Putin Critic's Death In India Shrouded In Mystery — Who Were The 2 Russians Who Died Days Apart?

Mystery has deepened around the death of Russian lawmaker Pavel Antov and his companion in a small town on India’s east coast.

What Happened: Antov and his aide Vladimir Bidenov died within days of each other. Bidenov was found dead in the same hotel in Rayagada, Odisha, on Dec. 22, while Antov died while celebrating his 66th birthday on Dec. 25, reported Firstpost — an Indian news portal.

He was reportedly found dead in a pool of blood outside his hotel after "falling" from a third-floor window.

Antov was described as a “sausage tycoon” by the report. He was a lawmaker and member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party.

In July, Antov reportedly condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on social media. The criticism came after a Russian missile on a residential block in Kyiv left a man and his seven-year-old daughter dead and wounded the girl’s mother.

“To tell the truth, it is extremely difficult to call this anything other than terror,” said Antov at the time but later removed the WhatsApp message after facing backlash. He called the post a “technical error” and a “misunderstanding.”

Embassy Denies Foul Play: Bidenov’s death was ascribed to “heat stroke” by the local superintendent of police, Vivekananda Sharma, reported Firstpost.

Sharma said Antov was “depressed” after the death of his friend. A tourist guide said Bidenov “consumed a lot of alcohol” and said he was found lying unconscious in his room surrounded by empty wine bottles. 

The Russian embassy in India said it was aware of the death of the two men and said it was in touch with their relatives and local authorities. 

“As far as we know, police do not yet see a criminal component in these tragic events,” said the embassy, reported Firstpost citing a local Indian television station.

Mystery Deepens: The death of the two men has given fuel to the speculation of a “hit job,” noted Firstpost. 

An advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, said that Russians who “knew” too much about Kremlin’s finances and military secrets are “dying en masse.”

Gerashchenko said the lawmaker who died in India was the richest deputy of the Russian Duma. Gerashchenko went on to cite examples of several other notable Russians that died mysteriously. 

In November, Russian crypto-billionaire Vyacheslav Taran became the 19th tycoon to die mysteriously since the Putin-led invasion of Ukraine began.

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