He went to war after being caught taking a bribe. Former mayor of Russian Belgorod dies at the front

Author:
Svitlana Kravchenko
Date:
He went to war after being caught taking a bribe. Former mayor of Russian Belgorod dies at the front

Former mayor of the Russian city of Belgorod Konstantin Polezhaev was killed in a drone attack during the war against Ukraine.

This is reported by Russian media with reference to Polezhaevʼs relatives.

Polezhaev was the mayor of Belgorod from 2015 to 2019. After that, he served as the Deputy Governor of the Belgorod Region for Housing and Communal Services.

In particular, Polezhaev was responsible for the restoration of Shebekino and Novaya Tavolzhanka after shelling. However, due to poor quality work in these settlements, he was dismissed in the summer of 2023.

In August 2024, Polezhaev was sentenced to five years in a penal colony for bribery. According to the investigation, he received “Porsche Panamera” and “Range Rover” cars worth a total of about 18 million rubles (over $200 000) from the head of a construction company for assistance with government contracts.

Even before the verdict was reported, Polezhaev signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry. Later, the proceedings against him were stopped at the request of the commander of the military unit. At the trial, Polezhaev said that he was "ready to sacrifice his life".

According to Russian media, Polezhaev served in the local “Bars” detachment. It is not yet known where and when he died.

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