Cases involving political opponents, traitors, and investigative journalists—charm attacks—poisoned by drinking polonium-laced tea or coming in contact with a deadly nerve agent—are as common as being hit with a bullet point. -A fatal fall through a gap or through an open window.
Until now, however, there has been no case of death in a plane crash, such as the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner’s mercenaries, when a private plane crashed on a trip between Moscow. and St. Petersburg.
Attempts to assassinate his opponents have been commonplace in President Vladimir Putin’s nearly quarter-century rule. Those close to the victims and survivors have blamed Russian authorities, but the Kremlin continues to deny any involvement.
There have been reports of prominent Russian businessmen dying in mysterious circumstances, including falling from windows, sometimes making it difficult to determine whether these were murders or suicides.
Among the attacks on political opponents, the August 2020 targeting of Alexei Navalny, who was ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow, stands out.
The plane landed in the city of Omsk, where Navalny was hospitalized in a coma, and then flown to Berlin two days later to recover.
His supporters say the Kremlin dissident was poisoned, but Russian officials have denied this. Laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.
Navalny returned to Russia and this month was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to 19 years in prison, his third in two years for what he says was politically motivated.
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”