At least 12 Russian businessmen and their families have lost their lives since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Five oligarchs have already been found dead since the Russian invasion began. Several of them are said to have taken their own lives and killed their own family members beforehand.
With these family members, "LeMatin" counts a total of twelve dead. Sergey Protosenya and his family The 55-year-old multi-millionaire Sergey Protosenya was found hanged in the garden of a villa in Lloret de Mar last Tuesday.
His wife Natalia (53) and daughter Maria (18) were also found dead inside the villa with stab wounds. An ax and knife were found next to Protosenya's body. According to "Newsweek", the police assume that the oligarch killed his family and then himself.
Protosenya was a senior executive at Russian energy company Novatek, and his wealth was estimated at $440 million.
Vladislav Avaev and his family
A day before the events in Lloret de Mar, a similar tragedy had happened in a luxury Moscow apartment.
Former Gazprombank Vice President Vladislav Avaev, 51, was found dead there, along with his wife and their 13-year-old daughter. The apartment was locked from the inside and Avaev is said to have had a gun in his hand. Everything points to the fact that the oligarch killed his wife and daughter and then himself.
Avaev is said to have worked in the President's office and in the Duma.
Vasily Melnikov and his family Already on March 24 it was reported about the death of billionaire Vassili Melnikov, who was found dead in his luxury apartment in Nizhny Novgorod together with his wife and their two sons.In #Moscow, former vice-president of "Gazprombank" Vladislav Avaev shot dead his wife and 13-year-old daughter, after which he committed suicide.
Previously, Avaev worked in the Office of the President and in the State Duma.pic.twitter.com/LUu3fSMszD — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 18, 2022
According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, all four were said to have been stabbed to death. Again, it is likely that Melnikov killed his family and then himself. He himself is said to have been found with a severed wrist artery.
In the case of Melnikov, however, not everyone believes this theory. Melnikov's medical company MedStom is said to have suffered huge losses because of Western sanctions.
Businessman Vasily Melnikov, owner of the Medstom company, was murdered together with his family in #NizhnyNovgorod.
The businessman, his wife and two minor children were stabbed to death in their own home.An investigation is underway. A contract killing is not ruled out. pic.twitter.com/Rw8IlqGRnp — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 23, 2022
Mikhail Watford
On February 28, Mikhail Watford (66) was found dead in his 18 million mansion in Surrey, UK.
The Ukrainian-born oligarch made his fortune in the oil and gas business. As reported by the "DailyMail", Watford's gardener found him hanged in his garage. Watford is said to have lived in the house with his wife and three children.
His suicide followed shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Alexander Tyulyakov
A day after the start of the Russian invasion on February 25, high-ranking Gazprom manager Alexander Tyulyakov (61) was found hanged in his house near St.
Petersburg. Before his death, he is said to have written an unknown message. The circumstances surrounding some of the events have yet to be clarified and it is unclear whether the series of deaths are related to the Ukraine war and Western sanctions or whether it is a dark chain of random events.
The body of the Russian oligarch Mikhail Watford been found in his EUR 22 mln mansion in the UK with a rope around his neck.
The British police are investigating his death as they suspect he could have been on a kill list.
He made his fortune from oil refineries in Ukraine.pic.twitter.com/KxccJx3n8Y — Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 6, 2022