The head of Russia's largest oil company has died, Russian state media reported on Tuesday, the latest in a spate of deaths of oil executives in the country.
Lukoil board chairman Vladimir Nekrasov has died from what initial medical reports suggested was “acute heart failure,” state news agency Tass reported Tuesday, citing the company. According to Russian media, he spent nearly 50 years in the oil and gas industry.
newsweek Lukoil was contacted for comment via email.
He is the third Lukoil executive to die since the outbreak of war in Ukraine 20 months ago. In September 2022, Lukoil Chairman Rabil Maganov reportedly died after falling from a window at a hospital in Moscow. However, the oil company announced that Maganov “passed away due to a serious illness.”
Mr. Magnov “made an invaluable contribution not only to the development of the company, but also to the Russian oil and gas industry as a whole,” Lukoil said at the time.
Alexander Subbotin, a former top manager at Lukoil, was found dead in May 2022 at his Sherman home in Mytishchi, northeast of Moscow. His body was found in the basement of a “room used for Jamaican voodoo rituals,” Tass reported at the time.
Lukoil called for a quick end to the war in Ukraine shortly after the Kremlin launched its invasion in February 2022. The company, which produces about 2 percent of the world's oil supply, said it wanted an “immediate cessation of armed conflict.” Support diplomatic solutions to war.
And it's not just the oil business. Within months of the outbreak of all-out war in Ukraine, attention was focused on the number of Russian oligarchs, officials, and tycoons who met unpleasant or unexpected outcomes.
Sergei Protosenya, the former manager of Russian energy giant Novatek, was found hanged in a compound in the Spanish town of Lloret de Mar in April 2022, and his wife and daughter were also found inside the building. He was found with stab wounds. “My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragic situation,” Novatek said.
Vladislav Abaev, former vice president of Russian private bank Gazprombank, was also found dead in Moscow in April 2022, along with his wife and daughter.
Updated October 24, 2023, 10:11 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Dima Korotaev/Epsilon/Getty Images
rare knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, finding common ground and finding connections.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, finding common ground and finding connections.
