Former Volgograd Traffic Police Chief Appeals Court Ruling

Former acting head of the Directorate for Road Traffic Safety of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Volgograd Region, Valery Udodov, has filed an appeal against the decision of the Dzerzhinsky District Court, which denied his reinstatement to service. This information is posted on the court«s official website.

According to the case file, the complaint was registered on the second-to-last working day of 2025. On January 13 of this year, the court accepted it for proceedings, and on January 14, the documents were transferred to the higher instance. The Volgograd Regional Court received the materials on January 20, and the case has been assigned to Judge Vera Kolganova, but a specific hearing date has not yet been set.

Recall that the dismissal of Police Colonel Valery Udodov became known in late April 2024. The information was confirmed by several sources in law enforcement agencies. The official reason for the resignation was not stated, but according to unconfirmed reports, it could be related to providing patronage to a businessman involved in vehicle technical inspection and cargo transportation.

As stated in the decision of the Dzerzhinsky District Court, the grounds for dismissal were the results of an inspection by the Internal Affairs Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Volgograd Region, with which Udodov disagreed.

The court decision includes the following quote: «An official inspection established that a message was received via the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs hotline from a citizen who refused to provide personal information, who reported that the acting head of the Directorate for Road Traffic Safety of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Police Colonel, was extorting money (amount not specified) from personnel for further compensation to the driver of a KAMAZ truck (driver»s details and vehicle license plate not provided), a participant in a traffic accident with a service vehicle of traffic police officers from the said unit (date, address of the accident, details of police officers and service vehicle not provided),« states the court decision. »This information was relayed by phone to the shift supervisor of the Duty Unit of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The message was recorded in the log of messages received via the hotline.«

After this information was received, a procedural check was organized.

During the check, it was found that an inspector, who was on a business trip and driving a service UAZ Patriot vehicle, collided at an intersection with a KAMAZ truck moving on the main road. Interviews with traffic police unit heads showed that a voluntary collection of money was conducted among personnel, but, according to some heads, the funds were being collected for the repair of the service UAZ. However, not all units contributed money.

The damage to the truck owner, whose driver was found not at fault in the accident, exceeded 700 thousand rubles (approximately $7,800 at current rates). The director of the owning company agreed not to go to court on condition of compensation of 530 thousand rubles (approximately $5,900 at current rates) — the cost of repairs and compensation for the spoiled cargo. All participants in the collection assured that the funds were contributed exclusively voluntarily, without any coercion.

After reviewing the materials, the judge of the Dzerzhinsky District Court denied Udodov«s claim. Now the case will be considered in the regional court.