Another Puzzling Assassination? Third Russian Tycoon 'Suddenly' Dies in String of Oil Company 'Hits'

Vladimir Nekrasov, 66, the chairman of the Lukoil board of directors died "suddenly" recently — marking the third death to hit the Russian gas company in the last 18 months.

Knewz.com reported Nekrasov's death occurred at his home in Moscow, and Russian state media noted that the "preliminary" conclusions of doctors suggest he suffered from "acute heart failure."

Given the trend of dubious life-ending events suffered by Russian oil tycoons, speculation among critics leans toward the incidents being murder and part of a purge in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, per The Sun.

In April 2023, Igor Shkurko, an energy executive accused of bribery, was discovered dead in his cell.

This transpired after he was charged with bribery and he responded by submitting a motion against the state’s accusations dubbing them unjust. Shkurko died a day later.

Nekrasov, among others, is like Ravil Maganov, a tycoon associated with Lukoil who fell from a window of Moscow's elite Central Clinical Hospital in September 2022. The official narrative from officials is that he was being treated for a heart problem.

Russian news outlet RBC noted, “The incident occurred around 7:30 am, the top manager fell from a window located on the sixth floor. According to the preliminary version, death occurred from injuries received as a result of a fall. Law enforcement agencies are considering suicide as one of the versions of what happened.”

Billionaire Alexander Subbotin, who was also connected to Lukoil, also died under suspicious circumstances.

According to the Russian state, his death in May 2022 was a result of seeking a hangover cure from a shaman. But according to Kremlin critics, he may have been poisoned.

Radio Free Europe reported, "According to the sources, the owner of the house where the billionaire's body was found, Aleksei Pindyurin, also known as Shaman Magua, testified to police that Subbotin came to his house under the influence of alcohol and drugs seeking a ritual he often asked Pindyurin to perform to relieve hangover symptoms."

Notably, all three were higher-ups at Lukoil - which was one of the entities to express its displeasure over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On March 3, 2022, just after Putin launched his "special operation," an official statement from the company read: "The board of directors of ... Lukoil expresses its concern over the ongoing tragic events in Ukraine and its deepest sympathy to all those affected by this tragedy. We stand for the soonest cessation of the armed conflict and fully support its resolution through the negotiation process, through diplomatic means," per S&P Global.

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The three oil chiefs are only the tip of the iceberg as the trend of suspicious deaths among Russia's wealthy and powerful transcends Lukoil and even the Russian oil sector.

As Knewz reported in August, Putin has been erasing his enemies. At least 55 officials, oligarchs, rivals and scientists have died in violent or mysterious circumstances since the dictator began lording over Russia.