What Is ‘Sudden Russian Death Syndrome’ — And Who’s Next?

Is this how Moscow deals with dissent — “falls” from windows in high buildings? Or is it more complicated?

Dozens of prominent Russians, many of them billionaires in the finance, energy, and infrastructure sectors, have died under dubious circumstances since 2022 — the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine — fueling speculation of Kremlin involvement.

While many of these cases are officially classified as suicides, others involve alleged murder-suicides, unexplained falls, or mysterious accidents.

But this phenomenon didn’t just begin with the war. According to USA Today, “38 Russian businessmen and oligarchs close to the Kremlin died in mysterious or suspicious circumstances between 2014 and 2017.”

After a hiatus of a few months, three more officials have fallen foul of mysterious deaths in July, including a “suicide” and an unfortunate tumble from an apartment building.

Roman Starovoit, who reportedly committed suicide, was the Kremlin’s transportation minister who was fired by Putin just hours earlier.

Meanwhile, Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft, Russia’s largest state-controlled pipeline transport company, died after falling from the window of his apartment in Moscow. Transneft is headed by a former KGB spy, Nikolai Tokarev, 74, who served with Putin, 72, in Germany in the Cold War.

Earlier this year, two Russian colonels reportedly fell out of windows in the space of two days. A Russian anti-war musician and radio host also died in February after he fell out of a window in St. Petersburg as his apartment was being searched by authorities.

Falling from windows in high buildings has become common for Putin foes or those who may have embarrassed the Kremlin. One meme shows an image of Microsoft Windows logo with a small figure of a person falling from it titled: “Russian Windows 25.”

Along with suspicious accidents, questionable suicides, the phenomenon of Putin critics and oligarchs mysteriously dying has been called “sudden Russian death syndrome” or “sudden oligarch death syndrome.”

Friends and families of many of the deceased Russian businessmen generally found it “unthinkable” that they killed themselves — and in some cases also their wives and children.

Businessman and critic of the Russian government Bill Browder claims that Putin is personally ordering executions of influential business leaders he considers disloyal in critical sectors and intimidates their successors with threats of death or violence.

In Russian mokroye delo or “wet work” is the name given to assassinations or when people are told to commit suicide or they and their families will receive a visit by Kremlin goons.

According to Ivan Stupak, a former security service (SBU) officer and Ukrainian military analyst, many of these deaths are probably the result of Russian security services.

Still, even Stupak notes that not all of the deaths have political motivations; some might be the result of embezzlement, unpaid debts, or internal business rivalries. Since 2022, at least seven of these occurrences have been documented.

Other Russia experts, including Fiona Hill and Mark Galeotti, are skeptical of Putin-led conspiracies. They note the deaths are not necessarily all connected, and that it is far more likely some really are suicides, while some could be killings by competing criminal clans unrelated to any Kremlin-led effort.

The suicide rate in Russia is the third highest in the world. Suicides, they argue, could be further increased especially in the Russian business community due to substantial pressure from the war in Ukraine and international sanctions.

Most likely, “Sudden Russian Death Syndrome,” is a combination of all these factors, with deliberate Kremlin killings being part of it, but suicides and criminal groups also playing a part in the deadly havoc.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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