ASSASSINATIONSThe Mysterious Deaths of Russian Oligarchs

Last week, on 1 September, Ravil Maganov joined a long list of Russian oligarchs and businessmen who died under mysterious circumstances since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

Here are brief descriptions of seven of these departing oligarchs.

Ravil Maganov: Jumping into the Void
Maganov, 67, was the chairman of the board of directors and founder, in 1991, of the oil giant Lukoil. He died at Moscow Central Hospital on 1 September. There were several contradictory versions about his death. The official news agencies Tass and Interfax reported that Maganov committed suicide by jumping from the sixth-floor room of the institution where he was being treated for an undisclosed ailment. Lukeoil said in a statement that he died “after a serious illness.” When questioned, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, refused to comment. Lukoil was among the few companies to speak out against the war in Ukraine.

Yuri Voronov: A Bullet to the Head
On Monday, 4 July, the body of Yuri Voronov was found floating, lifeless with a bullet in his head, in the swimming pool of his mansion, located in the upscale suburbs of St. Petersburg. The gun with which he was shot was found on the floor of the pool. The 61-year-old oligarch worked with Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, of which the state is the majority shareholder. The local commission of inquiry said the death was the result of a “Dispute with business partners.”

Alexander Subbotin: Toad Poisoning
On 8 May, a former general manager of Lukoil, Alexander Subbotin, died in a shaman’s cellar in a suburbs of Moscow. He was poisoned with toad venom. According to the British newspaper The Independent, the 43-year-old Subbotin, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, went to see shaman Magua Flores. Flores allegedly cut Subbotin’s skin and then injected him with the venom into it. The authorities said that in the months before his death, Subbotin was suffering from heart discomfort.

Vladislav Avayev, Sergey Protosenya: Death in the Family
On 18 April, the former vice-president of Gazprombank, the bank of the Russian gas company, died in his Moscow apartment. The apartment was locked from the inside. Avayev, who was close to Putin in the Kremlin, was found with a gun in his hand. His pregnant wife and his daughter were on the floor at his side, both shot dead. The authorities said that a family dispute prompted Avayev to kill both of them before killing himself.

The next day, Sergey Protosenya, former manager of Novatek, the second largest Russian gas producer, was found hanged in the garden of his villa in Lloret de Mar, Spain. The police found the bodies of his wife and daughter inside the villa, both stabbed to death.

Alexander Tulyakov, Mikhail Watford: Hanged in the Garage
On 25 February 2022, the day after launching of the invasion of Ukraine, Alexander Tulyakov, 61, a senior Gazprom executive, was found hanged in the garage of his house near St. Petersburg. The police officers dispatched to the scene were asked by the Gazprom security services to leave the premises.

On 28 February, Mikhail Watford, a Ukrainian-born Russian oligarch, was also discovered hanged in the garage of his home in Surrey County. His gardener found the body. Tulyakov, 66, had made his fortune in the energy sector after the fall of the Soviet Union.