Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ A huge cache of messages from the phone of Russian Major General Roman Demurchiev provides a unique insight into the inner workings of the Russian army. It reveals a force riven by feuds between generals, plagued by corruption, and full of contempt for superiors and peers. ⬇️

2/ Ukrainian sources have provided Radio Liberty with gigabytes of text and voice messages to and from Demurchiev, most likely as the result of a hack of his mobile phone or instant messenger account. They implicate him directly in numerous war crimes.

3/ The messages, from 2022–2024, show Demurchiev engaging with other generals in extended dialogues, notably with Major General Ivan Popov, who commanded the 58th Combined Arms Army until July 2023. He and the other generals are scathing about the war and their colleagues.

4/ In an April 2024 message to Major General Mikhail Kosobokov, he complains about the poor quality of officer training. "[T]he fucking Staff Academy," he writes. "I want to piss in their mouths so much they'll choke on their paratrooper piss, fuck."

5/ He is equally unsparing about the low quality of soldier training (which is often negligible), telling 58th Combined Arms Army commander Major General Sergei Medvedev in September 2024:

6/ "People come, we bring them in at night, and they're ready for battle in the morning. They're zero-level trained. They're like collective farmers, and no-one gives them time to prepare."

Inter-service rivalry is also a theme.

7/ Demurchiev is contemptuous of Russia's Airborne Forces, the VDV, telling Popov in September 2024 that "there is no fucking satisfaction in war, fuck, they brought in this cocky paratrooper force. The Marines [Russian Naval Infantry] are also a fucking cock-eating outfit."

8/ His contempt extends to the FSB, of whom he complains that they are "a fucking scumbag, a real cocksucker. They don't even do anything, fuck, to defend us, fuck. All they can do is monitor who stole how much, fucking assholes. I'm so angry, damn."

9/ Demurchiev shows little joy in having to fight and shows much of the same war-weariness and frustration expressed by many ordinary Russian soldiers. In an August 2023 message to a friendly military counter-intelligence officer, he writes of his colleagues:

10/ "They're all fucking assholes, but they all get medals, fuck. I want to get the fuck out of this army, out of this fucking war, fuck. Liars, assholes, cowards, fuck."

11/ He is equally unhappy with military intelligence, the GRU. He excepts his friend in the GRU, whom he calls "a normal, authoritative guy" but says "the rest are mice, fuck them."

12/ The Russian army has struggled throughout the war with aging and poor-quality equipment, while the Russian government has spent a fortune on wonder weapons such as the Oreshnik missile and Poseidon intercontinental nuclear torpedo. Demurchiev is evidently unhappy about this.

13/ In a message sent after the government publicly announced that Poseidon was now operational, Demurchiev complained: "Bitch, fuck, it doesn't work for us, it's not finished yet. Well, I'm already giving you this secret data."

14/ He contrasted the announcement in a message to Popov sent in October 2023 with the pitiful state of his own equipment: "I, [like] a fucking idiot, have only one Orlan [reconnaissance drone]. I can barely see a nuclear explosion, if there is one, fuck."

15/ A consistent theme of the messages is Demurchiev's open contempt for other senior officers, including Chief of Staff Vitaly Gerasimov, who appears to be widely disliked among the senior Russian military.

16/ In August 2024 he told Maj Gen Alexander Nilov, commander of the 90th Tank Division, that Airborne Forces commander Mikhail Teplinsky "needs to be pissed on, he thinks too highly of himself, fuck."

17/ He told Nilov that Major General Oleg Vlasov, commander of the 810th Marine Brigade, was a "Mongol" and a "fucking bitch." "Four Orders of Courage, fuck. Hero of the Russian Federation. You've gotten fat. I thought to myself, "You're a monster."

18/ Demurchiev was appointed deputy commander of the 20th Combined Arms Army in 2024, apparently after lobbying from his allies withing the Russian MOD. In a May 2024 voicemail, he said that "they want to make me deputy commander of the 20th Army."

19/ "[Lt Gen Oleg] Mityaev is pushing for it, [Maj Gen Oleg] Senkov is pushing for it, fuck. When the papers arrive, I'll go there. Honestly, I don't give a fuck where I go – even to Antarctica, I don't give a fuck, even to Kyiv in a BMP."

20/ He complained bitterly about the 20th Army's commander at the time, Maj Gen Sukhrab Sultanovich Akhmedov. "Fuck, they appointed me deputy commander. The commander is a stupid fucking bitch, he's afraid for his own ass. He sent all the deputies—us—to the fucking front."

21/ Relations between Demurchiev and Akhmedov's successor, Oleg Mityaev, seem to have been tense at times. He told Nilov in November 2024: "We almost got into a fight with Mityaika, the fucking army commander. He's screaming and yelling, the loudmouth. He can go fuck himself."

22/ As an army deputy commander, Demurchiev had substantial power to boost the career of his subordinates. He appears to have sponsored Colonel Ivan Kleshcherev, who distinguished himself in a tank assault that defeated a Ukrainian attack, to be awarded a Hero of Russia medal.

23/ Demurchiev seems to have had regrets over doing this. He complained to his friend Ivan Popov in October 2023 that 'Klesh is only moving forward thanks to me, and he only got the 'hero' title thanks to me, fuck. He doesn't even fucking realise it."

24/ "I fucking spent half of that time calling, fuck, Moscow, the Presidential Administration, fuck, the Federation Council, fucking Pankov [then the Deputy Minister of Defence]. So that Kleshcherev could become a Hero of Russia, fuck, with his gladiators, fuck."

