For over two decades, the Kremlin has been accused of ruthlessly silencing its opponents, employing a variety of lethal methods to eliminate those who dare to oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin. From poisonings to shootings, falls from windows, and now possibly plane crashes, Kremlin critics, journalists, and defected spies have met with similarly ruthless treatment.

One recent case that has raised eyebrows is the fatal crash of a private jet carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner Group. Prigozhin had spearheaded a mutiny against Russia’s top army brass just two months before his death. While the Kremlin denies any involvement in the crash, Prigozhin’s longstanding feud with the military and his armed uprising in June would have given the Russian state ample motive for revenge.

The Wagner Group, a private military force, had operated in several African nations under Prigozhin’s command. His death has left many wondering about the group’s future. But Prigozhin is not the only Putin critic to meet a mysterious end. Here are some other prominent cases:

1. Alexander Litvinenko: In 2006, Litvinenko died of polonium-210 poisoning in London. He had accused the FSB security service of operating poison laboratories dating back to Soviet times.
2. Alexei Navalny: The most recent case involves Navalny, who was jailed and later died under suspicious circumstances. His death adds to a long list of Putin’s critics who have been silenced or met tragic ends.
3. Prigozhin’s Plane Crash: On August 23, 2023, Prigozhin died along with nine others when their business jet crashed in Tver Oblast, north of Moscow. The Wall Street Journal suggested that the crash was likely caused by a bomb on board or “some other form of sabotage” . The jet was en route from Moscow to St Petersburg when it crashed. Among those on board were Prigozhin’s right-hand man Dmitry Utkin and several other associates.
4. The Kremlin’s Methods: Russian intelligence officials have turned political poisonings into an art form. Poisoning offers discreet assassination without immediate detection, allowing perpetrators to flee the crime scene while providing plausible deniability for the Kremlin. The two poisonings most closely associated with Putin both occurred in the UK: Litvinenko’s polonium-210 poisoning and Sergei Skripal’s novichok attack.

Are these deaths a coincidence or part of a planned mayhem orchestrated by the Kremlin leader.