It remains unclear whether the 53-year-old Zimin killed himself or was shot in the head by someone else in his kitchen in an apartment in Krasnogorsk. The victim’s brother was in the bathroom at the time of the shooting. A Russian IZH-79-9TM pistol, also known as the Makarych, was found near the body of the colonel. His wife is a doctor and is said to have been far from home to repair wounded soldiers from the war zone in Ukraine.

Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolets, reported that Zemin was suspected of corruption after being promoted within Russian customs. He had retired from the security services and had previously carried the secret briefcase containing nuclear codes for Boris Yeltsin, who was president from 1991 to 1999. The safest briefcase in Moscow is believed to contain one of the keys to activating Russia’s nuclear (missile) systems. Remarkably, this does not work with a red but a white button. The code can never be entered by one person; According to Russian media, there are at least three such suitcases.

The somewhat mysterious Zemin, about whom little is known, also worked with the current President Vladimir Putin. But it is not clear what function he was performing under his command.