The Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) announced the death of Anatoly Gerashchenko, 72, in a press release, describing his death “as a result of an accident”. Russian newspaper Izvestia, citing an unnamed source, said Gerashchenko “fell from a great height, throwing (down) several flights of stairs.” Medics pronounced Gerashchenko dead at the scene, according to the report.

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Gerashchenko had worked for MAI for 45 years, according to the university, and had served as its rector for eight years before retiring in 2015. Both Izvestia and state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported that Gerashchenko served as an adviser to the current rector when he died. Story continues below ad The institute called Gerashchenko’s death “a colossal loss” for the university, as well as for “the scientific and pedagogical community.” Gerashchenko had won several top state awards for his work, including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland and the Order of Honor. During his career, he published more than 100 scientific articles and helped MAI achieve national research university status in 2009 while he was dean.

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In 2010, MAI ranked first among the universities whose graduates are “most in demand by defense industry companies and organizations,” according to the institute’s press release. The university announced that a commission is being formed to investigate Gerashchenko’s death, consisting of representatives of the MAI, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and the State Labor Inspectorate in Moscow. Gerashchenko’s untimely death follows a long line of prominent Russians who have died under mysterious circumstances this year.

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Most recently, Vladimir Nikolayevich Sungorkin, 68, editor-in-chief of the major state newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, died “suddenly” after apparently suffering a stroke last Wednesday, according to an initial medical examination. Trending Stories

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Story continues below ad The Kremlin called his death “a great loss for Russian journalism”. Sungorkin’s death came just four days after another Russian elite, Ivan Pechorin, an energy executive, died after falling overboard from a speedboat on September 10. 4:53 Russia hints at nuclear action as Ukraine war intensifies Russia hints at nuclear action as Ukraine war intensifies Before these two deaths, several other Russian oligarchs had died suspiciously this year:

Ravil Maganov, chairman of the board of Russia’s largest private oil company Lukoil, died after falling from a sixth-floor window of a hospital. Lukoil was one of the few Russian companies to call for an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Alexander Subbotin, a former top manager of Lukoil, was found dead in the basement of a shaman’s house after allegedly being treated for a hangover with toad venom. Sergey Protosenya, a former executive of Novatek, Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer, was found hanged outside a Spanish villa along with the bodies of his wife and 18-year-old daughter. The deaths appeared to be a murder-suicide. Vladislav Avayev, former vice president of Gazprombank, Russia’s third largest bank, was found dead in his Moscow apartment along with the bodies of his wife and 13-year-old daughter. The deaths also appeared to be murder-suicides. Avayev and his family were found the day before Protosenya and his family died. Vasily Melnikov, owner of Medstom, a company that imports medical equipment into Russia, and his family were all found dead in their luxury apartment in Nizhny Novgorod. Melnikov, his wife and their 10-year-old and four-year-old sons had been stabbed to death and the murder weapons were found at the crime scene. Investigators again concluded that the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide. Mikhail Watford, a Ukrainian-born oligarch who made his millions as an oil and gas tycoon, was found hanged in the garage of his Surrey home, Watford’s wife and children, who were at home at the time, were unharmed . Watford changed his surname from Tolstoseya after moving to the UK in the early 2000s. Alexander Tyulyakov, deputy general director of the Finance Ministry of Gazprom, the world’s largest publicly traded natural gas company, was found hanged in the garage of his country house. A note was found with his body leading investigators to the conclusion that Tyulyakov died by suicide. Leonid Shulman, a top Gazprom executive, was found dead in the bathroom of his holiday home next to an apparent suicide note in the same neighborhood where Tyulyakov would die a month later.

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