YET another of Putin’s cronies has died – making him the latest member of the Kremlin elite to die under mysterious circumstances.
Vitaly Robertus, the vice president of the Russian oil giant Lukoil, has died “suddenly” at the age of 54 – according to the firm.
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On March 13, Lukoil announced the death of the late executive in a brief statement, in which they expressed their “deep condolences”.
No details were given on the cause or circumstances.
The company said: “It is with deep regret that we inform you that the vice-president of the Company, Vitaly Robertus , suddenly died at the age of 54.”
He is the fourth executive to die since the start of Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, and the fifth prominent figure associated with the oil giant.
Robertus, an incredibly decorated executive, had been at Lukoil for more than 30 years.
The company added: “In our memory he will remain a talented leader, a versatile person, and a sympathetic comrade.
“The Lukoil team expresses deep condolences to the family and friends of Vitaly Robertus.”
Robertus was also known for being one of Russia’s most talented aero-modellers.
He was an Honoured Master of Sports of the Russian Federation, and a seven-time champion of Russia in aero-modelling, as well as a four-time World Champion.
He was also a qualified plane and helicopter pilot.
In November, Russian senator and war backer, Vladimir Lebedev, a Russian senator with close links to the Kremlin died suddenly aged 60, after suffering a “heart attack”.
No further details were given, but his colleagues described him as healthy and said that his death came as a “deep shock”.
Lebedev had close business ties to Vladimir Nekrasov, 66, chairman of the energy giant Lukoil board of directors, who also died “suddenly” in November.
Nekrasov was the third top executive from the oil company to have died since the beginning of the war.
Lukoil had initially demanded negotiations to end the fighting with Ukraine, an act which signified to Putin that the company would not be loyal to him.
Prior to the deaths of Lebedev and Nekrasov, Lukoil tycoon Ravil Maganov, 67, fell from a window of Moscow’s elite Central Clinical Hospital, also known as the Kremlin clinic, in September 2022.
There were suspicions of murder but Maganov had been in hospital for a longstanding heart problem and fell from a sixth floor window, dying on the spot.
On the same morning, Putin swept into the hospital to pay his final respects to Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, who had died the same week.
Billionaire Alexander Subbotin, 43 – also linked to energy giant Lukoil where he was a top manager – was found dead in May 2022.
One of the circulating theories is that Subbotin was poisoned by toad venom – which then triggered a heart attack.
As well as all of the top Lukoil executives, several Russian generals have been killed since the beginning of the war.
Colonel-General Gennady Zhidko, 58, was found dead from a mystery illness after he was purged from the military command in August.
The Readovka news website, which is loyal to the Putin regime, reported that Zhidko had died after a “lengthy illness”.
His death was also confirmed by Khabarovsk regional governor Mikhail Degtyarev, another Kremlin loyalist.
However, there has been no official announcement yet and neither report mentioned where he died.
While General Vladimir Sviridov,68, and his wife Tatyana, 72, were found in their home in the village of Adzhievsky in the Stavropol region.
The former commander of Russian air defences had once criticised Vlad for allowing a “third-ranking” air force.
He demanded Putin “create normal living conditions for young officers, as well as for all servicemen, so that they can properly perform their service duties”.
The authorities still haven’t been able to ascertain the cause of their sudden deaths.
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