest until Dec
21, according to the state-run news agency TASS.Patriot Park, located in the town of Kubinka some 63 kilometers (39 miles) west of Moscow,
is a military theme park and exhibition center featuring interactive exhibits and displays of weapons and equipment
residence between 2021 and 2024
are among several senior military officials arrested on fraud charges this year in an apparent purge of the Russian Defense Ministry.The
arrests began in April with the detention of former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on bribery charges
Ivanov, who oversaw the construction of Patriot Park, is considered to be a close ally of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was
