Putin's Russian Roulette: From Navalny to Prigozhin, here's a list of mysterious deaths of Kremlin critics

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published Feb 17, 2024, 3:16 PM IST

A haunting series of mysterious deaths has been befalling Kremlin critics. From Navalny's prison death to Prigozhin's plane crash, the shadows of intrigue deepen in the perilous game of Putin's Russian Roulette.

The world woke up to the unfortunate death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday. It was reported by the prison services of the Arctic Circle jail that Mr. Navalny fell unconscious and passed away after returning from a walk. The West has openly accused the Kremlin of foul play.

Navalny though is not the first leader to see his fate sealed after criticising Vladimir Putin. Multiple opposition leaders and friends turned critics have died mysteriously in the past since Putin took over the responsibilities in the Kremlin at the start of the new century.

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List of mysterious deaths of Kremlin critics

Yevgeny Prigozhin

The previous Wagner group chief died last year after his plane crashed near Moscow en route to St. Petersburg. A couple of months before his death, Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a mutiny against the Russian forces after disagreements over the direction of war against Ukraine.

The Wagner forces who played a crucial role in the initial victory of Russia against Ukraine were marching towards Moscow in opposition to the Kremlin. The Belarus President brokered peace talks and everything went back to normal until Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane crashed.

Alexander Litvinenko

The former Russian spy was poisoned in a London hotel through a highly poisonous radioactive polonium-210 agent. Two Russian agents were accused of spiking the green tea of Alexander Litvinenko which resulted in the instant death. Litvinenko had previously accused Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin of wrongdoing.

Anna Politkovskaya

Anna Politkovskaya constantly voiced her opinion against Vladimir Putin for the war in Chechnya. The result of the vocalism was that she was shot down in her Moscow apartment in October 2006. The death shocked the West as well as the opposition in Russia.

Boris Berezovsky

The rich Russian business made a lot of money as he was once close to Putin and other oligarchs. When he fell out with the Kremlin, Boris Berezovsky ran to Britain and spent his life there. The British police in 2013 found the body of Boris Berezovsky in a bathroom signaling another assassination.

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