The second-in-command at Russia's Star City space training facility has been arrested along with six others on corruption charges. Investigators say officials took more than $123,000 in bribes from contractors seeking favorable municipal contracts.
MOSCOW – Russian authorities have arrested the second-in-command at Star City, the secretive space training complex outside Moscow, along with six other individuals in connection with a major bribery investigation, according to Russian state media reports released Friday.
The corruption probe expanded from an earlier case involving Star City’s mayor, Yevgeny Barishevsky, who was placed under house arrest in January after being accused of taking a $4,557 bribe.
Russian investigators announced Friday that their expanded investigation revealed that between 2023 and 2025, both the mayor and his deputy accepted multiple payments from business owners, sometimes through third parties, to ensure favorable decisions when awarding city contracts.
The investigation found that the total value of bribes exceeded 9.9 million roubles, equivalent to approximately $123,602.
Star City is located roughly an hour’s drive northeast of Moscow’s Kremlin. The facility remained so classified during the Soviet era that it was completely absent from public maps, with its existence only becoming known after the USSR’s collapse.
The space training center serves as Russia’s primary facility for preparing cosmonauts and has been a cornerstone of the country’s space program for decades.
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