A Corruption Trial Splits the Kremlin

The first prosecution of a minister for graft under Russian President Vladimir Putin contains the kind of details you’d expect in a spy novel, from hidden microphones and coded hand signals to homemade sausages and a bag stuffed with cash. The case against former Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, who’s accused of taking a bribe from Igor Sechin, the powerful head of state-run oil giant Rosneft Oil Co., is keeping rival camps off balance as Putin prepares for what will likely be his final election in March.

With Putin limited by the constitution to one more six-year term, the covert jockeying to succeed him has already begun—and warring camps are on edge because Putin has yet to show his hand. “There’s a struggle for power in Putin’s politburo,” says Evgeny Minchenko, a political consultant whose clients include the government. “It’s getting more intense because we’re gearing up for a potential changing of the guard.”