The suspicious death of a Russian anti-war singer after a visit by the secret services
Vadim Stroikin fell from the window of his apartment, but his friends doubt it was suicide
BarcelonaRussian singer Vadim Stroikin, 59, died on February 5 after allegedly jumping out of a ninth-floor window when Russian security services arrived at his residence. Stroikin was under investigation for donations to the Ukrainian army, a case that could lead to a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
According to several Russian media outlets citing government sources, when Russian security services arrived, Stroikin asked to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water, opened a window and jumped into the void. His body has not been handed over to his family and his friends do not believe the official version.
Philip Buckup, one of the singer's friends, has told the British newspaperThe Guardian She says she doesn't believe he committed suicide, although he was depressed since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Another friend, Florida Vovsi, told the same outlet: "He had big plans, he loved life so much that I find it hard to believe he did it. We don't know what happened, but I think the They helped
Stroikin was an active anti-war and anti-Putin activist, proclaiming as much in his posts on the Russian social network VKontakte. "This idiot [Putin] has declared war on both his own people and a brother nation. I do not wish him dead; I want to see him tried and imprisoned," he said shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.
The singer had a long history of opposition. Before the fall of the former USSR, he was expelled from university for having participated in an anti-Soviet demonstration and was forcibly recruited from the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals, and gained recognition as a self-taught musician in the genre bard, a type of music that often channels criticism of the regime. In recent years he has been teaching online guitar classes to both Russian and international students.
More deaths in strange circumstances
Russia has a long history of deaths of Putin critics. More or less prominent figures have died in mysterious circumstances, from falls from windows, from poisoning or from shootings. Most of these deaths remain unclear.
Last year, the case of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who died in prison. Navalny was considered Vladimir Putin’s staunchest critic and was serving several sentences in a Russian prison. According to the Russian penitentiary service, Navalny died suddenly while walking in prison. Last November, Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Chkliarov, an outspoken critic of the war, mysteriously fell from the fifth floor of a building. Russian authorities called the fall and death an accident, attributing it to the painkillers he was taking before surgery. A few months earlier, in August, Russian classical pianist and anti-war activist Pavel Kuixnir died aged 39 while in pre-trial custody for going on hunger strike in the city of Birobidjan.