Recently, another prominent Russian businessman was found dead in puzzling circumstances, fueling speculation about a wider purge among the country’s elite.
Alexander Tyunin, 50, the head of a chemicals plant supplying equipment to the Russian army, was discovered with a gunshot wound and a rifle beside his body in Kokoshkino, a village near Moscow. According to reports, a motorist passing by noticed the body and alerted authorities.
Russian media claimed that a note was found near Tyunin’s body, in which he reportedly wrote about struggling with depression for years. The note even included his wife’s phone number and suggested he had lost the strength to keep fighting his illness.
However, doubts quickly emerged when details of the supposed suicide note surfaced in local media before officials had even confirmed Tyunin’s death. This has led some observers to question whether his death was staged. An anonymous source remarked that the “suicide version” appeared to have been prepared before any investigation began.
This case is not isolated. In recent months, a string of mysterious deaths among Russian officials and tycoons has unsettled the country’s elite. Some analysts believe President Vladimir Putin, long accused of tolerating corruption, is now cracking down on figures he suspects of siphoning funds that could otherwise fuel his war in Ukraine.
Several high-profile deaths stand out:
- Andrey Badalov, vice president of the state-owned pipeline company Transneft, fell from a balcony.
- Roman Starovoit, a former transport minister, allegedly shot himself in his car shortly after losing his position. His death in particular has raised suspicions, with one former politician even suggesting it may have been an assassination.
While official explanations often point to suicides or accidents, the pattern has left many questioning whether these deaths are part of a broader campaign to silence or intimidate Russia’s power players.
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