Spartak final

The court sentenced the former General Popov to the real term. Ex-commander of the 58th Army deprived of a military rank

He did not plead guilty

The Tambov garrison military court, after almost a half-year consideration, announced the verdict in the case of the former major general Ivan Popov. Popov was sentenced to five years in a colony of general regime for fraud and official forgery. He was also a fine of 800 thousand rubles.

Two days before, the general appealed to the court with a request to make a fair decision based on the results of the consideration of his criminal case on fraud and official forgery. “In the last word, Popov noted that, perhaps, he made some mistakes in his life, he was mistaken somewhere, but certainly did not endure the law, always remained a faithful oath, his people and the supreme commander. He also asked the court to accept a fair, wise, impartial decision in his case in the deliberative room, to give him the opportunity to be useful to his country at such a difficult time, ”the source told reporters. In his last word, Ivan Popov emphasized that he did not admit guilt.

Ivan Popov was detained on May 17, 2024 on suspicion of embezzlement of metal rolling. The general was accused of especially large -scale fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code). Later, the investigation added to this the accusation in the official forgery (part 2 of article 292 of the Criminal Code). According to investigators, Ivan Popov acted as part of an organized group of people who stole about 1.7 thousand tons of metal structures. These materials were purchased as humanitarian assistance to the Russian administration of the annexed part of the Zaporizhzhya region and were intended for the construction of defensive structures.

Initially, the damage from the crime was estimated at 130 million rubles, but later the amount was reduced to 105 million rubles.

“According to investigators, Popov acted together with his commander Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov and Kommersant Sergey Moiseev,” a new-European officer of the Russian special services, familiar with the course of the investigation. - Tsokov, being deputy commander of the Southern Military District, died upon shelling the Storm Shadow rocket, a spare command post 58 Army at the Dun Hotel in Berdyansk. At the same time, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia. ”

Kommersant Sergei Moiseev pleaded guilty and collaborated with the investigation. According to the source of Novy-Europe, the businessman agreed to stipulate Ivan Popov under pressure. The investigation was not of real evidence that behind the theft of metal structures stood. “If someone really stole the metal, then Popov, apparently, did not participate in this,” continued the interlocutor of Novo-Europe. - The whole thing is sewn with white threads, probably by order of the General Staff. The collection of materials for Popov was supervised directly by the deputy prosecutor general, the chief military prosecutor of the Russian Federation Valery Petrov. However, Gerasimov, who ordered the criminal prosecution of the subordinate, lost a significant part of his power after the arrival of the new Minister of Defense Andrei Belousov. And now he is not enough influence in order to finally and desirable to silently plant Popov. ”

Criticized the bosses

The quarrel of Major General Ivan Popov with the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov occurred in the summer of 2023, when Popov headed the 58 combined arms army in the Zaporizhzhya direction. His unit then reflected the offensive by the Armed Forces. Bloody battles went on the combat contact line. After the appearance of July 11, 2023, the news about the removal of Popov from the command of the army several telegram channels published reports that the major general who reported Gerasimov about the problems at the front and demanding the rotation of the units entrusted to him was called a panicir. After that, Popov threatened to convey the truth about the difficult situation in the troops through the head of the authorities to the Supreme Commander -in -Chief Putin. For which he was suspended.

State Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev, who also once headed the 58th Army, published the voice appeal of Major General Ivan Popov to his subordinates. Popov, who had a call sign, “Spartak”, called the soldier “favorite gladiators” and explained that “the situation arose difficult with the senior authorities, which had to either be silent and smalled, and say what they wanted to hear, or name a spade with their names.” Popov also said that in the report to the leadership, he “frankly, extremely tough” “focused on the most important tragedy of the modern war: the absence of a counter -battery struggle, the absence of artillery intelligence and mass deaths and injuries (Russian military) from enemy artillery.”

As a result, the truth-bearing general was sent to continue the service in Syria. And then they were completely arrested.

He asked for war

On July 15, 2024, the 235th garrison military court at the request of the investigation changed Ivan Popov a preventive measure from the detention in custody for house arrest. However, on February 28, 2025, at the request of the state prosecution, the court changed the measure of restraint to the general back from the house arrest for detention.

The media became known the details of the appeal filed by the defense of the former commander of the 58th combined arms army to court a court on the court to transfer him from house arrest in the pre-trial detention center. According to the lawyer, the military court in the replacement of the preventive measure actually took over the charges, illegally using the materials of operational-search measures, and also violated the principle of public proceedings.

The fact is that the military prosecutor, arguing the need to transfer Ivan Popov from house arrest in jail, referred to the defendants violation of communication with his alleged accomplice, other defendant businessman Sergei Moiseev. According to the prosecutor, communication took place when both defendants during the break went out to smoke on the porch of the garrison court. To confirm his words, the prosecutor asked the court to show at the meeting a video from outdoor surveillance cameras.

