The downfall of General Spartak. Ivan Popov’s path from frontline commander to prison via a voice message

Former commander of Russia’s 58th Guards Combined Arms Army, Major General Ivan Popov, once lauded by his troops under the callsign “Spartak”, has been sentenced to five years in a general regime colony. The Tambov Garrison Military Court found him guilty of large-scale fraud and official forgery, according to reports from state news agency TASS and the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti.

In a trial held behind closed doors, the court also stripped Popov of his Major General rank and imposed a fine of 800,000 rubles (about $9,600 at the current exchange rate). Prosecutors had originally sought a six-year sentence.

Popov maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings. “In the present moment, my place is guarding the borders of our Motherland,” he declared in his final statement. His defence team had repeatedly requested that he be allowed to return to military service in Ukraine.

Popov’s troubles escalated following his controversial dismissal from command in July 2023. He was arrested in May 2024 on charges related to the alleged theft of over 1,700 tonnes of structural metal. According to investigators, these materials had been procured by the Russian-appointed administration in the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, ostensibly for the construction of defensive fortifications on the front line. The initial damage assessment was estimated at 130 million roubles, though Popov’s lawyer later stated this figure was “adjusted” down to 105 million roubles (around $1.3 million).

After his initial arrest, both the defence and, unusually, the investigators made several requests for Popov to be released from custody. Two months into his detention, a court agreed to place him under house arrest. However, in late February 2025, Popov was returned to a pre-trial detention facility.

In March 2025, seeking intervention from the highest level, Popov addressed an open letter to President Vladimir Putin. Describing himself as facing “unjustified judicial prosecution”, he asked the “most important commander” to look into his “complex situation” and “return him to service”, claiming he had been dismissed from the armed forces against his will and despite the ongoing needs of Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.

His defence later claimed that following this appeal, the Ministry of Defence had petitioned the court to suspend the case, suggesting a “positive decision” had been made about sending Popov back to the front.

Convicted alongside Popov was businessman Sergei Moiseev, who received a four-year sentence and a 400,000 rouble fine for his role in the supposed fraud scheme. Another figure reportedly implicated in the investigation was Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov, but case against him was terminated following his death in a Ukrainian missile strike in July 2023.

Popov’s prosecution occurred amid a wider high-profile purge within Russia’s defence establishment. It gained momentum shortly before Vladimir Putin replaced the long-serving Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, in May 2024, and was preceded by the arrest of Deputy Minister Timur Ivanov on bribery charges. In the subsequent months, several other senior military figures and defence officials faced corruption charges, including Deputy Defence Ministers Dmitry Bulgakov and Pavel Popov, along with directors of military-affiliated companies.

“In his usual semi-hysterical tone”. The original scandal

News of Popov’s departure as the commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine surfaced shortly before State Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev confirmed it publicly. GREY ZONE, a Telegram channel that supports the invasion and is thought to have links to Wagner Group, reported on July 12 that Popov had been removed after briefing chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov on deteriorating conditions at the front. Popov had reportedly called for rotation of frontline Russian units, some of which had been in continuous combat for extended periods. He had also recommended replacing units that had sustained heavy losses.

GREY ZONE claimed that Gerasimov responded by accusing Popov of spreading panic and misinformation. When Popov warned he might take the matter to the president, Gerasimov allegedly “in his usual semi-hysterical tone” accused him of blackmail and said he was being relieved of duty. Another Telegram channel, VChK-OGPU, presented a similar account.

At the time, some pro-Russian commentators circulated conspiracy theories. The relatively obscure Telegram channel The Spy’s Dossier linked Popov’s dismissal to the Ukrainian missile strike on the Duna Hotel in Berdiansk on July 11, 2023, which killed Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov (the same general later implicated in Popov’s fraud case). According to this channel, the clash between Popov and Gerasimov occurred shortly before the strike, with Popov accusing Gerasimov of misleading Putin. The channel speculated that Tsokov might have been collateral damage, suggesting the real target of the British-supplied Storm Shadow missile was Popov himself, who supposedly had been staying at the hotel but was absent during the attack.

A blow from behind

Later that evening, Gurulev posted an audio message from Popov to his troops, confirming the dismissal. Popov, whose callsign is “Spartak”, addressed them as “my gladiators”.

“They removed me from my post... I’m now waiting to see what my military future holds, if I’ll receive another assignment... Honestly, the situation with senior leadership left me with two choices—either stay silent and be a coward, say what they wanted to hear, or call things by their name,” Popov said.

He went on to claim that in a briefing to his superiors, he had “frankly and severely” highlighted what he described as the “main tragedy of the modern war: the lack of counter-battery fire, the absence of modern artillery reconnaissance systems, and the resulting heavy casualties” inflicted by Ukrainian artillery.

Pro-war blogger Alexander Kots noted that these issues extend beyond Popov’s 58th Army. Ukraine, he wrote, is far more advanced in its counter-battery capabilities. Kyiv has repeatedly said that destroying Russian personnel, equipment, artillery depots and air defence systems is its top priority in its southern counteroffensive.

“In this context,” Popov continued, “our senior leadership apparently saw me as a threat. In a single day, they rushed through an order to get rid of me. As several regimental and divisional commanders said today, Ukrainian troops couldn’t break us from the front. We were struck from behind, betrayed and disgracefully decapitated by higher command at the most critical and difficult moment.”

Popov ended his message with the words: “Always with you, always in touch—your ‘Spartak’.”

The 58th Army, which Popov commanded, was regarded as one of Russia’s most capable fighting forces, playing a central role, according to British intelligence, in resisting Ukraine’s counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia. GREY ZONE wrote that Popov was deeply respected by his troops and that his concerns over troop rotation were valid.

His removal provoked outrage among several pro-war commentators and so-called “military correspondents”. Roman Saponkov described it as a “monstrous moral attack on the army”, lamenting that “men with fish-like, soulless eyes have sacked a battle-tested general—one who asked only for troop rotations, better counter-battery capability, and proper logistics. A general who didn’t take these issues public but addressed them privately at a closed briefing.”

Andrei Turchak, prominent figure in the United Russia party who currently serves as head of the Altai Republic, insisted back then Popov’s message was intended for internal army chats, blaming Gurulev for turning it into a “political show” and stressing the army must remain “outside politics”.