Giving punishments: ex-director of the Patriot Park was sentenced to five years in a penal colony

Vyacheslav Akhmedov, the former director of the Patriot Park, was sentenced to five years in a penal colony in a case of embezzlement of funds from the Ministry of Defense. According to the investigation, Akhmedov used the budget to build a cottage for the son of former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov, registering this construction site in the documents as part of the park. In addition, the head of Patriot, according to the case file, hired "dead souls" who were listed as employees of the park, but worked at Popov's dacha. Another person involved was the former deputy head of the Main Directorate of Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defense, Vladimir Shesterov. The investigation found that the accomplices stole more than 25 million rubles from the Patriot Park and the Ministry of Defense. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

What the ex-director of Patriot stated in court

The verdict against Vyacheslav Akhmedov was handed down by the Odintsovo City Court on August 15. The ex-director of the Patriot Park in 2025 received five years in a general regime penal colony in a case of large-scale fraud and forgery. In addition, he is obliged to pay a fine of 300 thousand rubles.

According to investigators, Akhmedov built a cottage for the son of former deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov at the expense of the budget, registering this building in the documents as part of the park. The former director of Patriot performed economic functions there from May 2022 to April 2024. Wanting to please Popov, he fraudulently attracted contractors for the construction of two-storey and guest houses, a bathhouse and the installation of green spaces on a site in the Moscow region, the case file says.

It notes that in 2022, during an inspection of guest houses in Patriot Park, which are rented to visitors, Popov wanted to build similar buildings on his son's country plot in the Krasnogorsk district of the Moscow region. Subsequently, the former official had the intention to steal funds from the Patriot Park and the Ministry of Defense. Another of his accomplices was the former deputy head of the Main Directorate of Innovative Development of the Ministry of Defense, Vladimir Shesterov.

According to the investigation, Akhmedov, Popov and Shesterov stole more than 25 million rubles by entering false information in the documentation about the allegedly completed construction work in the Patriot Park.

"These individuals, along with their accomplices, are involved in the embezzlement of budget funds allocated to ensure the operation and operation of the Patriot Park and the convention and exhibition center," the Investigative Committee said.

Akhmedov was arrested in August 2024. In July 2025, the former director of Patriot pleaded guilty and made a deal with the investigation. According to the convict, while working in the park, he had no personal gain, but only supervised the construction site. Akhmedov named former Deputy Defense Minister Popov as the sole beneficiary.

— I am a gentle and executive person. Popov made it clear to me that if I quit, I would never get a job again. I had no doubt not to believe the army general," said the ex-director of Patriot in court.

In addition, Akhmedov said that he had applied for jobs at the Dead Souls Park, which were listed as employees there, but actually worked at Popov's dacha. They built a two-storey house, a sauna, a guest house, were engaged in finishing work and planted shrubs.

In July 2025, Akhmedov paid 500 thousand rubles to the state, of which 300 thousand rubles were sent to the Ministry of Defense. According to open data from the public procurement website, from October 2021 to August 2024, more than 250 contracts were signed for the maintenance of the park and the convention and exhibition center. Their price ranges from several hundred thousand to several million rubles.

The court also decided to recover 25 million rubles in damages from the ex-head of the park and deprived him of state awards. Akhmedov was taken into custody in the courtroom. In his last statement, the defendant apologized to the Patriot Park staff and his wife for the criminal acts he had committed.

— I apologize to my wife, it's been 44 years since we got together. I've done something irreparable. Please forgive me and the staff of the Patriot Park. I would like the punishment to be fair, I will accept it," the defendant said in the courtroom.

The prosecutor asked for six years in prison and a fine of 500,000 rubles for Akhmedov.

What is known about the other defendants in the case

On July 17, 2025, the court sentenced another person involved in the case, Vladimir Shesterov. He was found guilty of fraud on an especially large scale and committing official forgery. He was sentenced to six years in a general regime penal colony with deprivation of state awards and military rank, and was also ordered to pay a fine of 500 thousand rubles.

In addition, Shesterov must pay 18 million rubles to the Ministry of Defense as compensation and another 6 million to the Patriot Park. On the day of sentencing, it also became known from his words that the accused partially compensated the damage caused to the ministry and the park by paying 400 thousand rubles.

Former Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov was detained on August 29, 2024. He was previously relieved of his post and discharged from military service. According to the Izvestia source, Popov was the supervisor of the construction of the Patriot Park, the main temple of the Armed Forces and the National Defense Control Center.

According to the investigation, through his subordinates, Popov forced contractors who had signed contracts with Patriot to carry out construction work in his suburban apartments without payment, the Investigative Committee reported. In addition, he maintained his site at the expense of the park.

The property of the former Deputy Minister of Defense and his family also includes real estate with a total value of more than 500 million rubles, the department noted.

The investigation of the criminal case initiated against Popov is still ongoing. In addition to fraud on a particularly large scale, the former deputy defense minister is suspected of forgery, abuse of official authority and illegal arms trafficking, according to reports from the Investigative Committee.

Mitigating circumstances

Akhmedov's sentence of five years in prison can be described as restrained — it reflects the severity of the charges, but it has been significantly mitigated due to cooperation with the investigation, criminal defense lawyer Albert Khaleyan explained to Izvestia.

"The conclusion of a pre—trial cooperation agreement entails mandatory mitigation of punishment, but not more than 2/3 of the maximum term of the strictest sanction," he said. — A full admission of guilt is also regarded as a mitigating circumstance. Akhmedov's testimony against Popov served as a direct contribution to the investigation into the case of the former deputy defense minister.

Moreover, the defendant not only admitted his role in the crime, but also pointed to the organizer, revealed to the investigators the details of the scheme, including "dead souls", forged documents on the plot of Popov's son and the mechanism of pressure, the lawyer noted.

Without admitting guilt and cooperating with the investigation, Akhmedov would most likely have received a much longer sentence, says Oleg Kim, a lawyer at the Moscow bar Association Grad. Large—scale fraud is punishable by up to ten years in prison, and forgery by up to four years, he said.