Collusion

A Partial Listing of Murders and Other Mysterious Deaths During the Putin Era

As this novel was going to press, General Colonel Igor Korobov, the Russian mastermind behind the 2018 Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, England, died under mysterious circumstances after being personally reprimanded by President Putin. According to press reports, Korobov emerged shaken and in sudden “ill health” after being admonished for mishandling the attempted murders of former Russian military officer and double agent for British intelligence Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal. As in this novel, the Kremlin deals harshly in real life when those overseeing clandestine murder plots fail.

Putin Critics

Mikhail Lesin: Found dead in her Washington, D.C., hotel room in November 2015.

Alexander Litvinenko: Former KGB agent poisoned drinking tea laced with deadly polonium-210 at a London hotel in November 2006.

Anna Politkovskaya: Crusading journalist and author of Putin’s Russia, in which she accused Putin of turning his country into a police state, shot point-blank in an elevator outside her apartment.

Natalia Estemirova: Journalist who uncovered human rights abuses by Russia in Chechnya, was abducted from her home, shot in head.

Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova: Human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov represented Putin critics, and was murdered by gunmen outside the Kremlin. Journalist Baburova, walking with him, was fatally shot when she tried to help him.

Boris Nemtsov: Former deputy prime minister of Russia under Boris Yeltsin who accused Putin of accepting bribes from oligarchs, was shot four times walking home from a restaurant.

Boris Berezovsky: Russian oligarch who fled to Britain after a bitter dispute with Putin. Was unfortunate victim of a suspicious death at home in March 2013 after threatening to “bring Putin down.”

Paul Klebnikov: Chief editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine who had exposed corruption of Putin’s friends, was murdered during a drive-by shooting.

Sergei Yushenkov: Russian politician who founded a political party critical of Putin, was fatally shot in his face.

Yuri Petrovich Shchekochikhin: Writer and liberal lawmaker in the Russian parliament, Shchekochikhin died in July 2003 from a mysterious illness a few days before his scheduled departure to meet with FBI investigators. His medical documents have been “classified” by the Russian authorities.