25/ He was given 2,000 Chechen fighters to help with the campaign in southern Ukraine and was told by a colleague: "The conquest of new territories must be shown to the people in the box [i.e. the Russian MOD] and the Tsar [Putin]."

26/ Demurchiev was dismissive about the Chechens. "Cowards and PR people. What am I going to show? Nothing but intrigue. Only Slavs show results, and there are few of them."

27/ Despite his low opinion of the Chechens, he was delighted to receive a medal from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in November 2023.

28/ He sent a message to Popov boasting about it. "Damn, they gave me an award, the Order of Kadyrov is the highest award in Chechnya. Gold, with diamonds, fuck!"

29/ On the same day, he advised his chief of staff on how to achieve the same thing:

"Don't offend the Chechens. Give them artillery, tanks, and maybe you'll become a hero of Chechnya."

30/ Demurchiev's relationship with Popov seems to have gone beyond simply being a close friend and confidant. The messages show that he was regularly sending large amounts of money to Popov, most likely as bribes to help advance his own interests within the high command.

31/ In one exchange, Demurchiev asks for Popov's account number at Sberbank to send him "200" (likely 200,000 rubles – $2,600) to "put pressure on the divisional brotherhood" (i.e. other senior officers). Other messages refer to other substantial sums of money.

32/ The two men continued talking after Popov's removal from command in July 2023 following a furious argument with Chief of Staff Vitaly Gerasimov, who apparently has a body odour problem. Demurchiev was blistering about Popov's successor and Gerasimov.

33/ Popov called the new commanders of the Southern Group of forces "an army of morons, sycophants and cowardly traitors." Demurchiev agreed, calling Col Gen Andrey Serdyukov and Airborne Forces Maj Gen Ivan Kapliy "a sandwich of arrogant morons."

34/ Demurchiev was contemptous towards Col Gen Denis Lyamin, Popov's successor:

"[H]e's yelling like a madman. He's just getting in the way and making everyone nervous. Fucking freak."

"Toerag", Popov agreed.

35/ Popov demanded to know, "Where are the shells?" (The shortage of ammunition had been the cause of his falling-out with Gerasimov). "Let Lyamin call his friend Gerasimov".

Demurchiev: "He won't call."

Popov: "Schmuck."

36/ Demurchiev: "Now I can smell the Chief of Staff. He'll draw conclusions in his over-pumped head. 🤣 Fuck it all."

Popov: "Even here I feel this atmosphere of shit."

Demurchiev: "How is it with you and Serdyukov? Also a freak."

37/ Popov: "Nothing yet. I don't even want to contact him. Kapliy is a stupid animal. They both deserve each other. Dumb as a brick, but the worst of the whole group. He's a cunt."

Demurchiev: "😳😳😳 FUCK!!! The epitome of stupidity and idiocy!"

38/ After an investigation into Popov was opened regarding corruption allegations, Demurchiev was dragged in, to his evident disgust. The Main Military Investigative Directorate (GVSU) sent him a letter ordering him to attend an interrogation in Moscow on 13 March 2024.

39/ More interrogations followed. He complained that he had been "summoned to the Main Military Investigative Directorate [about] Popov, there again, fuck, all sorts of bullshit, fuck, they fucking put pressure on me. I told them to fuck off, they fucking tortured me."

40/ By this time, the cash transfers between him and Popov had likely come to light, putting Demurchiev in danger of also being indicted despite an earlier boast that "I have nothing to lose, I'm a general, I don't give a fuck."

41/ He later lamented: "I got myself into such fucking trouble, fucking fuck." Demurchiev described the interrogation to a colleague:

42/ "The senior investigator, fuck, threw down his fucking pen, fuck. He asks me a question: "Did you transfer money to Popov?" I say: "I don't remember."

43/ "He says: "Your answer, 'I don't remember', is that a fucking yes or no?" I say: "Listen, Colonel, I'm actually a fucking general, why are you talking to me like that?"

44/ "Well, one word led to another, and then I say to him, "Listen, fuck, lower your tone, lower your tone, lower your tone, bitch, lower your town, you need to speak to me kindly, you fucking idiot."

45/ Demurchiev told his contact that he stole the interrogation papers from the investigators and promised to circulate them to his colleagues so that they could prepare what to say in their own interrogations.

46/ In May 2024 he met with the head of the GVSU, Kostyantin Korpusov, to lobby for an amicable resolution of the Popov investigation. "He promised me that everything would be fine, but it turned out not to be fine, because he himself is, well, such a fucking idiot."

47/ Demurchiev later complained about Korpusov's faithlessness to Popov's wife Lena: "They're bastards, bastards. God isn't a fool, he'll put everything in its place. We did everything we could to prevent this [i.e. Popov's arrest in May 2024 on corruption charges]."

48/ "Even the head of the Investigative Committe of Russia promised me everything would be fine, but they are all bastards, they are not men, they don't stand by their words."

(Popov was convicted in April 2025 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.)

49/ Lena told him she was fearful that the government would have her and her husband poisoned like Alexei Navalny:

"They should have given [Ivan] another chance. They said they'd take everything from him, the bastards. I said, forget it, as long as he stays alive."

50/ "They're starting to write about Navalny [in the media], and my blood runs cold. Could it really come to this?! Well, they'll poison me. I'm just terribly afraid." /end

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