Two Allies of Russia's Fired Defense Minister Die Mysteriously in One Week

Two allies of Russia's fired Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu are reported to have died mysteriously within a day of each other.

Last week, Magomed Khandayev, a 61-year-old Russian Defense Ministry official, and 52-year-old businessman Igor Kotelnikov were found dead. These were the latest in a series of mysterious deaths involving prominent Russian figures since Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Eva Merkacheva, a member of Russia's human rights council, said in a column for Moskovsky Komsomolets on July 12 that Kotelnikov died in a pretrial detention center in Moscow on July 8 after feeling unwell. He had been charged with bribing senior Russian Defense Ministry officials.

The cause of his death remains unclear, but Merkacheva added that Russian human rights activists say that the cell where the businessman was being held is typically overcrowded.

The cells are "small, hot in warm weather, cold in the winter. In addition, some detainees sit there all day," Merkacheva wrote.

"They were unable to save him—the 52-year-old man died, his heart stopped," she added.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

The VChK-OGPU outlet, which purports to have inside information from Russian security forces, said that FSB investigators allegedly hoped to obtain testimony from Kotelnikov against former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was arrested on corruption charges in April.

Ivanov was arrested on suspicion of taking bribes, Russia's Investigative Committee said on April 23. He had held the post of Russian deputy defense minister since May 2016. His role involved asset management, overseeing the construction of ministry facilities, providing medical support for Russia's military, and managing troop housing.

VChK-OGPU said employees with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) repeatedly visited Kotelnikov in the pretrial detention center "forcing him to admit guilt, to testify against Timur Ivanov and a number of other officials of the Ministry of Defense."

"However, Kotelnikov refused. Then the administration of the pretrial detention center began to pressure him. He was sent to the punishment cell, where he became ill. Two days later, doctors concluded that Kotelnikov could not be kept in solitary confinement due to chronic illnesses," the outlet said, adding that he was found dead the next morning. Newsweek couldn't independently verify these details.

A number of high-ranking military officials have been arrested since April, including Yuri Kuznetsov, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's personnel department. Meanwhile, Shoigu was replaced as defense minister after holding the position for 12 years, in a surprise shake-up of the department.

Russian state-run agencies reported the death of Khandayev on July 9. He had served as head of the state examination department of Russia's Defense Ministry since June 2023. The cause of his death or where he died has not been disclosed.

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Khandayev was a direct subordinate to Ivanov. The independent Russian news outlet The Moscow Times said that it is unclear if Khandayev was able to testify in Ivanov's case.

Sources in the Kremlin government told the publication that the recent push to "clean up" the Defense Ministry was launched by the FSB on Putin's orders.

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