Putin Ally Found 'Hanged' in Own Office: Reports

Vitaly Robertus, the vice president of Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil producer, was found dead in his Moscow office on Tuesday in an apparent suicide, according to local reports.

Multiple Russian Telegram channels, including independent Russian journalism project ASTRA and Baza, which is linked to Russia's security services, reported on Thursday that Robertus had been found "hanged" in his office.

This marks at least the fourth death of a top executive at Lukoil since Russia's war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.

"The top manager committed suicide and died of asphyxia. He worked for the company for about 30 years," Baza said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Lukoil said in a statement on its website that Robertus had died "suddenly" at age 54. The cause of his death wasn't given.

"Before his death, he allegedly complained of headaches," ASTRA reported.

The VChK-OGPU outlet, which purports to have inside information from Russian security forces, said Robertus "did not have any chronic diseases or family problems, and on the eve of his death his acquaintances saw him in a sober mind and in good health," citing unnamed sources.

Newsweek couldn't independently verify the reports and has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry and Lukoil for comment by email.

Lukoil said Robertus had been working with the oil giant for more than 30 years, starting as an economist, and that he had been awarded "state and departmental awards for his success in the development of the domestic fuel and energy complex."

"In our memory he will remain a talented leader, a versatile person, a sympathetic comrade," a press release on the Lukoil website said. "The LUKOIL team expresses deep condolences to the family and friends of Vitaly Vladimirovich Robertus."

Robertus is the fourth top manager of Lukoil to die in the last two years, Russian publication RTVI reported. Lukoil in March 2022 publicly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Its board of directors issued a statement at the time expressing "its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine."

In May 2022, a former top manager of Lukoil, Alexander Subbotin, died under mysterious circumstances at age 44. He was found dead in the basement of the home of a shaman in Mytishchi, a city northeast of the capital Moscow, after suffering an apparent heart attack, state-run Russian news agency Tass reported.

Tass reported that he went to the shaman's home "in a state of severe alcoholic and drug intoxication the day before" his death. His body was discovered in a basement reportedly used for "Jamaican voodoo rituals."

On September 1, 2022, Ravil Maganov, the chairman of Lukoil, was found dead after falling from a hospital window in Moscow. The circumstances surrounding the 67-year-old's fall remain unexplained. He had worked at Lukoil since 1993. The company's press service reported that he had died "after a serious illness."

In October 2023, Vladimir Nekrasov, the chairman of the company's board of directors, died at age 66, reportedly from acute heart failure.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

Update 3/14/24, 9:25 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.

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