Filenews 6 June 2022
Yet another Russian oligarch reportedly lost his life "mysteriously", increasing the number of strange deaths of wealthy men since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The 43-year-old billionaire Alexander Subbotin, head of Kremlin-affiliated gas giant Lukoil, was found dead after allegedly seeking the advice of shamans to cure a hangover.
The so-called spiritual healers Magua Flores and Tina Cordoba introduced toad venom under his skin as part of the strange ritual.
Local media reports indicate that Subbotin died of a heart attack after swallowing the herb Valerian given to him by shamans, which is known to cause abnormal heart rhythm in some people.
Subbotin's death, however, is only the most recent in a series of strange deaths of some of the country's richest men.
The death of Avayaev, vice president of Gazprombank
The first bizarre case concerns the death of Vladislav Avayev, just 51, earlier this year, who was vice-president of Gazprombank.
On April 18, he was found dead on the outskirts of Moscow with a pistol in his hand. His wife and daughter were also found dead.
Pro-Russian government media say it is a crime of passion and say Avayev took his life after he shot and killed his 47-year-old wife Jelena and his 13-year-old daughter Maria, having realized that his wife was pregnant with another man.
Sergei Protosenia found dead in a Spanish resort
The next case concerns the death of 55-year-old Russian multimillionaire and former director of Novatek, (Independent Gas Production Company) Sergei Protosenia.
Protosenia was found hanged on April 20 at the resort of Yorette De Mar in Spain. His 53-year-old wife Natalia and his 18-year-old daughter Maria were also found dead.
The version in this case, according to Spanish authorities, is that Protosenia was hanged after killing his wife and daughter with an axe and a knife. However, there are also versions that do not exclude the possibility that all three of them had been murdered.
At the same time, Vasily Melnikov, founder of the medical company "MedStom", who was found dead with his wife and 2 sons, on March 25 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia in his luxurious apartment. Both Melnikov and the other three dead were stabbed.
Michael Watford
In late February, a few days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mikhail Watford was found hanged in the garage of his home in Surrey, United Kingdom.
His wife and children were in the house at the time, although they did not suffer any harm. The Ukraine-born Russian, 66, made his millions as an oil and gas mogul after the fall of the Soviet Union, according to the BBC.
His death is under investigation by Surrey police, who told the BBC in early March that "it is not believed that there were suspicious circumstances at the time".
Alexander Tyuliakov
Earlier, on February 25, a day after the Russian invasion and three days before Watford's death, Alexander Tyuliakov, Deputy Director of Security of "Gazprom", was found dead by hanging in Lenidsky, Russia.
Alexander Tyuljakov, 61, was found hanged in the garage of his apartment building near St. Petersburg, according to Russian daily Gazeta and Newsweek.
A note was even found near his body in which he allegedly explained the reasons why he decided to end his life.
Leonid Schulman
Finally, on January 30, Leonid Schulman was also found dead by hanging, also in Lenidsky, Russia.
The 60-year-old Schulman, 60, was similarly found next to a note that made police believe he committed suicide, according to Gazeta and Newsweek. Schulman's death came just months after an investigation into a Gazprom scam began, according to Fortune.
