- Vladimir Sviridov and his wife had been dead for a week before they were found.
- The lieutenant general left the army after criticizing the Russian army
- Russian authorities are still trying to find the cause of their deaths.
A former Russian air defense commander was found dead alongside his wife under mysterious circumstances.
Highly decorated Lieutenant General Vladimir Sviridov, 68, and his wife Tatyana, 72, were reportedly dead for about a week before their bodies were reportedly found.
The retired pilot once criticized Vladimir Putin for running a “third-rate” air force, warning that senior officers were leaving the armed forces due to dismal pay and conditions.
Russian authorities have not been able to determine the cause of death, local media reported.
The general and his wife were found in their house in the village of Adzhievsky in the Stavropol region.
Highly decorated Lieutenant General Vladimir Sviridov, 68 (pictured), and his wife Tatyana, 72, were dead for about a week before their bodies were found.
Sviridov’s death is the latest in a long line of deaths under mysterious circumstances that many believe have been orchestrated by Vladimir Putin (pictured).
He left the Russian military after making a series of scathing comments about the military.
“The gas service workers have already taken measures and no concentration of harmful substances that exceeds that permitted has been detected,” reads the first report on his death.
“The cause of death of Vladimir and Tatyana Sviridov is still unknown.”
Sviridov commanded Russia’s 6th Army Air Force and Air Defense from 2005 to 2009 in an appointment made by Putin.
He was an honorary pilot of Russia and had previously served as a military sniper pilot.
He had been awarded the Order of the Red Star and a host of medals.
Sviridov stepped down as commander at age 54 after making a series of scathing public comments about the Russian military.
He warned in an interview: ‘A pilot must have about 100 hours of flying a year to be fully prepared for combat.
‘However, that is not yet the case. The average flight time in the military is currently 25 to 30 hours.’
In another interview he complained: ‘We are forced to appoint officers who are not fully trained because there are no better ones.
‘For the same reason we send third-rank pilots to military academies.
“This didn’t happen in the past.”
Sviridov commanded Russia’s Sixth Army Air Force and Air Defense from 2005 to 2009 in an appointment made by Putin.
Russian authorities are still trying to discover how the decorated commander and his wife died.
He was an honorary pilot of Russia and had previously served as a military sniper pilot.
Low wages and poor housing provision caused experienced officers to leave the army as soon as they could.
“Unfortunately, one in two of our agents does not have accommodation,” he revealed.
“Up to 10 percent of young officers go to great lengths to retire early.”
He told Putin to “create normal living conditions for young officers, as well as for all military personnel, so that they can properly perform their service duties.”
Russia has been hit by a series of suspicious deaths since the start of Putin’s war against Ukraine, and figures across the country appear to be in the Kremlin’s crosshairs.
In August, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the private military company Wagner, died after his plane crashed 185 miles north of Moscow.
Many believe Putin ordered his death after Prigozhin led a column of Wagner tanks toward Moscow following months of disagreement between his mercenaries and the Russian Defense Ministry.
