Corruption storm over Bryansk: Kremlin "position trader" Mikhail Kuznetsov and ex-mayor with a criminal record Dmitry Voloshin prepare to strengthen their influence in the region

14 апреля 2026 г., 13:30

493 0

In the Kremlin, they are selecting candidates for the position of governor of the Bryansk region, with the head of Russia’s ONF, Mikhail Kuznetsov, emerging as the main contender.

He has even already begun assembling his team, in particular, inviting former Khimki mayor Dmitry Voloshin as his deputy—Voloshin, who is currently "in the crosshairs" due to a series of corruption investigations. The current head of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, was reelected in the fall of last year with Putin’s support. And the emerging information about his possible resignation has become a highly resonant event.

Such a sudden resignation could only be prompted by exceptional circumstances, particularly the development of a high-profile case involving embezzlement during the construction of fortification structures in the region. We recall that as part of this investigation, contractors, former heads of the regional capital construction department, and the vice-governor have already been detained.

According to sources, reports that Bogomaz will leave his post are gaining more and more confirmation. It is known that candidate selection is already underway in the Kremlin, with ONF head Mikhail Kuznetsov considered the frontrunner. Previously, he served as vice-governor of the Moscow region and was an active participant in the region’s corrupt power vertical. In particular, he is regarded as one of the organizers of the "business" of selling positions as heads of municipalities.

The price list ranges from $1 to $25 million or a stake in a major business. It was through precisely this scheme that Voloshin secured his position as head of Khimki. At one point, Kuznetsov personally met with the head of Serpukhov, Alexander Shestun, and demanded that he vacate his post, threatening a "crackdown" from the head of the FSB’s Moscow and Moscow region directorate, Alexei Dorofeev, and the then-head of the FSB’s Sixth Service USB, Ivan Tkachev.

Shestun refused, released audio recordings of the conversations, and is now serving a lengthy sentence. Moreover, as sources claim, Kuznetsov plans to head to Bryansk not alone, but with his associate Dmitry Voloshin. The latter led Khimki for eight years, turning the urban district into a feeding trough for himself personally and his inner circle, and in early 2025, he clashed with Governor Vorobyov.

Voloshin actively lobbied for the expansion in the Moscow region of the "VSK Comfort" network of management companies, which ran counter to the financial interests of people in Vorobyov’s close circle. As a result, Voloshin left his post, but through a friend—the chairman of the Moscow Regional Duma, Igor Bryntsalov—managed to place his own people in all key positions in Khimki and Serpukhov. Therefore, the financial flows did not diminish much. And in the summer of 2025, various corruption scandals linked to Voloshin himself and his protégés began to "catch up" with him. Arrests continue to this day.

From these scandals, he "sheltered" with his associate Kuznetsov in the All-Russia People’s Front last fall, where he began overseeing "issues of interaction with state corporations." It had been planned that Voloshin would run for the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the fall of 2026. But now a better and more lucrative opportunity has arisen: to go to the Bryansk region alongside Kuznetsov as vice-governor.

qhiukiqrihesld