One current development within Russia that I've not seen reported on much here is the recent deaths in 'mysterious circumstances' of several oligarchs and, often, their families.
Just this week, the former top manager of Lukoil, the billionaire Alexander Subbotin, died in Mytishchi, where a shaman had treated him with toad venom in a bid to cure a hangover!
Last week, Russian oligarch Sergey Protosenya was found dead in Spain alongside his wife and daughter. The local police are working on the theory that it was a murder-suicide, an idea his son has rubbished.
The day before, another oligarch, Vladislav Avayev, was found dead in Moscow along with his wife and daughter in another suspected murder-suicide.
On April the 18th, Vladislav Avayev, 51, was found dead of a gunshot wound in his Moscow apartment, along with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. He was the former vice president of Gazprombank, a privately-owned subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom.
On March the 23rd, Vasily Melnikov was found dead in his apartment in Nizhny Novgorod. He'd been stabbed to death, as were his wife and two sons, aged 10 and 4.
Ukrainian-born oligarch Mikhail Watford was found hanged in the garage of his home in Surrey, England on February 28. Watford, in his 60s, was born in then-Soviet Ukraine and made his fortune in oil and gas. He moved to the UK in the early 2000s with his Estonian wife.
Three days earlier, Alexander Tyulyakov was found hanged in a garage near St. Petersburg on February 25. Police told Gazeta that they found a suicide note next to his body. Tyulyakov, 61, was an executive for Russian energy giant Gazprom.
Another top Gazprom executive, Leonid Shulman, was found dead in a cottage in the same village in January, before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. A suicide note was found near his body, which said that he did not want to be a "disabled person" or a "burden" to his family and complained about unbearable pain in his broken leg.
What connects all these people apart from the peculiar timing and nature of their deaths? None were outwardly critical of Putin's war in Ukraine, but all had links to the oil and gas trade . . . and not a single one had thus far appeared as named people on the list of western sanctions imposed on the country.
Make of that what you will. |  |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
