At least five prominent Russian businessmen have reportedly committed suicide by the end of January, with three of them suspected of killing their family members before committing suicide.
Four of the dead were linked to the Russian government giant Gazprom or one of its subsidiaries.
A high-ranking official in Gazprom was found dead in his small apartment in Leninsky village near Leningrad on January 30, 2022, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.
The RIA reported that a suicide note had been found at the scene and investigators were investigating the death as a suicide. Russian national broadcaster RenTv identified the man as Leonid Shulman, head of transportation at Gazprom Invest.
Just a month later, another Gazprom senior official was found dead in the village. Alexander Tyulakov was found dead in his garage on February 25, according to Novaya Gazeta, a Russian independent newspaper. The Novaya Gazeta reported that he had committed suicide.
Leonid Shulman, head of transport at Gazprom Invest.
Yulia Ivanova, a representative of the Moscow Investigative Committee, was quoted by Tass as saying that a relative found the Avayevs’ bodies after being told by a family driver and nanny that they could not contact them by phone or enter the house. , since the door was locked inside.
Igor Volobuev, a former VP of Gazprombank, who recently left Russia for Ukraine, told he did not believe Avayev had committed suicide.
“His job was to work with the private banks, which means he was dealing with VIP clients. He had a lot of money. Did he commit suicide? I don’t think so. I think he knows something and that there is some kind of risk,” Volobuev told.
Just a day later, on April 19, Sergey Protosenya, a former executive of the Novatek gas company, owned part of Gazprom, was found dead north of Barcelona. The bodies of his wife and daughter were found nearby, an official source close to the investigation told last week.
Protesenya, his wife and daughter were found in their home in Lloret de Mar, a Mediterranean resort near Barcelona.
The bodies of the two women, who showed signs of trauma, were found in the family’s luxurious house, Protosenya’s body was found in a garden outside, according to a source. The case is being investigated as double murder and suicide following domestic violence.
Russian gas tycoon Sergei Protosenya, and his wife Natalya.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Protosenya’s son inquired about the incident, saying his father had been killed instead.
‘She loved my mother especially my sister Maria. She was his princess. He could do nothing to harm them. I don’t know what happened that night but I know my father did not hurt them, ”said Fedor Protosenya, who was at a family home in France at the time of the incident.
Catalan police in Girona province, where the city of Lloret de Mar is located, told on Friday that “the hypothesis continues to be a case of domestic violence despite the son’s statements.”
“Catalan police have taken statements from the son.
“That this was the work of the Russian mafia? Well then, no,” the official said.
Novatek, Protosenya’s former employer, said he was “an amazing man and a good family man.”
“Unfortunately, there has been speculation about the matter in the media, but we are confident that the allegations are not true. We hope that Spanish law firms will conduct a thorough investigation into the policy and resolve the matter,” the company said in a statement.
CNN has asked the Russian Inquiry Committee to comment on both cases but has not yet received a response.
Mikhail Watford, a Ukrainian-born Russian millionaire, was found dead in his home in Surrey, England on February 28.
Surrey police told that the death was being investigated by an investigator, who said the trial would take place on July 29.
Another Russian businessman, Vasily Melnikov, was found dead with his family in Nizhny Novgorod in late March, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
Melnikov owned MedStom, a medical company. According to a Russian investigative committee, a 43-year-old man, his wife, 41, and two children aged 4 and 10 were found stabbed to death on March 23.
The committee did not name Melnikov, but the age of the deceased and the scene are similar to the Kommersant report.
The regional branch of the investigating committee did not review the status of its investigation and did not return request for comment. At the time of the incident, in March, it stated that “there were no signs of illegal entry into the apartment,” and “knives were found and confiscated.”
“[Investigators] are investigating a variety of incidents, including the murder of children and the wife by the head of the family, followed by suicide,” the committee said.
And earlier this month, two other Russian businessmen died in what appeared to be a suicide attempt.
Vladislav Avayev, a former vice-president of Gazprombank, was found dead with his wife and daughter in his Moscow apartment on April 18, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
Quoting a source in the judiciary, Tass said authorities were investigating Avayev’s death as a suicide.