Pavel Antov, a Russian oligarch, died on Saturday after falling from the third floor of a hotel in India. The death of Antov, who made his fortune in sausage factories, is the latest in a series of mysterious deaths of Russian oligarchs since the invasion of Ukraine. Some of them openly criticized this war.
Antoff was also accused of criticizing the struggle in Ukraine. In June, his Whatsapp account posted a message describing Russia’s missile bombing of Ukraine as terrorism. He later stated that it was a misunderstanding and that he was supporting Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Two days before Antov’s death, Vladimir Budanov, traveling companion and friend of the sausage millionaire, died of a heart attack in the same Indian hotel. There is no evidence that the two were killed by Russian agents. Indian police are still investigating their deaths, but see no indications of murder.
The list of suicides and accidents involving notable Russians continues to grow. At least 12 oligarchs died in mysterious circumstances, many of whom held important positions in the oil and gas sector, CNN reports.
Exceptional
Other sources report more than two dozen deaths this year, such as the Wikipedia page 2022 The mysterious deaths of Russian businessmen. “It is extraordinary that so many prominent Russians have died,” says Russian expert Helga Salmon of The Hague Center for Strategic Studies. It’s been a crazy year because of the war.”
This Russian expert also does not know whether these people were killed by third parties or not. Salmon can imagine that since the war broke out, some oligarchs feel their lives are over: “Many of them have a second home in Europe, and their children are also studying there. Because of the war, that beautiful life has collapsed, and suddenly they can’t stay here anymore.”
Candid criticism
It’s different for businessmen who died after criticizing Russian politics, Salmon believes: “If someone was critical at first, it’s definitely suspicious.” For example, Lukoil, Russia’s largest private company and the second largest energy producer after Gazprom, in March called for “an end to the armed conflict as soon as possible.” in the months that followed Two board members diedOne from a fall from a hospital window, the other from a heart attack.
Critical Russians are more likely to die under suspicious circumstances, Salmon knows. During the Corona pandemic, some doctors mysteriously fell out of a hospital window after criticizing Russia’s Corona policy in a video clip. Between 2014 and 2017, at least 38 prominent Russians are believed to have been victims of unsolved murders or suspicious deaths, according to journalists from USA Today.
Warning
If the two deaths in India were intentional, Salmon says, it might be a warning to other oligarchs. Many people have fled Russia since the war. President Putin’s regime is saddened to see the elite leave the country. The government may want to send a signal to this group, Salmon believes: “You’re not allowed to leave the country, or things will end badly for you.”
As was often the case in the past, Salmon predicts that investigative journalists will play an important role in getting to the bottom of the truth about questionable deaths: “I think there’s a lot more to write about this.”
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Ravel Maganov, CEO of Russia’s Lukoil Group, was killed Thursday morning by falling from a window. The rumor mill started right away.