Death by Falling: A Timeline of Cases Across Russia and Abroad

A growing number of Russian officials, business executives and public figures have died under strange or violent circumstances since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Many were said to have fallen from windows and balconies.

While some deaths were officially ruled accidents or suicides, the frequency and context of these fatal falls have fueled speculation that some victims may have been defenestrated for their political views, corruption ties or possessing inconvenient knowledge.

The Moscow Times has gathered a running list of notable cases over the past three years.

2025

• Feb. 4 — Artur Priakhin, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the republic of Karelia

Found dead outside his office in an apparent suicide. A note reportedly left in his office apologized to his wife, gave instructions about their finances and asked that no one be blamed for his death.

• Feb. 5 — Vadim Stroykin, singer and songwriter

Reportedly fell from a 10th-story window during a police search of his apartment as they investigated him for allegedly participating in a “terrorist organization” linked to donation gathering for the Ukrainian military. He openly criticized the war in posts on social media.

• March 2 — Buvaisar Saitiev, former State Duma lawmaker from Dagestan and freestyle wrestler

Died in the hospital after he was found to have fallen from the window of his apartment on the west side of Moscow. Pro-Kremlin media claimed he suffered from a lung condition and was taking medication containing powerful substances to relieve the pain.

• July 4 — Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft

Allegedly fell from a window at his home in the elite Moscow suburb of Rublyovka, with police sources saying he likely committed suicide. Reports claimed he sent a farewell message to his wife before his death, and his body was discovered by a security guard.

2024

• June 5 — Natalia Larina, judge at Moscow’s Targansky District Court

Believed to have jumped from a window after she was defrauded by phone scammers posing as court officials, convincing her to transfer 2 million rubles ($25,600) before she realized the deception. A suicide note was reportedly found at the scene of her death.

• Oct. 20 — Mikhail Rogachev, former vice president of Yukos

Found dead in the courtyard of his apartment building in Moscow after an apparent fall from a window with a reported suicide note blaming doctors and saying goodbye to his wife, though relatives said he showed no signs of suicidal intent earlier that day. He had been suffering from serious health issues, including cancer.

• Nov. 16 — Vladimir Skhlyarov, ballet dancer at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Ballet

Fell from the fifth-floor balcony of his St. Petersburg apartment in what authorities called an accident, saying he lost balance while smoking on a narrow ledge. Skhlyarov, who criticized the invasion of Ukraine, had a spinal injury, was taking strong painkillers ahead of surgery and had reportedly been struggling with addiction and personal issues.

• Dec. 11 — Alexander Lapin, former head of Krasnoyarsk’s landscaping and green construction authority

Fell from the seventh-floor window of an Investigative Committee office during an interrogation related to a criminal corruption case. Security footage reportedly shows him sitting on the windowsill before falling.

2023

• Feb. 15 — Marina Yankina, head of finance and procurement of the Defense Ministry’s Western Military District

Plunged from the 16th-floor window of her St. Petersburg apartment. One week before her death, pro-war bloggers criticized new military uniform prices, which the Defense Ministry classified, but were revealed by the company that was awarded the tailoring service contract.

• June 4 — Yuri Demin, head of the State Inspectorate for Road Safety in the Sverdlovsk region

Allegedly fell from a scaffolding at his dacha 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Yekaterinburg during repair works.

• June 8 — Artem Bartenev, a federal judge who served in the Kirovsky District Court in Kazan

Reportedly fell from the 12th story window of his apartment after initially leaving for work at 4:15 a.m., but then returning home. His wife discovered his body after calling his phone while walking their dogs at 6 a.m. and hearing it ring nearby in a courtyard.

• June 24 — Kristina Baikova, vice president of Loko-Bank

Fell from the 11th-floor window of a rental apartment after a party. Media outlets claimed they had obtained video of her arguing with her boyfriend in an elevator and another video filmed by the boyfriend, showing her balancing on the balcony before falling to her death.

• Dec. 27 — Vladimir Egorov, councilman in the Tobolsk City Duma

Fell from the third-story window of his home as a result of an accident, according to colleagues from the ruling United Russia party. Media outlets claimed he stepped out to get some fresh air after feeling sick and plunged to his death after losing consciousness.

2022

• Aug. 14 — Dan Rapoport, Latvian-American stockbroker and businessman

Found dead on the sidewalk outside his Washington, D.C. apartment building after police responded to a call about a jumper. Law enforcement described his death as a suspected suicide.

• Sept. 1 — Ravil Maganov, chairman of the board of Lukoil

Plunged from the sixth-floor window of the Central Clinical Hospital, where he was said to be receiving treatment for a severe cardiovascular disease. According to some reports, he was also suffering from depression.

• Dec. 9 — Grigory Kochenov, creative director for the IT company Agima 

Fell from his balcony in Nizhny Novgorod while police were reportedly searching his apartment in connection with an unconfirmed criminal investigation. Local media reported that he opened the door to police, signed a search warrant, let officers in, went to his balcony and then fell.

• Dec. 27 — Pavel Antov, Vladimir region lawmaker and founder of the meat processing company Vladimirsky Standart

Found dead in a pool of blood outside his hotel in Odisha, India, two days after his travel companion, Vladimir Bidenov, died of an apparent heart attack. Indian police say Antov may have fallen from the roof, while local authorities denied foul play but were “verifying all possible angles.”