A former top official with Russia’s Ministry of Defense was arrested Thursday on charges of engaging in corruption without the express permission of dictator Vladimir Putin, the AP reports.
Or it might have been that former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov did have permission but it was rescinded without him being notified. Popov faces up to a decade in prison for some scam related to “Patriot Park,” an exposition center the AP says is known as Russia’s “military Disneyland,” and a pet project of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to showcase USSR and Russian Federation history and weaponry. Popov is accused of embezzling rubles to fund renovations at his properties in the Moscow area. It’s not clear what “Patriot Park” charges for vodka relative to local stores, but if it’s really Russia’s Disneyland then it’s gotta be at least a 300 percent markup.