From Alexei Navalny to Yevgeny Prigozhin, here’s a list of Putin critics who died mysteriously

Jailed Russian opposition leader and outspoken Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic Circle prison on Friday, the Russian prison service said. But his death is the latest in a long line of critics of Vladimir Putin who have been jailed, silenced or met brutal ends over the past few years. From plane crashes, accidental falls from windows to hanging, poisoning and health issues, it appears that many critics of the Russian President have been targeted in a variety of ways. Many deaths are never solved and remain listed as accidental and suicide.

Here’s a look at some high-profile deaths, including those of people who have criticized the Russian leader over the years –

Yevgeny Prigozhin

The former head of the Wagner paramilitary group was once one of the country’s most powerful oligarchs and a member of Mr Putin’s trusted inner circle. He died in 2023 at the age of 62 when the plane he was flying exploded in midair. Notably, the unidentified blast came two months after Mr. Prigozhin led an unsuccessful rebellion against Russia’s Defense Ministry over disagreements over the direction of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

He led a dramatic “march for justice”, where armed men were seen marching towards the Russian capital in June 2023. As Mr Putin remained silent, the rebellion was suddenly cancelled. Mr Prigozhin ordered his troops to lay down their arms before they were transferred to Belarus under a deal brokered by that country’s Russia-allied president, Alexander Lukashenko. But two months later, Mr. Prigozhin fell from the sky when the jet he was flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg apparently exploded.

Kremlin critics and Western countries suggested foul play. However, the Kremlin has denied any involvement in the downing of the plane.

boris nemtsov

Boris Nemtsov, a vocal Kremlin critic who was deputy prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin in the late 1990s, was shot dead on a bridge close to the Kremlin in Moscow in February 2015. According to cnnHe was arrested several times for speaking out against Mr Putin’s government. When he was killed, he was helping organize a rally against Russian military incursions into Ukraine, which began with the 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for alleged separatists in Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

Boris Berezovsky

Boris Berezovsky was once a powerful Russian businessman who fell out with the Kremlin and fled to England. He had accumulated his wealth after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A large part of his wealth came from the sale of luxury cars. But when he bought Russian media his wealth and political influence skyrocketed. He relocated to Britain after losing support from Mr Putin’s government.

In 2013, Mr Berezovsky was found dead on the bathroom floor of his UK home with a noose around his neck. British police said at the time that there were no signs of a struggle and suggested that he had taken his own life.

Alexander Litvinenko

Mr Litvinenko was a former Russian spy turned critic of the Kremlin. A British investigation revealed that Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in a London hotel bar in 2006 by two Russian agents who mixed highly radioactive polonium-210 into his green tea. cnn informed of. Mr Litvinenko also always insisted that Mr Putin and the Kremlin were responsible for what happened to him.

But the Kremlin has always denied the allegation and has refused to extradite the two agents accused of the poisoning to Britain.

Ravil Maganov

Ravil Maganov, chairman of the board of Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, has died six months after openly criticizing the war in Ukraine. He died after falling from a window of a Moscow hospital. Russian State News Agency Tas Claimed that his death was suicide.

Anna Politkovskaya

Ms Politkovskaya was a vocal critic of Russia’s war in Chechnya. She was shot at the entrance of her Moscow apartment in October 2006. Her death attracted international attention and as of June 2014, five people were not sentenced for the murder, but it remains unclear who ordered the killing.

But soon after her death, Mr Putin denied any Kremlin involvement in her murder and said Ms Politkovskaya’s “death in itself is more damaging to the current authorities in both Russia and the Chechen Republic than her activities “.

sergey magnitsky

Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian tax adviser who exposed corruption, was detained without trial and died in prison just seven days before being released. He was arrested in 2008 and died on 16 November 2009.

Alexander Perepilichny

Mr Perepilichny was a financier who became a whistleblower in 2010 when he handed Swiss authorities files detailing the theft of $230 million from the Russian treasury. He died during a jog near London in 2012 after leaving Russia in 2009. Although it was found that his death was probably due to natural causes, there are allegations that he was poisoned.

Notably, in addition to those mentioned above, at least 13 high-profile Russian businessmen have reportedly died by suicide or under mysterious circumstances during the past year. cnn,