Putin’s politician friend plunges to death in India

Content of the article

A Russian politician who previously criticized the war in Ukraine has been found dead following a mysterious fall from a hotel in India.

Content of the article

Pavel Antov, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a member of the United Russia party, was on vacation in Rayagada, Odisha state, to celebrate his 66th birthday.

Content of the article

Antov, who made millions in the sausage industry and was the highest-earning vote-getter in 2019, died over the weekend, the Daily mail reported.

Alexei Idamkin, Russia’s consul general in Kolkata, told TASS he had “fallen” out of a hotel window in Rayagada, Odisha, according to the Mail.

“We are following the investigation closely and are receiving all information from Odisha Police,” the diplomat said.

In June, Antov criticized the war and Moscow’s airstrikes on Kyiv, making special mention of a child who was pulled from the rubble where a missile struck.

Content of the article

“To tell the truth, it is extremely difficult to call this anything other than terror,” he said at the time.

He was reportedly forced to retract his comment and apologize, saying on Russian social media that his remarks were “an unfortunate misunderstanding” and a “technical error”.

Antov added that he “has always supported the president” and “sincerely” supported the aims of Putin’s military operation.

His death came two days after the meat tycoon’s friend Vladimir Budaov suffered a fatal heart attack, according to Indian media.

“There was a group of four staying at a hotel in Rayagada,” Idamkin said. “Last Thursday, a Russian named Vladimir B. died. According to the police, the cause was a heart attack.

He continued: “On Saturday, a second Russian, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Vladimir region, Pavel Antov, fell out of the window.

Indian officials say they have not ruled out the possibility that Antov “became depressed over the death of his friend and committed suicide”.