The 16 mysterious deaths from Putin’s authorities and opponents

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in addition to the military and civilian casualties on both sides, Russia has also recorded deaths of high -ranking figures, mainly opposed to the Vladimir Putin regime, and businessmen.

Suicides among Kremlin opponents became a recurring phenomenon in the country. Windowfalls, sudden illness, suicides accompanied by farewell letters, plane fall and prison deaths are among the circumstances recorded.

The theme has been rekindled and conspiracy theories about the tactics used by the Moscow regime to eliminate threats returned to newspapers around the world after the death of three political and business figures this past week.

See 16 emblematic cases since the beginning of the current conflict:

• Leonid Shulman (30/01/2022):

The first death, which occurred a few days after the Russian invasion, occurred in a country house in the Leningrad region, when Leonid Shulman, then GAZPROM transport chief, He was found dead in the bathroom. Beside his body was a letter of suicide.

• Roman Starovoit (07/07/2025):

Hours after being fired by Russian government officials, Roman Starovoit was found dead in his vehicle in a city near Moscow. The cause of death remains unknown, and the official version of the National Investigation Committee is suspected of suicide, however, the investigation is still underway. Starovoit was Minister of Transport.

• Andrei Korneichuk (07/07/2025):

Hours after Starovoit’s death, Andrei Korneichuk, Deputy Chief of the Russian Ministry of Transportation Funds He died suddenly in his workplace. According to witnesses, he suffered a cardiac arrest and then passed out and passed away.

• Andrey Badalov (04/07/2025):

Andrey Badalov, Vice-president from TransneftRussian state company that manages the country’s oil network, died in the Russian capital after, allegedly, throwing himself from the window of his home. According to channels of TelegramHe would have left a farewell letter to his wife.

• Alexéi Navalny (16/02/2024):

Portraits of the late Alexei Navalny are positioned between flowers during a demonstration in reaction to the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany, on February 18, 2024. (EFE/EPA/Clemens Bilan) (Photo: EFE)

One of the most reverberated deaths in this period was Alexéi Navalny, Russian opposition leader and Putin’s main critic, who died while serving a long sentence in a arrest in the Arctic. Although authorities point out that their death occurred as a result of Navalny “feel bad” after a walk, their families, the Russian opposition, and the foreign ministries from western countries blamed Kremlin.

In addition, the dictator was accused of obstructing his exchange for Russian prisoners in Western arrests, which possibly would have saved Navalny’s life.

After Navalny’s death, honors were paid to Russian embassies around the world.

• Yevgeny Prigozhin (23/08/2023):

Yevgeny Prigozhin, businessman who led an armed revolt against the Russian governmentdied as a result of the crash of his plane, northwest of Moscow.

A portrait of Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is shown in an informal memorial in his honor in Moscow, Russia, on August 28, 2023 (Maxim Shipenkov/EFE/EPA) (Photo: EFE)

The group of mercenaries Wagner, led by Prigozhin, starred in a riot against Moscow in June 2023, which lasted less than 24 hours.

Nine other people were aboard the aircraft.

• My party (16/02/2023):

Marina Army one High Russian Ministry of Defense employeeHe died after falling from a window near a building in St. Petersburg. The military played an important role not only in Kremlin but also in the Ukraine War. Authorities claim she has committed suicide. Personal belongings and Yankina documents were found on the balcony of the building.

• Ravil Maganov (09/01/2022) e Vitaly Robertus (14/03/2024): President and vice president, respectively, of the same company, the oil company Lukoil.

Lukoil is Russian’s second largest oil company, based in Moscow. (Marcel Van Hoorn/EFE) (Photo: EFE)

President of the oil company Lukoil and critic of the Ukraine War, Ravil Maganov He died after falling from a window at the Central Clinician Hospital in the Russian capital, where he was hospitalized.

