Mystery Surrounds Deaths Of 2 Russian Oligarchs, 4 Oil Execs, In 6 Months

At least eight prominent Russian businessmen have reportedly died by suicide or in as yet unexplained accidents since late January, with six of them associated with Russia's two largest energy companies, Ivana Kottasová, reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: Another top Lukoil manager, Alexander Subbotin, was found dead near Moscow in May after reportedly visiting a shaman to cure a hangover.

Four of those six were linked to the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom or one of its subsidiaries, while the other two were associated with Lukoil, Russia's largest privately owned oil and gas company.

Earlier this year, the company took the unusual public stance of speaking out against Russia's war in Ukraine, calling for sympathy for the victims, and for the end of the conflict. Lukoil's chairman Ravil Maganov died this week after falling out of the window of a hospital in Moscow, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Another top Lukoil manager, Alexander Subbotin, was found dead near Moscow in May after reportedly visiting a shaman, TASS reported.

In the first of the deaths reported this year, a top executive at Gazprom was found dead in his cottage in the village of Leninsky near Leningrad on January 30, 2022, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti said.

A suicide note was found at the scene. Russian broadcaster RenTv identified the man as Leonid Shulman, the head of transport at Gazprom Invest.

Just a month after that, another top executive at Gazprom was found dead in the same village. Alexander Tyulakov was discovered dead in his garage on February 25, according to Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper. Novaya Gazeta reported he died by suicide.

Two more Russian businessmen with links to Gazprom died in apparent murder-suicide incidents in April.

One of them, Vladislav Avayev, the former vice-president of Gazprombank, was found dead with his wife and daughter in his Moscow apartment on April 18, according to TASS. Igor Volobuev, a former VP of Gazprombank who recently left Russia for Ukraine, told CNN that he did not believe Avayev killed himself.

"His job was to deal with private banking, that means dealing with VIP clients. He was in charge of very large amounts of money. So, did he kill himself? I don't think so. I think he knew something and that he posed some sort of risk," Volobuev told CNN in April.

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