Indian police are investigating the loss of life of a Russian sausage tycoon, who died simply days after one other rich compatriot – the newest in a worrying lengthy line of wealthy Russians to die in mysterious circumstances this yr.
The physique of 65-year-old Pavel Antov was discovered outdoors his lodge within the jap Indian state of Odisha on December 24. Conflicting stories recommend he both fell off the lodge roof or from a lodge window.
Mr Antov was a rich Russian politician serving President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia social gathering in a regional space about 140 kilometers east of Moscow.
Earlier than his political profession, he based a meat processing plant, Vladimir Commonplace.
He had been touring with associates in India – one other one in every of whom had died simply days earlier.
They’re amongst as many as 20 high-profile Russian tycoons – lots of them critics of Moscow and, in some instances, of Russian President Vladimir Putin himself – to die in uncommon circumstances because the Ukraine invasion started final February.
The spate of suspicious deaths even has its personal Wikipedia page.
Russian tycoon criticized the struggle in Ukraine
The Kyiv Put up reported that Mr Antov’s loss of life got here six months after he criticized Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, one thing he later denied doing.
In a WhatsApp message from Mr Antov’s account in July, he reportedly described a household trapped by rubble in a Kyiv bombing.
“A woman has been pulled out from beneath the rubble, the lady’s father seems to have died,” the message stated in response to the Kyiv Put up.
“The mom is attempting to be pulled out with a crane. She is trapped beneath a slab. To inform the reality, this can be very troublesome to name this something apart from terror.”
The BBC later reported that Mr Antov claimed the message was actually from somebody he disagreed with and it had been posted accidentally. He stated it was a misunderstanding and he was a patriot who supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Police stroll again on preliminary theories
Russian media reported that Mr Antov died after falling from a window at his lodge in India.
On the time of his loss of life, Mr Antov had been touring with three associates. Simply days earlier, one in every of them – Vladimir Budanov – had died as a consequence of a coronary heart downside.
“It took two days to avail permission to cremate Vladimir on December 24,” a police inspector advised an Indian English-language newspaper The Hindu.
“After cremation, Antov had gone to the roof of the lodge and he fell from the roof. Additional investigation would inform if he ended his life or fell by chance.”
Initially, the police believed that Mr Budanov died of a stroke and Mr Antov took his personal life as a consequence of melancholy. Now, a process pressure has been shaped to research the deaths.
“The group has [questioned] their interpreter… who was accompanying them and guiding them throughout their tour,” an Odisha Police spokesperson advised the ABC.
“The group has additionally [questioned] the motive force… who was driving the automobile throughout their Odisha tour.”
An post-mortem reportedly confirmed Mr Antov died of inside accidents, the ABC reported.
Mysterious Russian deaths since Ukraine struggle
All through 2022, greater than 20 Russian businessmen have been reported to have died in suspicious circumstances.
Many have beforehand criticized the Ukraine invasion or Mr Putin instantly.
Late final week, Russian-American journalist Julia Ioffe advised a US radio station that “fairly massive” air quotes needs to be used round the concept the run of fatalities have been “coincidences”.
“If something, it has change into much more harmful, domestically and overseas, for Russian oligarchs to oppose Vladimir Putin, to talk out towards him. And Vladimir Putin appears to be making that very clear with a string of those coincidences,” she advised Texas Public Radio.
“Should you discuss to anyone who has ever labored in intelligence or the safety companies in America or in different international locations, they’re going to let you know that coincidences like this need to be very fastidiously deliberate.”
The primary high-profile loss of life of the yr was Leonid Shulman, the head of Russian transport service Gazprom Make investments. He was discovered useless in a toilet in a distant village close to Leningrad, of a suspected suicide, in January 2022.
A month later – the day after Russia invaded Ukraine – one other prime govt at Gazprom, Alexander Tyulakov, was discovered useless in the identical village. His loss of life was additionally dominated a suicide.
Mikhail Watford was a Ukrainian-born businessman who was discovered useless in Britain on February 28. British authorities investigated his loss of life and located no suspicious circumstances.
Two extra Russian businessmen with hyperlinks to Gazprom died in obvious murder-suicide incidents in April.
One was Vladislav Avayev, who was discovered useless alongside his spouse and daughter in April. He was the ex-vice president at Gazprombank.
Investigators in Russia claimed Mr Avayev shot and killed his spouse and daughter earlier than killing himself, Reuters reported. Nonetheless, Igor Volobuev, a former VP of Gazprombank, advised CNN he didn’t consider that to be true.
In September, the chairman of the nationwide oil firm Lukoil, Ravil Maganov, died after falling from a window in Moscow.
CNN reported that Lukoil, Russia’s largest privately owned oil and fuel firm, had not too long ago taken the weird public stance of talking out towards Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, calling for sympathy for the victims, and for the top of the battle.
Two weeks earlier, Latvian-born American investor Dan Rapoport – an outspoken critic of Mr Putin – had additionally died after falling from a window, this time in an house in Washington DC.
Ioffe stated the deaths got here as dissent was more and more criminalized in Russia.
“These may be pure deaths. Once more, we do not know for certain. However we could be completely certain that individuals within the Russian enterprise group are taking observe and being further, further, further cautious now by way of what they’re saying in regards to the struggle, about Putin – which they’ve already been cautious earlier than the struggle , however now I am certain they’re being doubly, triply so,” she stated.
Total, nevertheless, as a consequence of a scarcity of verifiable data, it stays unclear whether or not this yr’s string of suspicious accidents and deaths is simply an alarming accident – or one thing extra sinister.
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