Moscow's Meshchansky District Court sentenced former Belgorod region deputy governors Vladimir Bazarov and Rustem Zainullin to 19 and 20 years in a strict-regime penal colony, respectively, for embezzlement during construction of 'dragon's teeth' — concrete anti-tank fortifications on the border with Ukraine. Both were also fined: Zainullin nearly 500 million rubles, Bazarov exactly 500 million rubles, and both were barred from holding public office for more than 10 years.
In total, 10 people were convicted in the case. Among them was former head of the Belgorod region capital construction department Alexei Soshnikov, who, according to media reports, was initially questioned as a witness. He received 20 years in prison and a 500 million ruble fine.
Other defendants received sentences ranging from 8.5 to 18 years. According to Kommersant, prosecutors had sought 10 to 18 years. The convicted include: Sergei Serebryansky, head of the autonomous non-profit organization 'Center of Competence for the Development of the Urban Environment of the Belgorod Region' (10 years); former deputy head of the Stary Oskol urban district for construction Vladimir Gubarev (13 years); businessmen Yuri Litsavkin (8.5 years), Edgar Kherimyan (12 years), and Konstantin Zimin (16 years); and former deputy heads of the capital construction department Larisa Streletskaya (14 years) and Andrei Reshetko (14 years). All were fined between 8 million and 500 million rubles.
According to the investigation, in early 2022, Bazarov and Soshnikov organized a system of kickbacks from contractors fulfilling state contracts. The bribes received by Bazarov and Soshnikov were estimated at 74 million rubles. Zainullin was accused of embezzling at least 32 million rubles as part of a group, of which up to 4 million rubles were personally taken by him. The total damage from the fortification case exceeded 1.7 billion rubles.
The investigation alleged that instead of the standard reinforced concrete anti-tank barriers, cheaper products with reduced dimensions and weight were purchased.
Vladimir Bazarov was arrested in August 2025, six months after he moved to work in the government of neighboring Kursk region. Rustem Zainullin was detained in June 2025. In the fall of that year, nearly 1 billion rubles were recovered from Zainullin and other defendants.
In May 2026, President Vladimir Putin dismissed Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov and appointed him ambassador to Abkhazia.
This is not the first case of embezzlement during construction of defensive fortifications. In March 2025, a court in Kursk recovered more than 4 billion rubles from participants in a similar scheme. That case involved former Kursk region governor Alexei Smirnov, his deputy Alexei Dedov, and other former officials. Their testimony also mentioned former Kursk region governor Roman Starovoit. On July 7, 2025, the day of his resignation, he committed suicide.