Russian President Vladimir Putin, by decree, dismissed Bashkiri Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Ruslan Sharafutdinov from his post, according to the official Kremlin website. At the ministry, he oversaw personnel and information policy. In the last six months, the name of Colonel Sharafutdinov has appeared in a number of media scandals - the federal TV channel "Russia-1" aired a series of stories about how 12 years ago a police officer allegedly started a fight in a cafe and got into an accident while intoxicated, and also combined service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs with commercial activities.

Ruslan Sharafutdinov himself, as well as the head of the regional ministry Mikhail Zakomaldin, subsequently denied this information, saying that it was untrue and had been repeatedly checked both by the security service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other investigative bodies, in particular, the Investigative Committee. According to Kommersant, the ministry even filed claims in court for the protection of honor and dignity against the Rossiya-1 TV channel - they were sent to the Leninsky and Kirovsky district courts of Ufa. According to Kommersant, they were submitted both by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and personally by Colonel Sharafutdinov. A hearing on the claims has not yet been scheduled.

Ruslan Sharafutdinov is the second deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bashkiria, released by Vladimir Putin over the past six months. In July, a similar decree was signed regarding Deputy Minister Alexander Ovchinnikov. The decree on General Ovchinnikov was preceded by the initiation of a criminal case against him on suspicion of abuse and bribery. The investigation is being led by the ICR Directorate for the Volga Federal District. The former commander of the traffic police regiment of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate of Bashkortostan, Ildus Yarullin, reported the general’s abuses to the investigation (see Kommersant on July 4), pointing out that “corruption” practices had developed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic. In particular, according to the colonel, he personally, at the “request” of General Ovchinnikov, renovated his house in Ufa and helped with the construction of a country estate and a bathhouse in the Iglinsky district, and in December 2011, again “at the request” of the general, he purchased and sent it to high-ranking employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Russia has seven New Year's gifts with delicacies.

Arthur Fazleev

Relieved of his post as Second Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Bashkiria