The former governor of the Kursk region was sentenced to 14 years in prison
A court in Kursk, Russia, has sentenced Alexei Smirnov, the former governor of the Kursk Region, to 14 years in prison. He was found guilty of accepting bribes on an especially large scale, specifically in connection with the construction of fortifications.
This was reported with reference to Russian media.
According to the investigation, Smirnov, together with former First Deputy Governor Alexei Dedov and through the mediation of Dmitry Shubin, received bribes totaling over 20 million rubles from contracting companies. The funds in question were related to contracts for the construction of fortifications in the Kursk region.
In particular, one of the contracts for the construction of defensive fortifications exceeded 192 million rubles. According to the investigation, part of the funds was transferred to officials in the form of “kickbacks.” Smirnov himself confirmed in court that he received 20.9 million rubles.
“Yes, I have admitted to my grave act, my crime. Of course, I repent; I sincerely repent; I think about this every day. The reason? Perhaps working under extreme conditions, sometimes even dangerous ones—I said that I suffered a concussion here,” he stated during the hearing.
The prosecution sought a 15-year prison sentence, a fine of 500 million rubles, and the confiscation of his property. Meanwhile, the defense requested a suspended sentence, citing his cooperation with the investigation.
Other officials are also implicated in this case. In particular, Roman Starovoit, the former Russian Minister of Transport and ex-governor of Kursk region, is mentioned; he was investigated for involvement in embezzlement during the construction of fortifications. According to Russian media reports, he may have received multimillion-ruble “kickbacks.”
Alexei Smirnov headed the Kursk region for a short time—in fact, just over 200 days. His tenure was marred by scandals, particularly regarding the ineffectiveness of the defensive fortifications on the border with Ukraine, which failed to halt the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ advance in 2024. Local authorities also faced criticism for failures in organizing the evacuation of the population and communicating with residents of border areas.
In Russia, four Ukrainian prisoners of war from the Azov and Aidar battalions were sentenced.
The manager of abank branch in Lviv was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud.
Earlier, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don handed down sentences to three Ukrainian prisoners of war from the Azov Brigade in a case involving alleged “terrorism.” Each of them was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
