Russia has arrested the Kursk region's ex-governor. He oversaw the construction of anti-tank barriers — which later crumbled from rain and snow.
The Russian authorities have arrested Alexey Smirnov, the former head of the country’s embattled Kursk region. Smirnov stands accused of embezzling at least one billion rubles ($12.2 million) from state funds allocated for building border fortifications. According to investigators, he and his deputy demanded kickbacks of at least 15 percent from contractors during his less than three-month tenure. Here’s what we know about the case.
Alexey Smirnov, the former governor of Russia’s Kursk region, has been arrested on charges of embezzling at least one billion rubles ($12.2 million) from the regional budget. He was detained on April 15 by police with support from Federal Security Service (FSB) officers and brought to Moscow. According to Kommersant, Smirnov was taken into custody from a penthouse in Krasnogorsk, just outside the capital. However, an RBC source claims he was arrested in Moscow.
On April 16, a Moscow district court ordered Smirnov to remain in pretrial detention until June 15. His lawyers had requested house arrest instead, citing a heart condition. A spokesperson said the decision would be appealed.
Also detained in connection with the case was the region’s former first deputy governor, Alexey Dedov. He was arrested in Kursk and transferred to Moscow. A court will decide on his pretrial restrictions on April 17.
Smirnov and Dedov have been formally charged with large-scale fraud committed by an organized group using official positions — an offense that carries up to 10 years in prison, according to Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk.
Investigators allege that Smirnov and Dedov led a scheme involving executives from the Kursk Region Development Corporation to embezzle more than one billion rubles in public funds. The money had been allocated for building defense fortifications on Russia’s border with Ukraine, with the corporation acting as the general contractor for the project.
Both Smirnov and Dedov deny any wrongdoing. Smirnov reportedly refused to testify during questioning, saying he needed more time to review the charges and prepare a statement, Kommersant reports.
Earlier, three top managers from the Kursk Region Development Corporation were also arrested: former general director Vladimir Lukin and his deputies, Igor Grabin and Snezhana Martyanova. According to the Interior Ministry, law enforcement has also detained executives from companies that received government contracts but failed to fulfill the construction work. All suspects are currently in pretrial detention.
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The investigation was reportedly triggered by the poor quality of “dragon’s teeth” — large concrete barriers meant to stop armored vehicles. Following inspections of these fortifications built under Smirnov's leadership, federal authorities launched multiple criminal cases. According to RBC, some of the completed structures failed to meet the approved specifications.
Initially, the case comprised five specific episodes, mostly related to defenses against potential attacks from Ukraine, Kommersant reports. The one involving the “dragon’s teeth” resulted in estimated damages of 156 million rubles ($1.9 million). Instead of the required M500-grade industrial concrete, contractors used the weaker M200 grade, intended for non-industrial, domestic-level construction. As a result, the structures crumbled in rain and snow — and failed to stop Ukrainian armored vehicles during their cross-border offensive starting in August 2024.
Investigators also uncovered numerous instances in which regional officials overpaid contractors and suppliers.
Top executives at the Kursk Region Development Corporation have testified against Smirnov and Dedov, according to a law enforcement source cited by Kommersant. Lukin and several other suspects reportedly told investigators that the two officials orchestrated the embezzlement scheme.
Kommersant also writes that Smirnov and Dedov only awarded contracts to companies willing to pay kickbacks of at least 15 percent. Some of the first defendants in the case are reportedly pursuing plea deals and providing information about the scheme’s organizers to the authorities. Investigators are now considering more serious charges under Article 210 of the Criminal Code — creating a criminal organization — which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
A source cited by TASS said the authorities monitored Smirnov for several months after gathering evidence of his involvement.
While the current damage estimate stands at over one billion rubles, Kommersant reports that the figure may grow significantly as investigators examine additional contracts. An RBC source suggested the total embezzled funds could reach 4.5 billion rubles ($54.8 million)
The federal government had allocated 19.4 billion rubles ($236.2 million) for fortification construction in the Kursk region, including bunkers, firing positions, anti-tank barriers, and trenches. In early 2025, the Prosecutor General’s Office filed a lawsuit in a Kursk district court demanding that Vladimir Lukin repay more than 3.2 billion rubles ($39 million), which prosecutors say were misappropriated from this budget.
Smirnov’s gubernatorial career was brief. He began working in regional administration in the late 1990s, held various posts in the Moscow Region starting in 2011, and returned to Kursk in 2018 as deputy governor. He was promoted to first deputy governor in 2021 and became head of the regional government in 2022.
In May 2024, following then-Governor Roman Starovoit’s appointment as Transport Minister, Smirnov became acting governor. Despite active fighting in the region, gubernatorial elections were held in September 2024. According to the regional election commission, Smirnov won with 65.28 percent of the vote. However, on December 5 — just 88 days after Smirnov's election — President Vladimir Putin accepted his resignation, which was officially described as voluntary. RBC sources said the Kremlin had decided to remove him due to poor communication with the public, including with refugees from areas overrun by Ukrainian forces.
Following the governor's departure, other members of his team began leaving the administration. Dedov stepped down on December 27. Around the same time, law enforcement began arresting executives from the Kursk Region Development Corporation. Smirnov was called in for questioning in December, according to the Telegram channel Mash, and Dedov was questioned in January.
The region’s new governor, Alexander Khinshtein, has repeatedly criticized the Kursk Region Development Corporation, sometimes referring to it as the “Corporation of Embezzlement,” TASS reported in March.
The construction of border fortifications in the Kursk region began under Roman Starovoit, but a source close to the Putin administration told RBC that he's not currently suspected of any wrongdoing. Governor Khinshtein has said the regional authorities are cooperating with investigators.