Journalists and Writers

2000

February 1—Vladimir Yatsina, Homicide

February 10—Ludmila Zamana, Homicide

March 9—Artyom Borovik, Homicide

April 17—Oleg Polukeyev, Homicide

May 17—Boris Gashev, Homicide

July 16—Igor Domnikov, Homicide

July 26—Sergei Novikov, Homicide

September 21—Iskander Khatloni, Homicide

October 3—Sergei Ivanov, Homicide

October 18—Georgy Garibyan, Homicide

October 20—Oleg Goryansky, Homicide

October 21—Raif Ablyashev, Homicide

November 20—Pavel Asaulchenko, Homicide

November 23—Adam Tepsurkayev, Homicide

November 28—Nikolai Karmanov, Homicide

2001

February 1—Eduard Burmagin, Homicide

February 24—Leonid Grigoryev, Homicide

March 8—Andrei Pivovarov, Homicide

March 31—Oleg Dolgantsev, Homicide

May 17—Vladimir Kirsanov, Homicide

September 11—Andrei Sheiko, Homicide

September 19—Eduard Markevich, Homicide

November 5—Elina Voronova, Homicide

November 16—Oleg Vedenin, Homicide

November 21—Alexander Babaikin, Homicide

December 1—Boris Mityurev, Homicide

2002

January 18—Svetlana Makarenko, Homicide

March 4—Konstantin Pogodin, Homicide

March 8—Natalya Skryl, Homicide

March 31—Valery Batuyev, Homicide

April 1—Sergei Kalinovsky, Homicide

April 4—Vitaly Sakhn-Vald, Homicide

April 25—Leonid Shevchenko, Homicide

April 29—Valery Ivanov, Homicide

May 20—Alexander Plotnikov, Homicide

June 6—Pavel Morozov, Homicide

June 25—Oleg Sedinko, Homicide

July 20—Nikolai Razmolodin, Homicide

July 21—Maria Lisichkina Homicide

July 27—Sergei Zhabin, Homicide

August 18—Nikolai Vasiliev, Homicide

August 25—Paavo Voutilainen, Homicide

September 20—Igor Salikov, Homicide

October 2—Yelena Popova, Homicide

October 19—Leonid Plotnikov Homicide

December 21—Dmitry Shalayev, Homicide

2003

January 7—Vladimir Sukhomlin, Homicide by police

January 11—Yury Tishkov, Homicide

February 21—Sergei Verbitsky, Homicide

April 18—Dmitry Shvets, Homicide

July 3—Yury Shchekochikhin, Homicide

July 4—Ali Astamirov, Homicide

August 10—Martin Kraus, Homicide

October 9—Alexei Sidorov, Homicide

October 24—Alexei Bakhtin, Homicide

October 30—Yury Bugrov, Homicide

December 25—Pyotr Babenko, Homicide

2004

February 1—Yefim Sukhanov, Homicide

May 2—Shangysh Mongush, Homicide

June 9—Paul Klebnikov, Homicide

July 1—Maxim Maximov, Homicide

July 10—Zoya Ivanova, Homicide

July 17—Pail Peloyan, Homicide

August 3—Vladimir Naumov, Homicide

August 24—Svetlana Shishkina, Homicide

September 18—Vladimir Pritchin, Homicide

September 27—Jan Travinsky, Homicide

2005

July 28—Magomed Varisov, Homicide

August 31—Alexander Pitersky, Homicide

November 4—Kira Lezhneva, Homicide

2006

February 26—Ilya Zimin, Homicide

May 4—Oksana Teslo, Homicide

May 14—Oleg Barabyshkin, Homicide

May 23—Vyacheslav Akatov, Homicide

June 25—Anton Kretenchuk, Homicide

July 25—Yevgeny Gerasimenko, Homicide

July 31—Anatoly Kozulin, Homicide

August 8—Alexander Petrov, Homicide

October 16—Anatoly Voronin, Homicide

December 28—Vadim Kuznetsov, Homicide

2007

January 14—Yury Shebalkin, Homicide

January 20—Konstantin Borovko, Homicide

March 15—Leonid Etkind, Homicide

2008

February 8—Yelena Shestakova, Homicide

March 21—Gadji Abashilov, Homicide

March 21—Ilyas Shurpayev, Homicide

August 31—Magomed Yevloyev, Homicide by police

September 2—Abdulla Alishayev, Homicide

December 30—Shafig Amrakhov, Homicide

2009

January 4—Vladislav Zakharchuk, Homicide

January 19—Stanislav Markelov, Homicide

March 30—Sergei Protazanov, Homicide

June 29—Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, Homicide

August 11—Malik Akhmedilov, Homicide

October 25—Maksharip Aushev, Homicide

November 16—Olga Kotovskaya, Homicide

2010

January 20—Konstantin Popov, Homicide

February 23—Ivan Stepanov, Homicide

March 20—Maxim Zuyev, Homicide

May 5—Shamil Aliyev, Homicide

July 25—Bella Ksalova, Homicide

August 11—Magomed, Homicide

2011

December 15—Gadzhimurat Kamalov, Homicide

2012

July 7—Alexander Khodzinsky, Homicide

December 5—Kazbek Gekkiev, Homicide

2013

July 9—Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, Homicide

2014

August 1—Timur Kuashev, Homicide

2016

March 31—Dmitry Tsilikin, Homicide

2017

March 17—Yevgeny Khamaganov, Homicide

April 19—Nikolay Andrushchenko, Homicide

May 24—Dmitry Popkov, Homicide

September 8—Andrey Ruskov, Homicide

2018

April 15—Maksim Borodin, Homicide

July 23—Denis Suvorov, Homicide

July 31—Sergei Grachyov, Homicide

September 10—Yegor Orlov, Homicide

Names taken from Wikipedia and additional media sources.