Ukraine Rocked by Massive Energy Corruption Scandal.

This week, Ukrainian politics was hit by a massive corruption scandal involving Energoatom, the state-run nuclear power company, and allegedly $100 million worth of bribes. Corruption in Ukraine is still endemic. According to a New York Times report, those involved in the scheme demanded kickbacks of 10 to 15 percent. Investigators of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) discovered several of the kickbacks were related to building protective covering for nuclear power stations that Russia has targeted during the war. At the center of the scandal is Ukrainian businessman Timur Mindich, who co-owned a TV company founded by Zelenskyy. On top of that, several ministers, including a former energy minister and a former deputy prime minister, may be involved. This could spell serious trouble for Zelenskyy, with some opposition MPs calling for the government to fall.

Protests Erupt Over Zelensky’s Corruption Moves.

Earlier this week in Kyiv, Protests erupted over President Zelensky’s move to strip Ukraine’s national anti-corruption bodies of their independence. According to a report in the BBC, Zelensky proposed a bill that would grant government control of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP). Zelensky’s rationale for taking this course of action was that he was concerned about possible Russian influence on the two organizations. As a result of this announcement, mass protests began in Kyiv due to widespread frustration within Ukrainian society over the rampant corruption that has plagued the country for years. According to another report by the BBC published yesterday, Zelensky realized the error of his ways and resubmitted an amendment to the bill to reinstate their independence. While fears of Russian influence are always a concern in Ukraine, this looks like a rare misstep from Zelensky, who has been widely praised for his actions during the war.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Arrested on Corruption Charges.

Last week, the former Deputy Defense Minister of Russia, Dmitry Bulgakov, was ordered to be held in pretrial detention on corruption charges. According to the Washington Post, Bulgakov is accused of embezzlement by supplying low-quality ration packs to Russian soldiers in Ukraine at vastly inflated prices. He was the deputy defense minister from 2008 to 2022 but was demoted because he was seen to have created a flawed logistical system for Russian troops on the front line. This is not the first time a high-ranking Russian military official has been arrested on corruption charges. According to a report in The Guardian, Russian policy observers believe this new Anti-Corruption policy aims to streamline the production of weapons and tanks. As for Bulgakov, I would guess he probably won’t see the light of day for a very long time, if ever.

Protests Continue to Fuel Uncertainty in Georgia (the Country).

Last week, protests in Georgia erupted over a controversial new law stating that NGOs and any independent media organizations that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from foreign entities must register as foreign agents. According to a report on the BBC, the main reason that has sparked such a furious reaction is that it is very similar to a law President Putin enacted in Russia several years ago. Last year, Georgia was awarded candidate status by the EU. Many people, especially young Georgians who favor closer ties with Europe, fear that hopes of joining the EU could be dashed if the law goes ahead. While the Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili, vetoed the law, prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, a political opponent of Ms. Zourabichivili, had enough votes in the Georgian parliament to override the veto. A battle for the future of Georgia is ongoing; as of right now, it is still being determined if the country will politically ally itself with the EU or if near neighbor Russia gains more influence in the region.

Shoigu’s Deputy Caught Up in Corruption Probe.

On Tuesday, a close ally and deputy of the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, was detained on corruption charges. According to a report by NBC News, Timur Ivanov was detained after it was alleged that he had accepted bribes on a massive scale. Ivanov has been a minister since 2016 and has been involved in property management and housing at the Russian Defense Ministry, among other portfolios. According to a report by CNN, a Russian construction magnate, Alexander Fomin, attempted to bribe Ivanov with a million Rubles (roughly $10,000) and was subsequently arrested as well. If I were Ivanov and Fomin, I would be planning for an extended “holiday” in Siberia.

Russian journalist Connected to Navalny Detained.

Last Friday, a Russian journalist who filmed the last video of Alexi Navalny was detained in Moscow, and according to a report by The Guardian, Russian authorities accused Antonia Forskaya of being part of an “Extremist Organization” which the Russian government uses to refer to Navalny’s organization. According to an article in the AP, she is accused of producing and editing videos for Navalny’s organization. In an even more worrying development, two other journalists, Alexandra Astakhova and Anastasia Musatova, were detained simply for going to visit Forskaya while she was imprisoned. Given recent events, I fear for Forskaya and all of the other brave Russian journalists, both inside and outside of the country, who are exposing the corruption embedded within Putin’s regime.

