Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Konstantin Polezhaev, The Former Mayor Of Belgorod
- 22.09.2026, 11:39
He signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense after being convicted in a bribery case.
The former mayor of Belgorod and vice governor Konstantin Polezhaev was killed in the “Special Military Operation” zone. This was reported to "Fonary" by relatives of Konstantin Polezhaev.
He was 53 years old. Over the course of his career, he rose from road engineer to head of a regional center and deputy governor; following a criminal case involving bribery, he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Polezhaev was one of the most prominent figures in Belgorod’s government over the past two decades. In 2013, he joined the Belgorod city administration, where he became first deputy mayor. Following Sergey Bozenov’s resignation in the fall of 2015, he first served as acting mayor and then became the mayor of Belgorod.
In 2019, Polezhaev left City Hall and joined the regional government. He initially headed the Department of Housing and Public Utilities and later became the deputy governor in charge of housing and public utilities.
After the start of the “special military operation,” his area of responsibility changed significantly. Polezhaev was involved in preparing shelters and restoring homes, utility networks, and infrastructure damaged by shelling.
In the summer of 2023, Polezhaev’s career in the regional government came to an end. Shortly before his departure, the former governor Vyacheslav Gladkov publicly criticized the quality of housing repairs in border towns. Shortly after the former vice governor’s resignation, law enforcement authorities detained him.
Investigators charged him with accepting a bribe on an especially large scale. According to law enforcement, the director of a construction company provided the official with the use of two expensive cars with a total value of more than 18 million Russian rubles.
In August 2024, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Belgorod found Polezhaev guilty under Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. He was sentenced to five years in a strict-regime penal colony, fined 36 million rubles, and barred from holding public office for eight years. Two vehicles were confiscated and turned over to the state.
In court, Polezhaev pleaded guilty, although he disputed the amount of the bribe. During his closing statement, he stated that on August 6 he had signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and wished to enlist. He said he intended, in this way, to “restore his good name and atone for his guilt before society.”
Immediately after the verdict was handed down, Polezhaev was taken into custody, but the story did not end there. On October 16, 2024, the Belgorod Regional Court, while considering the appeal, suspended proceedings in the criminal case. The basis for this was a motion filed by the commander of a military unit regarding Polezhaev’s military service. The regional FSB office then officially reported that the former official had signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense to serve under “special military operations” conditions.