Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of a Russian mercenary group, was presumed deceased following a fatal crash of a private jet,…
Russian President Vladimir Putin (File Photo)
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of a Russian mercenary group, was presumed deceased following a fatal crash of a private jet, in which he was registered as a passenger. The crash occurred north of Moscow, resulting in no survivors. He had recently made a brief and unsuccessful attempt to rebel against President Vladimir Putin, and was one of Vladimir Putin’s enemies.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, aged 62, led a mutiny against Russia’s military leadership on June 23-24, an action President Vladimir Putin believed could have pushed Russia into civil war.
There are others who opposed Putin or his interests and faced uncertain fates:
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Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition leader, was poisoned in Siberia in August 2020 and was treated in Germany. Experts concluded that the poison was Novichok, a nerve agent. Navalny returned to Russia in 2021. The police immediately arrested him, and he is now serving a long sentence. His political movement has been banned.
In 2018, authorities in England discovered former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter unconscious. Someone had poisoned them with Novichok. They survived, and Russia denied involvement.
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza believes someone poisoned him twice. Tests revealed unusual levels of metals in his body. Moscow denied involvement.
Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent and Putin critic, died in 2006 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210 in London. A British inquiry suggested Putin approved the killing, but Russia denied involvement. He was one of Vladimir Putin’s enemies.
In 2012, authorities in the UK discovered the lifeless body of Alexander Perepilichny, who had aided in exposing a Russian money-laundering scheme. He had been jogging. His death raised suspicions of foul play. Russia denied involvement.
During the 2004 presidential campaign, someone poisoned Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, resulting in severe disfigurement. He won the presidency after the “Orange Revolution.”
In 2006, assailants shot and killed journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow. Her murder raised concerns about journalist safety in Russia.
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