A former Russian commander who once criticized President Putin for allegedly having only a “third-rate” air force has been found dead with his wife at their home in the southern Russian region of Stavropol. The cause of death is unknown.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Sviridov (68) and his wife Tatyana (72) were said to have been dead for a week before their bodies were found in bed on November 15.
Sviridov was the commander of the 6th Air Force and Air Defense Army from 2005 to 2009 and during the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. His efforts were greatly appreciated at the time. He received the Order of the Red Star and several medals. In 2005, Putin gave him the title ‘Honored Pilot of Russia’.
Bad training
But later, Sviridov increasingly openly criticized the way Putin managed the air force as president. He complained about the dire conditions and poor training of Russian pilots. “A pilot must have approximately 100 flying hours per year to be fully combat ready. However, this is not the case. The average flight time in the military is currently 25 to 30 hours,” he said during an interview in 2007.
We are forced to appoint poorly trained officers because there are no better ones
“We are forced to appoint poorly trained officers because there are no better ones,” he said. He suggested that everything was better under previous presidents. At the age of 54, Sviridov decided to step aside.
No signs of violence or toxic substances were found in the blood of the former commander and his wife, according to the Russian Telegram channel ‘Baza’. Also, no increased gas concentrations or other harmful substances were detected in their home in the village of Adzhievsky. The cause of the couple’s death is currently unknown.
It is yet another mysterious death of a high-ranking Russian since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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