Russia has recorded the 19th mysterious death of a top executive since the start of the war: a decapitated director in Kaliningrad has become part of a string of deaths among major businessmen.
Another unexplained death of a senior businessman has been reported. According to RIA Novosti, the headless body of Alexey S., CEO of the company K-Potash Service, was discovered near Kaliningrad. He was found under a bridge, his body secured with a tow rope. He had led the company since 2022. The firm has been working to launch a potash mine in Nivenskoye, a project locals have repeatedly tried to halt through protests.
By media counts, this is already the 19th top manager to die under mysterious circumstances since the start of the full-scale war. The list is grim: from Gazprom and Lukoil to Transneft and major developers. Some “fell” from windows and boats, others “took their own lives” under strange circumstances, and others were found with gunshot wounds.
The coincidence theory is increasingly being dismissed: too many similar cases, too senior positions, and figures too convenient for those in power. Some of the deceased controlled multibillion-dollar flows in energy and trade and may have known too much.
Journalists and analysts point to several theories:
- the elimination of “wallets” who had access to shadow schemes;
- the removal of witnesses to corruption or failures;
- internal “purges,” replacing old managers with new ones;
- redistribution of what remains of profitable businesses.
Either way, the trend appears clear: Russia’s elite is living in an atmosphere of fear and constant risk, where even proximity to resource flows and state corporations offers no guarantee of safety.
