Russia's former economic development minister, the country's highest-ranking official to be jailed in nearly two decades, has been granted parole after serving more than half of an eight-year sentence on a bribery conviction, Russian officials confirmed Friday.
Alexei Ulyukayev filed a petition for early release after serving more than five years. A court in the Tver region, some 140 kilometers northwest of Moscow, granted him parole on Wednesday, court officials told the Interfax news agency.
