A former judge from Kazan, Eduard Soldatov, who has been repeatedly convicted for drunk driving, has avoided punishment in a new criminal case — he went to war.

      The criminal case against him has been suspended. The Aviastroitelny District Court of Kazan has suspended the proceedings in the criminal case against former judge Eduard Soldatov, who was accused of driving a vehicle while intoxicated (Article 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This decision was made because the defendant signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Russia and went to war in Ukraine. This was reported by the publication "Real Time." This is not the first criminal case against Soldatov for driving a vehicle while intoxicated. In June 2010, while intoxicated, he exceeded the speed limit and hit 23-year-old Marat Gainutdinov in Kazan. The judge had 2.7 promille of alcohol in his blood. Later, Soldatov was stripped of his status as a judge of the Aviastroitelny District of Kazan, where he had worked for seven years. His status as a judge prevented the police from revoking Soldatov's driver's license within the legally established time frame — he continued to drive a vehicle, writes "Real Time." "In August 2011, already as a suspect in a criminal case, he [Soldatov] crashed his 'Niva' into an Audi A6 and categorically refused to undergo an alcohol test. Only after that was the question of revoking the already stripped status of the servant of Themis for the violator's driver's license initiated," reminds "Real Time." For the fatal hit-and-run of pedestrian Marat Gainutdinov, Eduard Soldatov did not face punishment. He managed to reach an agreement with the relatives of the deceased — Soldatov paid them one and a half million rubles. The case was closed due to reconciliation of the parties — in October 2011, Soldatov left the Novosavinovsky District Court of Kazan without a criminal record. A new criminal case against Soldatov was initiated in 2025. On February 2, the former judge was stopped by traffic police — the breathalyzer showed a reading of 0.734 mg of alcohol per liter of exhaled air (with a permissible limit of 0.16 mg). "The February incident could have ended with a fine and a license suspension if it weren't for the background. The fact is that in June 2022, the magistrate's court for the Kirov District of Kazan fined the ex-colleague 30,000 rubles and ruled to revoke his driver's license for 1.5 years. For what? Again for drunk driving — this time on Victory Day," writes "Real Time." Courts of two instances established that on May 9, 2022, Soldatov was driving a vehicle while intoxicated. On October 6, 2022, the former judge voluntarily surrendered his driver's license for safekeeping to the traffic police, and in December of the same year, he paid the fine. The criminal case under Article 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for drunk driving in February 2025 was submitted to the Aviastroitelny District Court of Kazan in May. The first hearing was scheduled for June, and the second for September. "In the break between them, the 48-year-old defendant managed to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and receive a deployment to the front. As a result, last week the district court decided to suspend the proceedings in the case due to the defendant's participation in a special military operation," reports "Real Time." The "SMO" or special military operation is what the Russian authorities call the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, defendants were given the opportunity to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and suspend judicial proceedings for the duration of their service. By signing a contract during the trial process, one can completely avoid criminal liability. Subscribe to our channel on Telegram.