The court agreed with the proposal of the state prosecutor, ordering to submit a video in the hall. Thus, the lawyer's complaint says,

The judge actually took part in unauthorized operational-search events, to which he had no right. According to the defender, the video could not be used as evidence, since their procedural status was not defined.

In addition, Popova’s lawyer claims that the videos themselves cannot indicate a violation of the Major General of the conditions of detention under house arrest, since they were not accompanied by voice acting.

In addition, the lawyer in his complaint reminded the attempt , as he believes, the commission of a provocation against the general. On January 30, Ivan Popov, heading for the Tambov garrison court, was stopped by traffic police officers to undergo a medical examination for intoxication. On this day, Popov had a birthday, which could cause a traffic cop increased attention to him. The general refused to go through the test, because he was very risky to be late for a court session, and this could be regarded as a violation sufficient to tighten the preventive measure.

And on March 1 it turned out that the former commander of the 58th Army was fired from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and excluded from the list of the military unit to which he was seconded. “I accidentally found out that I was fired from the armed forces and on December 26 last year excluded from the list of part. Later it turned out that from June 1, 2024, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation sent me on vacation, which I de facto spent in jail, ”Popov told reporters. “Thus, sitting in a pre -trial detention center and under house arrest, I was supposedly on vacation, at the end of which I was excluded from the list of part.”

In March, Ivan Popov turned to Putin with a request to figure out a difficult situation and return him to duty. The former commander of the 58th Guards Army wrote an open letter to the President of Russia. There, Major General states that he was a “faithful soldier”, for whom the “army is the whole meaning of life”.

In a letter to the Supreme Commander -in -Chief, General Popov notes that he devoted his whole life to the “noble cause” - to serve the Fatherland. From his youth, he said, he “honestly and worthy served in the Russian army”, fulfilling all the orders and tasks that were set before him.

At the same time, the “moral guideline and a role model”, according to the former commander, was Vladimir Putin. With his example, "I finally realized that the legendary words mean:" Cold mind, hot heart and clean hands. "

Soon, information appeared in the news that Ivan Popov was allowed to leave for war. Lawyer Sergei Buinovsky said that the former commander of the 58th Army asked for the Tambov garrison military court to suspend the proceedings in his case due to the positive decision of the Russian Ministry of Defense to conclude a contract with him to participate in his. Soon the media wrote that Ivan Popov would be sent to the front not as an ordinary attack aircraft, but as a commander of one of the Stealth Z detachments. But in the end, Popov did not go to the front, and the court sentenced him.

Not damaged

It is interesting that in January of this year, in the process of court hearing, it suddenly became clear that there was no party in the case that would have caused damage from General Popov’s actions. The materials of the criminal case, which were considered by the Tambov garrison military court, stated that the victim is the administration of the Zaporizhzhya region.

“Today, a representative of the administration of the Zaporizhzhya region was questioned in court, who stated that the region’s leadership did not recognize himself as the victim, since the actions of Major General Popov were not caused. On the contrary, he helped protect the territory of Zaporozhye from Ukrainian militants, ”the interlocutor of journalists said. He added that in connection with this, the regional administration refused to file a lawsuit to compensate for harm to Popov. General’s lawyer Sergei Buinovsky confirmed this information and explained that in this case the court should return the case to the prosecutor's office or stop him in the absence of an event of a crime.

“After the Government of the Zaporizhzhya region stated in court that it did not suffer any damage, a legal conflict arose: there should be a victim to charge in fraud. Otherwise, there can be no matter, ”the new-European employee of the Russian special services, familiar with the course of the investigation, tells. - The Ministry of Defense also did not consider itself the victim. Moreover -

The commanders of 17 units who fought under the command of the general spoke in the court and announced the full support of Popov. A couple of months ago I was at the headquarters of the 58th Army, spoke with different people, from senior officers to sergeants. All to one very, very high opinion about the former commander.

They literally idolize Popov. And the only witness of the prosecution Sergey Moiseev partially abandoned his testimony and said that he bought other materials for protective structures for the money proceeds from the sale of metal structures. According to Moiseev, Popov knew nothing about these actions. The examination confirmed that the general signature on the documents is fake. But all this could not defeat the evil will of the ill -wishers of Ivan Popov. ”

According to our interlocutor, this confrontation began in the power departments of Russia after the arrest of Popov. Moreover, the majority of the military or employees of the special services considered the general innocent. This group practically managed to achieve the permission of Ivan Popov’s sending to the front without a sentence by the court. However, if this were done, the general would not be deprived of the military rank, which the customers of the criminal prosecution of Popov insisted on. The leadership of the General Staff of the Lobbitist capabilities turned out to be more serious and the general remained to sit on the dock in anticipation of the sentence, and now he would go to the colony.