A decorated Russian general who once criticized President Vladimir Putin for leading a “third-rate” air force has died under mysterious circumstances along with his wife.
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Lt. Gen. Vladimir Sviridov, 68, who commanded Russia’s 6th Air Army and Air Defense from 2005 to 2009, was found dead in his bed at his home in the village of Adzhievsky in the Stavropol region on Wednesday.
Mr. Sviridov’s wife, Tatiana, 72, was found next to him, popular Russian Telegram channel Baza reported.
According to Baza, the couple had been dead for about a week when the bodies were discovered.
No signs of violence were found at the scene.
“Gas service employees have already carried out measurements and no exceedance of the permissible pollutant concentration was found,” the station reported.
“The causes of death of Vladimir and Tatyana Sviridov are still unknown,” they further reported.
However, a detailed inspection of the gas appliances in his home revealed that a key valve was broken during a power outage in the village about a week ago, suggesting that the couple likely died in their sleep as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, Kommersant reported, citing local officials.
The Russian Investigative Committee is investigating the Sviridovs’ deaths.
Criticism of the Air Force
General Sviridov was ousted from his command post more than a decade ago after repeatedly criticizing the Russian Air Force.
In an interview with the Russian magazine Take Off in 2007, he complained bitterly about pilot training.
“A pilot must have approximately 100 flight hours per year to be fully combat ready. However, this is not yet the case,” complained the outspoken commander.
“The average flight time in the army is currently 25 to 30 hours,” he emphasized.
In another interview, Sviridov made equally crude remarks.
“We are forced to appoint officers who are not fully trained because there are no better ones: for the same reason we send third-rate pilots to the military academies. “That didn’t happen in the past,” he criticized.