CNN
—
Russian sausage tycoon-turned-parliamentarian Pavel Antov died in India on Saturday after falling from the third floor of a hotel, according to Indian police.
Antov’s death came after his friend and travel companion Vladimir Budanov died of a heart attack two days before Antov’s 65th birthday, Vivekanand Sharma, a senior official in the northeastern Indian state of Orissa, said Tuesday. told to
Sharma said Budanov was 61 and originally had a heart condition.
Police believe Antov committed suicide by falling from the third floor of a hotel in the Rayagada district, but a posthumous report has not yet been released, Sharma said. He said the incident was ruled an “unnatural death,” including deaths from accidents and suicides.
Antov, a businessman and former member of the Vladimir region in western Russia, turned 65 on Dec. 22, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
In 2018, Antov topped the Forbes ranking of the 100 richest civil servants in Russia. According to Forbes His Russia, his income in 2018 amounted to about 9.97 billion rubles.
He is a member of the United Russia Party in the Russian parliament, formerly led by Vladimir Putin, and is still a staunch supporter of the Russian president.
Antonov pledged his support for Putin last June when he was forced to deny posting anti-war messages on WhatsApp. He blamed “an unfortunate misunderstanding and technical error” and said the status had been removed.
Sharma said he had contacted the Russian embassy to complete the formalities. Permission was granted to cremate the remains of both men, he said.
The Russian consul general in Calcutta, Alexei Idamkin, told Russian state media RIA Novosti on Monday that the Orissa police and the consulate general in Calcutta did not see anything suspicious about the deaths of two Russians in India. Told.
“We are aware of the deaths of two Russian citizens. We are in contact with the relatives of these people and the police department of the city where the incident occurred. We will provide all the necessary paperwork for the bereaved family,” Idamkin told RIA Novosti.
At least a dozen high-profile Russian businessmen have reportedly died in suicides or mysterious accidents this year, six of them linked to Russia’s two largest energy companies. I’m here.
Alexander Buzhakov, head of a major Russian shipyard specializing in building non-nuclear submarines, died suddenly last week. Authorities have not released a cause of death, Reuters reported.
Anatoly Gerashchenko, former director of the Moscow Aviation Institute, died in an unknown accident in September, according to a statement from the institute.
Lukoil chairman Rabil Maganov died in early September after falling from a window of a Moscow hospital, according to TASS.
In mid-September, Russian businessman Ivan Pechorin, former head of the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, was found dead in Vladivostok, according to Russian state media. Pechorin drowned near Cape Ignatiev in Vladivostok on September 10, local media reported.
Another top Lukoil manager, Alexander Subbotin, was found dead near Moscow in May after reportedly visiting Sherman, TASS reported.
How to get help: In the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide also provides contact information for crisis centers around the world.
