WEALTHY pro-Putin MP and soft drinks oligarch with reported mysterious links to Britain has been found dead.
Nikolay Bortsov, 77, was discovered dead in his home – becoming the latest high profile Russian to die after a string of mysterious deaths.
Bortsov had been sanctioned by the UK due to his support for Putin's bloody war in Ukraine.
But a leak in 2019 indicated the multi-millionaire had secretly obtained "indefinite leave to remain" status in the UK.
And this was despite him being a staunch ally of the tyrannical Putin and a support in the Russian parliament, the State Duma.
He was discovered dead at his home in the Lipetsk region of Russia with no cause given.
Bortsov was one of Putin’s richest MPs -reportedly being worth £450 million.
His wealth came from the sale of a majority stake in Lebeyansky fruit juice plant to PepsiCo.
An MP for two decades, he boasted a salary of £8 million a year, and was named as one of the wealthiest businessmen in Russia.
He always denied holding British citizenship.
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But news outlet Argumenti Nedeli reported leaked data put him on a list of top Russian officials who had been granted residency in the UK.
At the time of the leak, there were calls in Moscow for him and other parliamentarians to be checked by the security services for their loyalty to Putin.
He was subsequently sanctioned by Britain, the US, EU and Ukraine over Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Kyiv sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia for recognising the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "people’s republics".
Lipetsk region governor Igor Artamonov said: “We will remember Nikolay Bortsov as a patriot of his country, always ready to help those who need it, a man who did not stand aside.”
Bortsov, a married man, was a member of main pro-Putin political party United Russia.
Artamonov did not give details about the cause of death.
At least 40 high profile figures in Russia – ranging from oligarchs to scientists and even generals – have died since Putin's invasion last February.
Many have passed away in odd circumstances, such as sudden "suicides" and falls from windows.
Putin's regime of course has never admitted to anything – and has always dealt with the deaths of their enemies with a wry smile.
But the pile of bodies however has appeared to have grown at an alarming rate of the last 14 months.
And while not all the deaths will involve the hand of Vlad – with some having more prosaic or tragic explanations – all eyes remain on the Kremlin.
Many of the deaths are particularly strange – but then get ruled as "suicide" and quickly swept under by the Russian authorities.
Colonel Vadim Boyko was shot five times in his office.
Despite being left riddled with bullets however, the military chief's death was deemed as self inflicted.
And then there is the mysterious case of Pavel Antov, who died alongside his friend Vladimir Budanov.
The duo both died while Antov, a millionaire sausage tycoon and politician, was celebrating his birthday at a hotel in Odisha, India.
Budanov – described as Antov's companion – was found dead in his hotel room.
And then just days later the tycoon was found dead in a pool of blood having apparently fallen from the hotel.
His death came just days after he criticised Putin's war in Ukraine.
And then in the space of just one month, three businessmen – Vasily Melnikov, Vladislav Avayev, and Sergei Protosenya – died alongside their families in a trio of apparent "murder-suicides".
Putin's war in Ukraine continues to grind forward – with the Russians making small gains in the country's East.
Kyiv continues to call for Western support to help them defeat Putin, who has so far lost more than 187,000 soldiers.
Vlad foolishly believed his forces would be welcomed into Ukraine as liberators when he invaded last February.
But instead the initial attack ended in a disaster which saw his forces devastated and thrown back to Russia.
And the world is now waiting to see what Ukraine's long await counter offensive will look like – whether they will attack Crimea or try to punch through the Russian lines.
Russia-linked deaths since the start of 2022
DOZENS of people in the Kremlin’s orbit have died since the start of 2022 – how many of them have been killed by Vlad and his cronies?
