Former Governor of the Kursk Region Needs to Brace for Tough Times Ahead

Yesterday, with stone-faced expressions, Russia’s top government officials met with Putin, the chief geostrategist of our time. They discussed the situation in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian Armed Forces continue their advance, taking control of settlements in the area.

They’ve even invented a new term for what’s happening in the Kursk region. They don’t call it combat operations or a Ukrainian offensive. They called it a “raid.”

It was interesting to watch the former governor of the region, Roman Starovoyt, at the meeting. He is now the Russian Minister of Transport, a position he has held since May 14 of this year. He was twirling a pen in his fingers, mumbling something incoherent, and sighing quietly. It was clear that something was bothering him, and it definitely wasn’t concern for the people in the Kursk region.

He was thinking about when he would be asked where the 3.2 billion rubles allocated for the construction of defensive lines along the border with Ukraine went. Especially since last year, against the backdrop of concrete dragon’s teeth, he reported that the border was secure and that not even a mouse could slip through the fortifications.

The Department of Capital Construction of the Kursk region, under the governor’s command, signed two contracts for the construction of fortifications worth 3.2 billion rubles, with a completion deadline of July 5, 2023. The contracts were awarded to the “Kursk Region Development Corporation,” which, according to the documents, could subcontract other companies.

Whenever subcontracting organizations are mentioned, it means a lot of money is going to be embezzled.

Now it’s clear that a lot was stolen, as the defensive structures are not fully built, and in some places, there are only anti-tank hedgehogs. Everything else exists only on paper and in fictitious acceptance reports.

The search for those responsible for what happened in the Kursk region is in full swing. The Chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, will certainly not be held responsible. He is still needed by Putin. Nor will Colonel General Alexander Lapin, who commands the “North” group and is responsible, among other things, for border security.

So, Starovoyt should prepare for a grilling and get ready to answer the question – where did the 3.2 billion rubles go? His accomplices from the highest echelons of power, with whom he orchestrated the embezzlement, will not cover for him.