Mysterious series of deaths
Lukoil vice president dies “suddenly” in Russia
March 13, 2024, 10:28 p.m
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The list of mysterious deaths among top managers in the Russian energy sector is getting longer and longer. This time it hits 53-year-old Vitaly Robertus, vice president of the oil giant Lukoil. He is the fourth high-ranking employee of the company to die since the start of the Ukraine war.
Another top manager of the oil giant Lukoil has died in Russia. Vitaly Robertus, vice president of the energy company, died “suddenly” at the age of 53, the company said in a statement. A cause of death was not given. “He will remain in our memories as a talented leader, a well-rounded person and a compassionate comrade.” The company regrets the death of the vice president, who had worked at Lukoil for 30 years, the statement added.
Since the start of the war of aggression in Ukraine, mysterious deaths among high-ranking managers in the Russian energy sector have been increasing. The Lukoil company has to publish death reports noticeably often. Robertus is the fourth top manager of the company to die unexpectedly in the last two years.
In October last year, CEO Vladimir Nekrasov died at the age of 66 – according to the company, from acute heart failure. Nekrasov had also worked at Lukoil for decades; However, he only held the chief position for a few months before his death.
He was appointed in 2022 when his predecessor, then CEO Rawil Maganov, died when he fell from the window of a Moscow hospital, as Russian media reported. Lukoil wrote at the time that Maganov “died after a serious illness.” He was 67 years old.
Another top manager of the group, Alexander Subbotin, died under bizarre circumstances in May 2022. As Russian media reported at the time, the 44-year-old died during occult treatment for alcohol addiction. It was said that the man went to a shaman couple for “hangover treatment” after drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Among other things, they cut his skin and dripped toad poison into the wounds. Subbotin then felt bad and died a short time later.
An unusually large number of managers from another Russian energy giant, Gazprom, also died in the first months after the start of the war. At least five businessmen close to the state-controlled company died within a few weeks in mid-2022.