Thread: How dangerous is Vladimir Putin?

ANOTHER Russian Oligarch Dies Mysteriously in Putin’s Russia

Russian energy oligarch Igor Shkurko was found dead in a Siberian prison cell Tuesday after he was accused of taking a bribe. Shkurko, 49, was the deputy general director of energy company Yakutskenergo. He had reportedly submitted appeals against the bribery allegation the day before being found dead in his cell. Shkurko, who was a member of the pro-Putin United Russia party, is now one of many unexplained deaths that have occurred since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Experts estimate that at least 39 high-profile figures have died mysteriously since the start of the war. Russian authorities released no details surrounding Shkurko’s death, but said they saw no evidence of a “criminal death.” Shkurko was accused of demanding a bribe worth approximately $6,200. He was married with two sons.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/igor-s...up-under-putin

Originally Posted by misskit

ANOTHER Russian Oligarch Dies Mysteriously in Putin’s Russia


Russian energy oligarch Igor Shkurko was found dead in a Siberian prison cell Tuesday after he was accused of taking a bribe. Shkurko, 49, was the deputy general director of energy company Yakutskenergo. He had reportedly submitted appeals against the bribery allegation the day before being found dead in his cell. Shkurko, who was a member of the pro-Putin United Russia party, is now one of many unexplained deaths that have occurred since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Experts estimate that at least 39 high-profile figures have died mysteriously since the start of the war. Russian authorities released no details surrounding Shkurko’s death, but said they saw no evidence of a “criminal death.” Shkurko was accused of demanding a bribe worth approximately $6,200. He was married with two sons.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/igor-s...up-under-putin

Shkurko was accused of demanding a bribe worth approximately $6,200.

Yeah, sounds believable.

For anyone keeping score -- here's a list of prominent Russians who have died since 2022...

OhWoe and Backspit . . . "all natural causes".

Revealed: Vladimir Putin's secret Black Sea bunker

You would think that the architects who designed Vladimir Putin's palace thought of everything.


After all, the 190,000-square-foot, billion-dollar complex, perched on a rugged bluff overlooking the Black Sea, has every luxury that an autocrat could possibly desire. As revealed by Alexei Navalny's investigation, the palace has its own church, wine cellar, and casino. It has a hookah lounge complete with a stripper pole, an arboretum, and an ice rink for the hockey games Putin likes to play with cronies. But good luck ordering takeout — security is tight. Putin's imperial dacha is sealed off from the country he rules by 17,000 acres of woodland and a special no-fly zone.


The precautions are more than paranoia on Putin's part. Earlier this month, Russian authorities claimed that two drones had attempted to assassinate Putin in a failed strike that ended in an explosion above the Kremlin.

But, despite all these princely luxuries and castle-like defenses, the palace's builders appear to have neglected one crucial detail. They failed to hide plans showing two elaborate tunnels running beneath the palace complex — plans that any competent state-security apparatus would fight tooth-and-nail to keep secret.


In fact, they were posted publicly to the Russian internet. Metro Style, a now-defunct Russian contractor, posted the diagrams to their website to showcase their work in the early 2010's. They were viewable online as late as 2016.


Today, Insider is publishing annotated versions of the diagrams with English-language translations, which can be viewed below.


The underground complex beneath Putin's palace consists of two separate tunnels connected by an elevator that descends roughly 50 meters below the surface. The architectural plans show the tunnels encased in thick concrete are supplied with enough fresh water, ventilation and extensive cables to support VIP occupants for days or weeks at a time. An expert who reviewed the tunnel plans saw signs of Putin's obsession with survival at a time other strongmen were falling.


"Putin has a lot of anxiety about being the not-entirely-legitimate leader of Russia," said Michael C. Kimmage, a former State Department official who worked on Russia and Ukraine policy. "So knowing that his legitimacy is not entirely secured by elections, he is going to seek to maximize his personal safety through a complex of well-defended personal residences."


The exits from those tunnels are visible just below the palace complex, on the bare cliff rising up from the beach:



MORE Revealed: Vladimir Putin's Secret Black Sea Bunker

Belarus President Lukashenko rushed to hospital after meeting with Putin: Report

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has "urgently" been taken to a hospital in Moscow and now is in critical condition after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the Belarus opposition leader, Valery Tsepkalo. According to Tsepkalo, Lukashenko was taken to Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital after his meeting with Putin.


What do we know?


