In the past 6 weeks six Russian businessmen operating in the energy sector have died under suspicious and unclear circumstances

Russian Oligarchi. Dead. Under mysterious circumstances, to say the least. Or at least very unclear. It seems the plot of an international detective story, but reality. It was Newsweek, which gathered several pieces of information on the matter: in recent weeks, since the invasion of Ukraine, six Russian businessmen who are active in the energy sector have died.

Some, immediately, spoke of murders. Some, meanwhile, have suggested suicide. The rapid succession of deaths, however, has raised many questions. The latest drama involves Sergey Protosenya, the former CEO of gas giant Novatek: they found him hanged in Lloret de Mar, on the Costa Brava, in a villa on April 19. A knife and an axe were discovered nearby. The bodies of his wife and daughter also located inside the property, displayed signs of stab wounds.

Sergey Protosenya,

For the moment, the Spanish police have not given an opinion. Most importantly, it has not ruled out any leads. The 55-year-old killed his wife and daughter and later took his own life? Or, were the three "eliminated" by an external force? Protosenya worked for almost two decades at Novatek, a private Russian gas producer currently under U.S. sanctions. The company, on April 21, sent US media speculation back to the source.

Similarities

The death of Protosenya, has raised several doubts because it is very similar to that of Vladislav Avayev, former Kremlin official under Vladimir Putin and a former vice-president of Gazprombank, the financial arm of energy company Gazprom. On April 18, the 51-year-old's body was discovered next to that of his wife and daughter. It was riddled with bullets. Various media reported that the shots were fired from Avayev's gun. Detail: the family-owned Moscow apartment was locked from the inside. However, several indiscretions about the precise circumstances of the tragedy immediately found space in the newspapers: there are those who have speculated about a possible extra-marital relationship of hers. All hypotheses, here too, remain on the table. Even more so now, with tensions running high among the ranks of the Russian Oligarchy as a result of the war, sanctions, wavering loyalties to the Kremlin, the Moscow government's thinly veiled statements about traitors and so on.

Vladislav Avayev

England

A month ago, on March 24, the case of billionaire Vasily Melnikov, 43 years old, found dead in his home near Nizhny Novgorod, a train ride away from Moscow, along with his wife and two children, killed by multiple stab wounds. Investigators believe that the oligarch would have killed his family before committing suicide. The motives? Financial, it goes without saying. Melnikov headed the pharmaceutical company MedStom, which specializes in supplying equipment to private health care facilities. "The billionaire's company was teetering on the brink of collapse due to sanctions that were imposed on Russia after the full invasion of Ukraine," we read on Galvered. Neighbors and relatives, who were interviewed by the newspaper Kommersant, talked about a united, exemplary family, all but "conflicted". A possible quarrel with a former business partner is also among the assumptions. Many doubts and very few certainties.

Vasily Melnikov

On February 28, just after the beginning of the war, 66-year-old Mikhail Watford, Russian magnate of Ukrainian origin, was found lifeless in his garage in South-West London. The British authorities have called the case unexplained, so much so that now they reject the possibility of suicide. Watford had amassed a large fortune in oil and gas after the break-up of the Soviet Union. He then turned to real estate, which contributed in no small measure to the definition of Londongrad.

Mikhail Watford

Britain, moreover, is somewhat familiar with suspicious Russian deaths. In 2014, for example, the body of Boris Berezovsky was discovered in Berkshire, in a bathroom. Inquiries were unable to determine with any certainty whether they were up against a suicide or murder.

Boris Berezovsky

The first death

Another round, and another suspicious death. In the aftermath of the invasion, the lifeless body of Alexander Tyulyakov, 61, Deputy Director General of Gazprom's treasury, was discovered in the garage of his home in St. Petersburg. The Novaya Gazeta, in this respect, wrote that the energy giant's security service, while forensic doctors were at work, would have intervened by refusing access to the house to journalists and police.

The first victim of the black series, concluding, is Leonid Shulman, head of Gazprom's transport service. He too, like Tyulyakov, had been living in the upscale Leninskoye district of St. Petersburg. He was a heavyweight. He died on January 30. The 60-year-old was on sick leave due to a leg injury. He allegedly committed suicide in the bathroom of his home. Beside his body, a letter.

The Warsaw Institute, a Polish think tank has not concealed its suspicions. Six Russian businessmen, who have died in similar circumstances, are certainly cause for discussion. And they raise an uncomfortable question: does the Kremlin have something to do with it?