Putin Goes After Former Allies in Pre-Election Purge

Members of the political team of former President Dmitry Medvedev face lengthy jail terms in what has been reported as a move linked to Vladimir Putin's next run for office.

"Before Putin's nomination, security forces have demanded longer sentences for two former members of Medvedev's team," reported independent Russian news outlet Agentstvo's Telegram channel.

The move is portrayed by independent Russian media as part of a general crackdown on dissent before an expected announcement that Putin will seek a fifth term as president next year.

Medvedev was president between 2008 and 2012 after Putin stepped aside under the former constitution, which allowed him to stand for only two consecutive terms. Observers said that the move was choreographed to ensure Putin remained in power, even as prime minister.

Putin became president again in 2012, swapping with Medvedev the prime ministerial role he had held for four years. Since then, the constitution has been changed, potentially allowing Putin to remain president until 2036.

Medvedev is deputy head of Russia's Security Council and has made a name for himself since the start of the war in Ukraine by his rants on social media against the West's support for Kyiv in which he often makes nuclear threats.

There had been speculation that Putin would announce he would run for president again during a visit to Moscow's Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy (VDNKh) on Monday. However, Russia's Federation Council is expected to announce on December 13 that the election will take place on March 17, 2024, RIA Novosti reported, a day before he holds his annual televised phone-in.

In the run-up to the announcement, Russian prosecutors have requested long sentences for the former minister of open government affairs, Mikhail Abyzov, and the ex-governor of the Kirov region, Nikita Belykh.

Between 2012 and 2018, Abyzov was in the cabinet of Medvedev's premiership and his duties included trying to make the Russian government more transparent.

He was also part of a group that backed nominating Medvedev for a second presidential term in 2012, although he did not put forward his candidacy in the 2012 election, the newspaper RBC reported.

Medvedev nominated Belykh for the governor's post, but in 2019, when asked if the former PM had his back, Belykh responded: "I don't think he tried to stand up for anyone at all in his life."

A group of liberal-leaning former Russian government officials has been targeted by criminal investigations in recent years. Abyzov's arrest for instance, was seen as part of a crackdown by Russia's security and intelligence services against reformist politicians, Radio Free Europe reported.

He has been charged by Russia's Investigative Committee with being a member of a criminal organization that embezzled 4 billion rubles ($44 million) from the Siberian Energy Company and Regional Electric Grid in Novosibirsk.

Newsweek contacted Russia's Investigative Committee for comment.

Russia's prosecutor's office has asked for Abyzov to serve 19 years and 6 months in a maximum security colony and be fined 470 million rubles ($5 million), state news agency Tass reported.

Meanwhile, the state prosecutor's office for the Kirov region has directed the court to sentence Belykh to 12 years in prison, having already been given an eight-year term in 2018. He also faces a fine of more than 48 million rubles ($500,000) for the charges of exceeding his official powers as governor.

"The prosecutor's office requested such long sentences for former members of Medvedev's team amid expectations that Putin will soon announce his nomination for a new presidential term," reported Agentstvo.

The outlet noted how in December 2022, former Russian lawmaker Magomed Magomedov and his brother, ex-tycoon, Ziyavudin Magomedov, were sentenced to 18 years and 19 years in prison, respectively, on embezzlement charges.

Meanwhile, another legal case has been opened up against Vladimir Kvachkov, a retired colonel with Russia's intelligence agency the GRU, who was fined in August for criticizing the conduct of Russia's war with Ukraine, independent news outlet MediaZona reported. He is close ally of Igor Girkin, a former FSB officer who has been arrested and charged with extremism following his repeated criticisms of Putin's conduct in the war.