Another top manager of a major company has been found dead in Russia. As oil company Lukoil announced on its corporate website, Vice President Vitaly Robertus has “suddenly passed away” at the age of just 54. No further information about the cause of death was published; there had already been several mysterious deaths linked to Lukoil.
“It is with great regret that we have to inform you that the company’s vice president, Robertus Vitaly Vladimirovich, passed away suddenly at the age of 54. (…) Over his thirty years at Lukoil, he has earned the respect of his colleagues, not only within the company but throughout the industry,” according to the Russian company’s website.
Robertus was a trained airplane and helicopter pilot and had a penchant for building model airplanes. The businessman was a seven-time Russian model flying champion and four-time world champion.
Mysterious cluster of manager deaths
Robertus is the fourth director of Lukoil to die since the Russian attack on Ukraine. In October, Vladimir Nekrasov, then 66 years old, died of acute heart failure. He succeeded CEO Rawil Maganov, who had previously died after falling from a hospital window in Moscow.
Before Maganov, manager Alexander Subbotin also died in May 2023, reportedly during occult treatment for alcohol addiction.
Since the beginning of 2022, several managers of Russian companies have been found dead. Overall, the list of high-profile deaths and political attacks in Russia is getting longer. Here’s an overview:
- The journalist Anna Politkovskaya made a name for himself as a critic of the wars in Chechnya. On October 7, 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 54th birthday, she was shot dead in Moscow.
- The Kremlin’s opponent, Alexander Litvinenko died in London in November 2006 after an attack with the radiation poison polonium 210. The victim accused Putin of being behind the assassination attempt.
- The human rights activist Natalia Estemirowa was found shot dead in the North Caucasus in 2009.
- Anastassija from Die Journalist Baburowa and human rights lawyer Stanislaw Markelow were shot dead on the streets of Moscow in 2009.
- The opposition politician and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemzow was shot dead from a car near the Kremlin walls in 2015.
- The ex-spy and his daughter Julia and Sergei Skripal narrowly survived an attack with the nerve agent Novichok in the southern English city of Salisbury in 2018.
- Kremlin critic Alexei Stormy survived an attack with the nerve agent Novichok in August 2020. After his recovery, he returned to Moscow in January 2021. After landing, he was immediately arrested and died in a Siberian prison camp.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
