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May 23, 2023 | 2:11 p.m
A senior Russian official who reportedly criticized the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine as a “fascist invasion” and bemoaned the “degree of brutalization of our state” has died of unknown causes after fleeing Cuba.
Pyotr Kucherenko, 46, the deputy minister of science and higher education, fell ill while flying with his delegation to Russia on Saturday, according to his office.
The plane made an emergency landing in the southern town of Mineralnye Vody, where doctors tried to save his life, the Times of London reported.
The politician is survived by his wife, pop singer Diana Gurtskaya, and their teenage son.
An unnamed source close to the widow told state media that his family believed the death was related to his heart condition but were awaiting the results of an autopsy, the news outlet said.
Roman Super, an independent journalist who fled Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said on his Telegram channel that he spoke to Kucherenko “just days” before he fled.
Pyotr Kucherenko, 46, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, has died after fleeing Cuba. Scientific Russia
He said the officer feared for his safety and urged him to leave the country as well.
“‘Save yourself and your family. Go as fast as you can. You cannot imagine the extent of the brutalization of our state. In a year you will not recognize Russia at all. “If you leave, you do the right thing,” Super quoted Kucherenko as CNN reported.
Super said he asked Kucherenko if he also wanted to flee, to which the minister replied: “It’s no longer possible.” They are taking away our passports. And there is no world where they will be satisfied with the Russian deputy minister after this fascist invasion.”
Kucherenko also reportedly told the journalist that he was taking “antidepressants and tranquilizers” to cope, but that it “didn’t really help.”
“It doesn’t help much. I hardly sleep. i feel terrible We were all taken hostage. Nobody can say anything. Instantly crushed like aphids. Go soon, Roma. And save everyone,” he reportedly added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), Kucherenko (right) and Kucherenko’s wife, singer Diana Gurtskaya.Kremlin press office 2014
It is unclear whether self-medication contributed to his death.
Several reports have corroborated Kucherenko’s claim that the passports of senior Russian officials were confiscated to prevent them from escaping the country after the invasion began.
Kucherenko joins the list of at least 13 prominent Russians who have died under mysterious circumstances in the past 15 months.
In February, Marina Yankina, 58, head of the finance and procurement department of Russia’s Western Military District, died after an apparent fall from a high-rise building in St. Petersburg.
A preliminary investigation determined that she had committed suicide.
Kucherenko reportedly said he was taking “antidepressants and tranquilizers” but it “didn’t really help.” Nexta_Live / Telegram
Also that month, 72-year-old Interior Ministry Major General Vladimir Makarov died, apparently by suicide, in a Moscow suburb.
According to unconfirmed reports, he fell into a “deep depression” after being fired by strongman Vladimir Putin in January.
In November, 44-year-old Colonel Vadim Boiko, deputy chief of the Makarov Pacific Higher Naval School in Vladivostok, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds, also described as suicide.
Boiko, who played a role in the mobilization effort, “executed” himself with five shots in the chest in his commander’s office after, according to his widow, he was allegedly framed for taking responsibility for some of the problems plaguing the invasion take over.
At least 13 prominent Russians have died under mysterious circumstances since the Kremlin invasion began. via Portal
In December, sausage magnate Pavel Antov, who criticized the invasion of Ukraine, fell to his death from a luxury hotel in India – three days after his friend died on the same trip.
Alexander Buzakov, the head of a major submarine shipyard, died suddenly this month, without authorities giving a cause of death.
In September, Anatoly Gerashchenko, former rector of the Moscow Aviation Institute, died in an unspecified accident.
According to TASS, Lukoil chairman Ravil Maganov died earlier this month after falling from a Moscow hospital window.
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