Prosecutors seek 15-year prison term for former Kursk governor on bribery charges
Prosecutors have asked a court to sentence former Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov to 15 years in a maximum-security prison on bribery charges, the press service of the Kursk regional courts reported.
The case is being heard at a district court in Kursk. Prosecutors are also seeking a fine of 500 million rubles and the confiscation of 20.95 million rubles from Smirnov.
“The number of years being requested […] I don’t think I even have that much life left in me. I consider the prosecution’s request completely disproportionate, given the plea agreement,” Smirnov said in court, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. His defense asked for a suspended sentence, citing his full admission of guilt and remorse.
Smirnov is charged with bribery in connection with the construction of defensive fortifications along the border with Ukraine. He reached a plea agreement with investigators and admitted to receiving more than 20 million rubles in bribes from contractors who carried out the construction work.
Smirnov led the Kursk region from May to December 2024. He was detained in Moscow in April 2025. On the same day, his former deputy Alexei Dedov was also detained.
The construction of two lines of defense in the region was completed in October 2022. At the time, Roman Starovoit — then the regional governor — reported on the completion. Smirnov was his deputy. In May 2024, Starovoit became Minister of Transport, and in August of that year, Ukrainian Armed Forces broke into the Kursk region and occupied part of the border territories, which they held for several months.
In July 2025, Starovoit was found dead. Investigators claimed he had taken his own life. According to one version, he was to have been the next defendant in this case. At trial, Smirnov claimed that Starovoit had received tens of millions of rubles “as gratitude for contracts awarded for the construction of fortifications.”
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