27 November 2025
High-profile dismissals. Chair of the Supreme Court Igor Krasnov sees judge qualification boards as a tool for strengthening central control over the judicial community
by Leonid Niktinsky
Source: Novaya gazeta
Igor Krasnov, the new head of the Russian Federation Supreme Court, decided to personally take part in the November meeting of the Higher Qualification Board of Judges (HQBJ), despite not being a formal member of the body. It is likely the board met to discuss questions of a fundamental nature that had arisen from the meeting held on 24-28 November. Krasnov, at the first meeting of the HQBJ held since his appointment, addressed its members: “Corruption, abuse, and deliberate distortion of the principles of justice must be met with a firm and unambiguous response” (from the federal and regional qualification boards).
It would appear that the HQBJ began implementing these instructions immediately. The body granted the petitions of the chair of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Aleksandr Bastrykin, and approved the prosecution and/or arrest of six judges. Amongst those prosecuted were chair of the Smolninsky district court of St. Petersburg and the deputy chair of the Leninsky district court of Kursk, in addition to several others. All such cases involved corruption-related charges.
“Taking into account the views of the head of the Supreme Court,” the HQBJ did not approve for submission to the president the names of candidates previously recommended for the positions of chairpersons of the Kaluga Regional Court and the Arbitration Court of the Republic of Dagestan. Several other candidates for presiding judge positions decided to withdraw their candidacies. These are unprecedented decisions: until now, candidacies for chief justice positions were discussed with the Supreme Court’s leadership in advance. In the absence of such a discussion, no member of the HQBJ would so much as think of putting forward a candidate.
The most fundamental and sensitive issue —that of the termination of the status of retired judge Aleksandr Chernov, former chair of Krasnodar Regional Court— was examined “as the curtain fell” on the evening of 27 November. This does not mean the HQBJ has given its consent for criminal proceedings to be initiated against Chernov. However, along with his judicial status, Chernov also forfeits his guarantee of immunity. Chernov also lost his right to benefits and a lifetime allowance of 80% of his final salary, although he is entitled to apply for a regular pension in terms of his age.
Earlier in August, Krasnogorsk City Court in Moscow region, where the so-called anti-corruption lawsuit was submitted for an objective consideration, seized Chernov’s assets worth approximately 13 billion roubles in the form of land plots, real estate, and bank accounts in favour of the state. The same fate befell the property of the chair of the Supreme Court of Adygea, Aslan Trakhov, and Supreme Court judge and former chair of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation, Viktor Momotov, meaning they too may be stripped of their immunity at future sessions of the HQBJ.
The decision to initiate criminal proceedings against Chernov now rests not only with the head of the Russian Investigative Committee, but also with the Krasnodar region branch of the Investigative Committee. However, it will only be possible to remand him in custody if he returns to Russia. According to TASS, the former chair of Krasnodar Regional Court has left the country, where his former deputy, the “golden judge” Elena Khakhaleva, has long been located.
Chernov’s representative at the HQBJ explained that following treatment for a serious illness, he is recuperating in Cyprus. If a criminal case is opened, the Russian Investigative Committee will be able to request Chernov’s extradition, or the criminal case against him will be investigated and tried in absentia.
Informally speaking, Chernov has a degree of bargaining power. The heads of courts from other federal districts, as well as the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, frequently holidayed at resorts in Krasnodar region. Moreover, Chernov and Momotov aren’t the only ones who may own property in the region.
Chernov’s absence from Russia therefore suits many, especially among the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. At the same time, in the event of a guilty verdict being handed down to Chernov in person or in absentia and its entry into force, the plaintiffs and defendants who lost disputes, including those related to land and real estate, may raise the issue of overturning the respective court decisions made since 1994 (when Chernov became head of the regional court). And this would mean a whole revolution in the south of Russia with all ensuing consequences.
On 14 November, a week before the HQCJ meeting, an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation —convened at Krasnov’s initiative— decided to dismiss Vladislav Ivanov, the general director of the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court, who had assumed the post under the presidency of Irina Podnosova, who died in July. Ivanov replaced Alexander Gusev, who was head of the Judicial Department from 2000 to 2024. The department is responsible for providing material support to courts and judges, including transportation, housing, and infrastructure for medical treatment and recreation, as well as the construction and renovation of courthouses, of which dozens were built under Gusev at the federal level alone. According to Rossiyskaya gazeta, the Judicial Department’s budget in 2024 amounted to 334 billion roubles.
The anti-corruption nature of the decisions taken is undeniable, although they could have been motivated by other issues, such as, in particular, Igor Krasnov’s desire to gain tighter control of the judicial community. The fact is that lower courts are only ready to be completely submissive in cases of a political nature, but when it comes to property disputes, some judges have stopped taking into account the interests of those who oversee them.
Translated by Nathalie Wilson
