Alexander Tyulyakov in Russia, 2003 – IGOR ZHEVELYUK / AFP
Since February 24 and the start of Russian aggression in Ukraine, the hunt for oligarchs suspected of having ties to the Kremlin and funding Vladimir Putin’s regime has continued. The European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have sanctioned thousands of them and some of their relatives and families.
According to a list in the American magazine Newsweek, several of these influential personalities have died in Russia in the past few weeks, some under unclear circumstances. A total of five people have died since the invasion decided by Vladimir Putin began, and a sixth a few weeks earlier.
The trail of domestic homicides followed by suicides
The latest facts come from this week when two oligarchs were found dead within 24 hours.
Three people were found dead in Lloret del Mar, Catalonia on Tuesday. Among the victims are Sergey Protosenya, his 53-year-old wife and their 18-year-old daughter. The 53-year-old man, former vice president of gas giant Novatek, was found hanged by Catalan police in the villa’s garden. According to local media, the woman and young woman found in her bed had stab wounds. Police are investigating several leads, including a double murder followed by suicide, or a series of murders, including that of Sergey Protosenya, which was then fabricated as a suicide.
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The day before, on April 18, the body of Vladislav Avaev, former Vice President of Gazprombank, along with his wife and 13-year-old daughter, was found in his Moscow apartment by a family relative who was concerned about the lack of News. According to Newsweek, the apartment door was locked from the inside and a gun was found in the hands of the oligarch. Local police favor the lead to a double homicide and a suicide.
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A few weeks before the deaths of Vladislav Avaev and Sergey Protosenya, another oligarch was found dead in the same circumstances. On March 24, Vasily Melnikov, who worked for the medical company Medstorm, according to Newsweek, was found dead along with his wife and two sons, aged 10 and 4. Like Vladislav Avaev and Sergey Protosenya, the trail of a family murder, and then a suicide, is being investigated.
Fatalities of energy giants
A fourth Russian oligarch, Mikhail Watford, was found hanged at his home in Surrey, UK, on February 28. The man of Ukrainian descent made his fortune in oil and gas. His body was found in his garage by his gardener. In an article published on March 3, the BBC said Surrey Police did not consider the circumstances of his death to be suspicious “at this time”.
The day after the Russian invasion, it was Gazprom Deputy Director Alexander Tyulyakov who was found hanged in the garage of his apartment building near Saint Petersburg. Nevertheless, according to our American colleagues, a message was left near the body, reminiscent of a suicide.
The first death occurred in January, a month before the start of the war in Ukraine. Gazprom CEO Leonid Shulman, 60, was also found dead in the bathroom of his residence in the St. Petersburg region. A note was also found near his body that spoke of suicide.
Original article published on BFMTV.com