The head of Russia's military park and a top Defense Ministry official are arrested for fraud

MOSCOW (AP) — The director of an exhibition park showcasing Russia’s military might was arrested on fraud charges along with a top Defense Ministry official, part of a sweeping investigation into abuse of office in the top echelons of the military leadership.

Vyacheslav Akhmedov, head of the Patriot Park — sometimes called Russia’s “military Disneyland” — and Maj. Gen Vladimir Shesterov, deputy of the Defense Ministry’s innovations department, were detained, Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday.

The committee, Russia’s top criminal investigation agency, said the two are suspected of embezzling government funds earmarked for the park, which opened in 2015.

Patriot Park features displays of weaponry and serves as a venue for their demonstration and battle reenactments. The sprawling facility also includes an air base along with a firing range, museums, a conference center and even has a Russian Orthodox cathedral devoted to the armed forces on its 5,400 hectares (over 13,300 acres).

The park, a pet project of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, is designed to inspire patriotism in Russia’s younger generations. Patriarch Kirill in 2020 consecrated the massive, khaki-colored Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, which features mosaics of Soviet and Russian soldiers. Russian President Vladimir Putin also personally donated money to commission the main icon for the church, according to the Kremlin.

The detention of Akhmedov and Shesterov follows a series of arrests of senior military officials who were part of the inner circle of Shoigu, dismissed by Putin soon after his inauguration in May to a sixth term.

Shoigu, who had personal ties to Putin, was given the high-profile post of secretary of Russia’s Security Council, but several members of his entourage lost their jobs and many of them were arrested, including top associate and deputy, Timur Ivanov, who was jailed on bribery charges in April.

Shoigu had been widely criticized for Russia’s setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine and was accused of incompetence and corruption by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who launched a brief mutiny in June 2023 to demand his dismissal.