"According to preliminary information, subject to further confirmation, Lukashenko was urgently transported to Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital after his closed-door meeting with Putin. Currently, he remains under medical care there," said Tsepkalo on Twitter.

He also said that the Belarus president remains under the care of leading specialists to "address his critical condition," adding that blood purification procedures have been conducted and Lukashenko's condition has been deemed "non-transportable".


According to preliminary information, subject to further confirmation, #Lukashenko was urgently transported to Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital after his closed-door meeting with #Putin. Currently, he remains under medical care there. Leading specialists have been mobilized to… pic.twitter.com/xTQ1O7Yp2W


— Valery Tsepkalo (@ValeryTsepkalo) May 27, 2023
×
“The orchestrated efforts to save the Belarusian dictator are aimed to dispel speculations regarding Kremlin's alleged involvement in his poisoning,” said the former presidential candidate and ex-ambassador to the United States.


Rumours about Belarus leader’s health


Rumours centred around Lukashenko’s health have been doing the rounds for some time now.


Earlier on May 9, Lukashenko left Russia soon after the Victory Day parade in Moscow. He skipped lunch with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Media reports say that during his Russia visit, Lukashenko looked visibly tired and that his right hand was in a bandage.


Lukashenko's last public appearance was when he laid flowers in Belarus's capital Minsk during the country's own Victory Day celebrations (May 9), which he had attended hours after returning from Moscow.


He later appeared in public and dismissed the rumours saying, "I'm not going to die, guys. You'll have to struggle with me for a very long time to come."


The 68-year-old is among Putin's closest allies. According to media reports, Lukashenko, sounding hoarse, told a meeting on health issues that he had been suffering from an adenovirus, a common cold virus, earlier this month.


"If someone thinks I am going to die, calm down," said Lukashenko, adding that he only took three days to recover and had been too busy to take time off immediately.


Who is Valery Tsepkalo?


Tsepkalo, a former head of Belarus’ Silicon Valley, the High Technology Park and a former presidential candidate who intended to run in 2020, but was barred from registering. Notably, this wife, Veronika Tsepkalo, is one of three women who led historic opposition protests ahead of the Belarus presidential election in 2020.


In April, Tsepkalo was sentenced to 17 years in a high-security prison, as per the state-run news agency Belta. He also fled Belarus three years ago and is currently based in Latvia, where reportedly helps Belarusian refugees and female victims of political repression.

Belarus President Lukashenko rushed to hospital after meeting with Putin: Report - World News

The high-heeled war criminal won't be happy about that. He'd have to try and fix yet another election.

Plot to assassinate Vladimir Putin foiled by Russian secret service

Russian authorities have claimed to have stopped an assassination attempt on Russian president Vladimir Putin.


The Federal Protection Service (FSO) said explosives were laid under a bridge that the Russian leader was expected to travel across.


Telegram channel VChK-OGPU has said authorities suspected a barge was involved in setting the trap for Putin’s motorcade. The Daily Star reports the boat is believed to be on a route from the Kremlin and Putin’s official residence outside of Moscow.


According to the post on VChK-OGPU: “The FSO was checking information about the preparation of an assassination attempt on Putin with the help of explosives at the bottom of the Moskva River, laid down from a barge. A duty officer of the Federal Security Service reported a suspicious barge under the bridge.”


Divers are believed to have been seen entering the water after the suspect barge was told to move, “due to the movement of motorcades over the bridge”.

The FSO reportedly checked the papers of the crew who are said to have been carrying out repairs on the bridge. No information about the detection of explosives or parties have yet been given.

The act has been described as an effort to “assassinate Putin”. The news comes amid an ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensive.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...ce/ar-AA1dgsiu

Looks like the spiteful little shit is still at it.

Chairman of Russian oil producer dies suddenly - making him the second Lukoil chief to die in just over a year

Vladimir Nekrasov, the chairman of Russia's Lukoil LKOH.MM, has died suddenly at the age of 66.
His company said he suffered acute heart failure.
Announcing his death, Lukoil said Mr Nekrasov had worked for almost 50 years in the oil and gas sector.
The company declined to comment further on his death.
The previous head of Lukoil's board, Ravil Maganov, died in September 2022 after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, two sources familiar with the situation said.
Lukoil rather unusually took a public stand against Moscow's invasion, with its board of directors expressing concern over the "tragic events" in Ukraine in a March 2022 statement.
The statement remains on the company's website.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

The previous head of Lukoil's board, Ravil Maganov, died in September 2022 after falling from a hospital window in Moscow,

Russians seems to be of the clumsy sort