Leonid Shulman – January 30 – Gas boss – Found dead in his bathroom with suicide note
Igor Nosov – February 8 – Former governor – Died after suffering an apparent stroke in Moscow
Mikhail Watford – February 28 – Businessman – Found dead at his home in Surrey, UK – no evidence of crime found by cops
Alexander Tyulakov – February 25 – Gas boss – Found dead in his garage in suspected suicide in St Petersburg
Vasily Melnikov – March 23 – Medical firm boss – Stabbed to death along with his family in 'murder-suicide' in Nizhny Novgorod
Vladislav Avayev – April 18 – Gas boss – Found dead with gun in his hand alongside wife and daughter in Moscow
Sergei Protosenya – April 19 – Gas boss – Found hanged alongside his wife and daughter who died of axe wounds at villa in Lloret de Mar, Spain
Andrei Krukovsky – May 2 – Gas boss – Fell down a cliff to his death in Sochi
Alexander Subbotin – May 8 – Oil boss – Died of 'drug induced heart attack' during shamanic ritual in Moscow
Dmitry Kovtun – June 4 – Ex-KGB agent linked to Litvinenko murder – Died in hospital from Covid in Moscow
Dr Dmitry Kolker – July 2 – Laser scientist – Dies after being arrested for treason and being flown to Moscow
Yuri Voronov – July 4 – Shipping chief – Shot dead in swimming pool in Leningrad
Dan Rapoport – August 14 – Investor & Putin critic – Died after falling from a 9-story high rise in Washington DC
Darya Dugina – August 20 – Daughter of 'Putin's Rasputin' – Died in car bombing in Moscow
Ravil Maganov – September 1 – Oil oligarch & Putin critic – Falls from balcony while smoking in 'suicide'
Ivan Pechorin – September 10 – Gas boss – Found floating in the sea near Vladivostok
Vladimir Sungorkin – September 14 – Editor of Putin's 'favourite newspaper' – Suddenly suffered stroke while on lunch and died in Khabarovsk
Anatoly Gerashchenko – September 21 – Aviation boss – Falls down "several" flights of stars and dies
Pavel Pchelnikov – September 28 – Railway exec – Found shot dead on his balcony in Moscow
Nikolay Petrunin – October 12 – Politician – Died from complications of Covid
Nikolai Mushegian – October 28 – Crypto boss – Drowned in swimming pool in Puerto Rico, US
Viktor Cherkesov – November 8 – Putin's spy mentor – Dies after 'serious illness' in St Petersburg
Colonel Vadim Boyko – November 16 – Ukraine war mobilisation chief – Death ruled suicide despite being shot five times in Vladivostok
Vyacheslav Taran – November 25 – Crypto billionaire – Killed in helicopter crash in clear weather near Monaco
Vladimir Makei – November 26 – Belarusian foreign minister – Death ruled suicide by Minsk officials
Grigory Kochenov – December 7 – Tech boss – Fell to his death as police searched his flat in Nizhny Novgorod
Dmitriy Zelenov – December 9 – Real estate tycoon – Dies after hitting his head after falling down stairs in Antibes, France
Vladimir Budanov – December 22 – 'Companion' of Pavel Antov – Found dead in his hotel room in Odisha, India –
Pavel Antov – December 24 – Politician and businessman – Found dead in a pool of blood at his hotel just days after his friend Bidenov
Alexander Buzakov – December 24 – Shipyard chief – Died after attending unveiling a new submarine – no cause of death
General Alexei Maslov – December 25 – Tank firm boss – Suddenly fell ill and dies after Putin cancelled visit to factory in Uralvagonzavod
Vladimir Nesterov – December 28 – Disgraced rocket engineer – Cause of death undisclosed in Russia
Magomed Abdulayev – January 6 – Former regional leader – Mown down by car in Makhachkala
Dmitry Pawochka – January 26 – Space boss – Burned alive in his apartment in Moscow
Major General Vladimir Makarov – February 14 – Police chief – Found shot dead in 'suicide' at his apartment in Moscow
Marina Yankina – February 16 – Defence official – Found dead after falling from window of 16-storey high rise in St Petersburg
Viatcheslav Rovneiko – February 22 – Oil boss – Found unconcious at his home in Moscow
Andrey Botikov – March 3 – Sputnik V scientist – Strangled to death at his home in Moscow
Sergey Grishin – March 6 – 'Scarface' oligarch – Dies in hospital of sepsis in Moscow
Igor Shkurko – April 9 – Energy boss – Dies in Siberia jail after being accused of taking bribe
Nikolay Bortsov – April 25 – Wealthy MP – Found dead at his home inLipetsk
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