Navalny pronounced dead by Putin’s Regime.

(A disclaimer for this article: I was at an event this morning held by the U.S Institute of Peace (USIP), an international relations think tank here in Washington DC, discussing the future of Russia post Putin).

The Russian prison authorities announced this morning that Alexi Navalny, the prominent critic of President Putin, was found dead in his cell. It has been reported that as of yesterday, Navalny was displaying his usual sense of humor, which is remarkable considering his situation. It has been well-known that Navalny was gravely ill and was being denied proper healthcare by the Russian government. According to a report by the Washington Post, fears for Navalny grew after he was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Russia after recovering in Germany from an attempt on his life by the use of Novichok, a banned nerve agent. The response to Navalny’s death has been swift, according to a report by the New York Times. Navalny’s wife strode into the conference room where the Munich Security Conference (a well-known gathering of world leaders discussing international security issues) was held. She denounced Putin’s regime, openly reporting those in the audience spellbound. All of this raises the question: why does this matter?

The answer is that it matters a great deal. According to an article in the Post, Navalny was the main figurehead for anti-Putin opposition in Russia and worldwide, leading many protests within the country. However, more importantly, Navalny had a pioneering YouTube channel and organization that focused on the rampant corruption within Putin’s Russia. It is unclear what will happen next; at the event I attended today, several of the panelists stated that it is a fool’s errand to predict what might happen post-Putin and that it is likely that either Putin will have to die or that Ukraine will have to win the war decisively for Putin to be deposed. One can only hope that Navalny’s death, while tragic, can spur a new generation of Russian civil society to take on Putin and that the West will continue to fund Ukraine’s war effort.

Ukraine Embroiled in Another Corruption Scandal.

This past weekend, the Ukrainian government uncovered another large-scale corruption scandal involving missiles for the war effort. According to a report in Aljazeera, employees at a weapons manufacturer called Lviv Arsenal and members of the Ministry of Defense allegedly embezzled $40 million. It was intended to be a payment for missiles used in the war effort. Instead, the money was moved to several offshore accounts, and the military did not receive the 100,000 missiles they ordered. According to a report in NPR, the prosecutor general of Ukraine has announced that the funds have been recovered and will shortly be added to the defense budget. This scandal highlights two major issues. Firstly, corruption is still rife in Ukraine despite significant strides in anti-corruption efforts. Secondly, those 100,000 missiles would have been very handy for the war effort, and instead, several people decided to create a nice little earner for themselves.

Bulgaria and its connections with Russia & Corruption.

Bulgaria has a long and fraught history as a country where corruption has thrived for many years. According to an article in Forbes, Bulgaria is one of the only members of the EU that has not imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation as a state and on Russian individuals. Even Hungary, led by Viktor Orban, has imposed sanctions on Russia. Bulgaria’s lack of movement on sanctions is mainly because the government has close links to Russia at a governmental level and with the oligarchs. According to a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, one of the main reasons for such a high level of influence is because of an attempted political coup by Russia in 2016. While the coup failed, like it did in Montenegro, it showed that Bulgarian society faces a massive challenge in eradicating Russian influence.

The State of Corruption in Moldova.

(Disclaimer: Yesterday, I attended an event at the Brookings Institute where the Justice Minister of Moldova spoke about the country’s Anti-Corruption efforts).

Moldova borders Ukraine in Eastern Europe, and Russia is viewed as its sphere of influence due to Moldova being part of the Soviet Union. According to the Anti-Corruption Resource Center, Moldova is a country that, like many in the region, has a strong oligarchy where corruption and bribery are prevalent. Despite this, in 2021, the election of Maia Sandu and the Party of Action & Solidarity (PAS) signaled a new era of commitment to anti-corruption initiatives. An article by the Center For Security and International Studies states that due to the conflict in Ukraine, Moldova has applied for membership to the EU despite opening up to foreign investors and instituting judicial reforms. While these are encouraging steps to combat corrupt influences, it appears that, like Ukraine, Moldova is trying to make strides in eradicating corruption.