The official version suggests that he committed suicide, however, relatives discarded this hypothesis. He had been hospitalized after a heart attack and company sources claim that he suffered from a serious illness.

The company’s vice president, Vitaly Robertus, had a sudden illness and died. Press reports at the time point out that he had complained of headaches and requested medicines before going to his office, where he was hanged. After his death, local means reported that the company’s vice president was being investigated for accepting bribes.

Robertus was Lukoil’s fourth director to die in less than two years.

Ten days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lukoil issued a statement about the conflict: “The Board of Directors expresses its deep concern for tragic events in Ukraine. Appealing to the early end of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims affected by this tragedy. We firmly support a lasting ceasefire and a solution to problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy, “the company said on March 3, 2022.

• Victoria roshchyna (19/09/2024):

Ukrainians participate in a ceremony in honor of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, in Independence Square, in the center of Kyiv, Ukraine, October 11, 2024. (Sergey Dolzhenko/EFE/EPA/) (Photo: EFE)

Ukrainian journalist For reporting the Russian siege to the city of Mariupol, Victoria Roshchyna, died under Russian detention. She had disappeared in August 2023, while reporting a Ukrainian area occupied by Russia. Family members spent months without knowing what had happened to the journalist. In April 2024, Moscow confirmed that he detained Roshchyna.

In October, Ukrainian authorities said his body was delivered to Kiev lifeless and that the journalist was killed after being brutally tortured.

• Maxim Kuzminov (13/02/2024):

Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, considered a traitor by Ukraine He was found dead, shot in the Spanish city of Villajoyosa, in the Valencian community.

After his death, Sergei Neryshkin, head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, said Kuzminov was a traitor and “became a moral corpse as he planned his filthy and terrible crime.”

• Vladimir shkliarov (19/11/2024):

Critic of the war, Vladimir Shkliarov was a renowned dancer from St. Petersburg, who died after falling from the fifth floor of a building. The artist criticized Kremlin for his offensive in Ukraine.

• Andrei Morozov (21/02/2024):

Volunteer and pro-war blogger, Andrei Morozov His apartment was found dead. Before his death, he denounced the pressure suffered to erase posts in which he denounced the high amount of Russian soldiers dead in the confrontations against Ukraine.

Before he died he had made long posts stating that he could no longer “sense to keep fighting”. He asked the money from selling his apartment to be used to buy drones for the 4th Army Motorizer Brigade.

• Vadim Stroykin (05/02/2025):

O cantor russo Vadim Stroykin, Putin critic And accused of donating to the Ukrainian army, it fell from the tenth building during a police operation in St. Petersburg.

He was the target of an operation because he allegedly donated money to the Ukraine army, considered a terrorist group by the Russians.

Russian channels of Telegram And from the press, linked to Kremlin, said he “entered a guest room, opened a hurry in a hurry and committed an irreversible act.”

About the conflict, Stroykin had stated that “Putin went to war not only against a fraternal nation, but declared war to his own people.”

• Vladislav AVAYEV (19/04/2022):

Deputy director from Gazprombank, one of the largest Russian private banks, Vladislav AVAYEVhis wife and daughter were found dead southwest of Moscow. Authorities point out that there was a “murder [que teria sido cometido pelo chefe da família] followed by suicide “.

A few days later, another very similar case. The lifeless bodies of Sergei Protosenia, director of the Novatek Consortium, and his wife and daughter were also found in a house in the coastal city of Spain.

• Pavel Antov (27/12/2022):

Also Putin’s critic, the Russian Millionaire Deputy of the Food BranchPavel Antov was found dead in a hotel in a hotel in India two days after his friend died during the same trip.

In June 2022, Anto had publicly criticized the Russian invasion and attacks on the Ukrainian territory, describing actions as “terror” of the government.

“A girl was taken from the rubble. The girl’s father seems to have died. They are trying to remove the mother with a crane. To tell the truth, it’s extremely difficult to call it something but terror,” Antov had stated.