Nation Dept .: Possible’ Political Motives’ for Putin Critic Arrest – Newsmax Posted by | Aug 30, 2017 | About Russia | 0 | State Dept .: Possible' Political Motives' for Putin Critic Arrest Newsmax But Newsmax learned on Tuesday the U.S. State Department is watching the drama with growing concern. Long a Vladimir Putin critic, Serebrennikov has been charged with embezzling 68 million rubles ($ 1.5 million) from the Culture Ministry during his …