was found dead in a cottage near st. petersburg. now, again, these could all be unconnected individual cases of murder and suicide. both domestic violence, and suicide are unfortunately common things around the world. but these cases deserve a little bit of context. usa today put out an incredible report back in 2017 in which they documented 38 cases of prominent russians who had died suspiciously in the previous three years. they included ten high-profile critics of putin, seven diplomats, six associates of kremlin powerbrokers, 13 military or political leaders involved and the conflict over eastern ukraine, 12 were shot, stabbed, or beaten to death. six were blown up. one died of mysterious head injuries, one reportedly slipped and hit his head in a public bat, one was hanged in a jail cell, and one died after drinking coffee, and quote. the other 16 were reported as either natural causes, or unknown.
context. usa today put out an incredible report back in 2017 in which they documented 38 cases of prominent russians who had died suspiciously in the previous three years. they included ten high-profile critics of putin, seven diplomats, six associates of kremlin powerbrokers, 13 military or political leaders involved and the conflict over eastern ukraine, 12 were shot, stabbed, or beaten to death. six were blown up. one died of mysterious head injuries, one reportedly slipped and hit his head in a public bat, one was hanged in a jail cell, and one died after drinking coffee, and quote. the other 16 were reported as either natural causes, or unknown. the committee to protect journalists says that in the 22 years that putin has been in power, 25 russian journalists have been murdered. a whole bunch of them apparently just fell out of windows. on april 10th, i interviewed the russian opposition leader, he has been
unstable. his drinking barely being propped up. russians began calling for a new leader. they were tired of the embarrassments of yeltsin. waiting in the wings was putin. he had taken a job in moscow in the kremlin hierarchy and risen through the ranks with lightning speed. kremlin superstar. he had just become acting prime minister when it became blindingly clear that country needed a new president. so when yeltsin was ready to topple over, they settled on putin because they knew the yeltsin could retire and not be put in jail. boris yeltsin was notoriously corrupt. but kremlin powerbrokers wanted to protect him. the deal was made.