Mysterious deaths: the bodies of 18 top Russian managers: falls from windows, gunshot wounds

[Starmix]

According to the report, at least 18 top managers connected to Russia’s largest companies have died under suspicious or unclear circumstances since 2022. The cause of death in the majority of these deaths has been cited as suicide by Russian authorities. Among those are executives at major firms such as Gazprom, Lukoil, Novatek, and Transneft. Many of the deaths involve falls from windows, gunshot wounds, or sudden, unexplained deaths at home or abroad.

The report stated that on January 14, after a week-long search in Cyprus, Vladislav Baumgertner, a prominent businessman and former head of Uralkali, who had gone missing a week earlier, on January 7, was found dead. His body was so disfigured that DNA testing would be required to confirm his identity. Police were quick to declare that there was a body, but no case.

The report added that Baumgartner's name was most prominent in Russia in 2013. In August of that year, he was detained in Minsk and accused of causing damage to Belaruskali. A serious Russian-Belarusian scandal erupted. The businessman spent over a year in a Minsk pretrial detention center and was released to Russia only in November 2014. Not everyone in Russia believes that Baumgertner simply went for a walk on the rocks and fell on his own.