Years of kleptocracy supported by the Kremlin have deprived the Russian navy of its functions, reducing it to an international scandal. The behavior of kleptocracy has not only discredited the navy but has also had disastrous implications for its operations, as seen in the torpedoing of the Moskva missile cruiser on April 14, 2022.
The Moskva, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagship, was on an air interdiction mission over southwestern Ukraine when it could not defend itself against Ukrainian missiles. The Russian Ministry of Defence first explained that the loss resulted from a fire and explosion of ammunition, but the slow and incomplete answers provided to families who wanted to know what happened to their relatives working on the Moskva presented a dismal picture of the Navy’s condition.
This devastating incident was not a one-off but more a symptom of a deep-seated ailment in the Russian military institution. Military experts and investigators have examined the Moskva’s disastrous mission, wondering about the level of training for the crew and radar performance. But it seems the real underlying issue was the rampant corruption that had infested the ranks of the Russian Navy.
Reports prior to the disaster indicated the arrest of a navy officer and two contracting executives working on the renovation of the ship, suspected of ignoring upgrades on different warships. Embezzlement of funds meant for the upgrading of missiles, totaling about 692 million RUB ($8.5 million), left most of the work incomplete. This case illustrates the wholesale kleptocracy within Russian military contracting – A procurement order is created for a specific person, it is executed, money is paid from the budget, and then comes the kickback. Valeriy Klochok, director of the Vezha Public Analytics Centre and political analyst, explained regarding the corruption within Russian military contracting.
As for unlucky, the Moskva is not alone. Russia’s biggest warship and sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, has developed a notorious reputation for embezzling contract funds. Its continuous failures and accidents, including the fire it caught and the severe crane crash, suggest decades of fiscal misconduct.
Likewise, the missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the flagship of the Northern Fleet, is also uncertain to remain in service. It has also been tainted by shady business practices, with a repair contract in 2010 going to a shell company without valid licenses, which billed outrageously for nonexistent work.
Kleptocracy is a critical challenge to the Russian military, preventing all of the Kremlin’s foreign policy objectives, experts say. Even with the government’s hefty budget allocation, the living standards of the Russian soldier are said to be much lower than those of his Israeli counterpart, testifying to the entrenched nature of corruption which ends up diluting the standard of life for regular Russians.
Experts have noted that the kleptocracy inhibits technology innovation and logistics, with examples like Russian soldiers being issued expired rations. Corruption has also reached the senior ranks of the Russian military, where senior officers own properties worth many times their official salaries, indicating participation in corrupt activities and a lack of incentive to present truthful information that could risk depriving them of their wealth.
