Latest news with #Stroykin
The Guardian
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Friends of Russian anti-war singer cast doubt on official version of his death
No one knows exactly what happened in the final moments of Vadim Stroykin's life. The 59-year-old Russian singer-songwriter's vibrant career came to a sudden end on 5 February when a team from Russia's security services arrived at his cramped ninth-floor St Petersburg flat at 9am. They were investigating him for what has become one of the gravest offences in today's Russia — donating to the Ukrainian army. According to Russian media reports citing government sources, Stroykin excused himself to the kitchen for a glass of water, opened a window and fell to his death in an apparent suicide. A passerby discovered his body below. Some of those who knew him best, however, have questioned if he would have taken his own life. Stroykin was remembered by a dozen friends interviewed by the Guardian as a charismatic and idealistic eccentric. He never concealed his disdain for Russia's war in Ukraine, even as speaking out became increasingly perilous. 'This idiot [Putin] declared war on his own people as well as a brother nation,' he wrote on social media in March 2022, a month after the invasion began. 'I don't wish for his death; I want to see him tried and put in prison.' Philip Buckup, a close friend who had known Stroykin for more than 30 years, said he had 'an acute understanding of right and wrong'. Friends describe Stroykin, who grew up in the Urals, as a passionate mountaineer who always had an independent streak. In the final years of the Soviet Union he was expelled from university for participating in an anti-Soviet demonstration and forcibly conscripted into the military. He later gained recognition as a self-taught bard musician, a genre linked to the Soviet cultural thaw of the 1960s and the rise of allegorical songs as a means of expression. He also taught students in Russia and online around the world. Buckup said Stroykin had lost some of his positivity and spark after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He spoke of feeling isolated and depressed on social media and in conversations with friends, and he turned to drinking. He considered fleeing to Europe at one point in 2022, another friend in Germany recounted, but realised he might not be able to secure the necessary documents to stay. Despite his growing despair, few of his longtime friends accept the reports in Russian media that he killed himself. Instead, they say something more sinister took place. 'Vadim is not the type of guy who would do it himself, I don't believe the official version at all,' said Buckup, who last spoke to Stroykin in January. 'He was very confident in his views, he would not be afraid of jail. I think the police pushed him out.' Florida Vovsi, another old friend of Stroykin, said she didn't believe he would have killed himself either and blamed the authorities for his death. 'He had big plans, he loved life so much, it is hard for me to believe he would do it,' she said. 'We don't know what happened, but I think they 'helped' him out.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Russia has a long history of prominent executives, outspoken Putin critics and other high-profile figures dying in mysterious circumstances, some in falls from windows. Some cases are suspected assassinations, and others remain ambiguous. Few are believed to have been suicides. Stroykin was one of the thousands of unknown anti-war Russians who decided to stay behind in the country but continued to speak out. Some have been arrested and later died in jail in what the authorities said were suicides. For others, such as the concert pianist Pavel Kushnir, who staged an unpublicised hunger strike, it took days for the world to learn of their deaths. Alexander Cherkasov, a board member of the Russian human rights group Memorial, said the persecution of anti-war dissenters often comes to light too late. Journalists and civil society typically learn of prosecutions only after court rulings are handed down — verdicts that are delivered without explanation or justification. Stroykin's body has not been released to his family, his friends say, making it harder to establish the cause of his death. For many of his friends though the conclusion is clear. The state bears ultimate responsibility for his death because he had the courage to speak out against a brutal and unprovoked war. 'There is no place for an honest man like Stroykin in modern Russia,' said Vovsi.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian anti-war singer dies ‘after falling from window'
A Russian singer who called Vladimir Putin an 'idiot' and allegedly donated to the Ukrainian military has died after falling from the window of his 10th-floor apartment, according to reports. Vadim Stroykin fell to his death during police searches over his alleged links to Ukraine, Russian media outlets said on Thursday. He was facing up to 20 years in prison if charged and convicted of participating in a terrorist organisation for his alleged backing of the Ukrainian army, they said. The 59-year-old musician is said to have stepped into his kitchen for a 'glass of water' before being found dead on the ground outside. Mr Stroykin joins a long list of Russians who have fallen to their deaths in unusual circumstances or in other incidents shrouded in mystery over the last two decades. He was not involved in politics but had spoken openly about the war in Ukraine, regularly posting on VK, Russia's equivalent of Facebook. 'This idiot [Putin] declared war on his own people as well as a brother nation,' he wrote in March 2022. 'I don't wish for his death; I want to see him tried and put in prison.' Following the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony in February last year, Mr Stroykin wrote: 'B—-rds.' The circumstances of his death are being examined by Russia's investigative committee. People have regularly been convicted for 'discrediting the Russian army' in social media posts since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, but Russian authorities have stepped up their campaign against opposition in recent months. Just last week, a top Russian colonel perished after falling 50ft from a window, while Colonel Alexey Zubkov, an employee of Russia's Investigative Committee, is still fighting for his life after a similar fall. One of the most high-profile incidents saw Ravil Maganov, chairman of Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil company, fall from a sixth-floor window at an exclusive hospital known as the Kremlin Clinic in 2022. In 2023, Marina Yankina, 58, a prominent war official and head of the financial support department for the Russian Defence Ministry's Western Military District, was discovered dead after falling from a 16th-floor window in St Petersburg. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Russian singer who spoke out against war in Ukraine dies after allegedly falling from window during police raid
Russian singer-songwriter Vadim Stroykin died on Feb. 6 while security officials were raiding his apartment, the Russian human rights NGO OVD-Info reported. Stroykin reportedly fell out of a window while officers were visiting his home as part of a criminal investigation into the singer's alleged donation to Ukraine's Armed Forces. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify this report. Russian media claimed that Stroykin withdrew to another room while officers were raiding his St. Petersburg apartment. He then fell out of a 10th-floor window and reportedly died at the scene. At least one Russian outlet has referred to his death as a "suicide." Russia's Investigative Committee has reportedly launched an investigation into Stroykin's death. Stroykin previously spoke out against Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the social media website VKontakte in 2022. His posts condemned the war and criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since the 2022 invasion, a number of prominent Russian figures have mysteriously died after falling from windows. Acclaimed Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov, who also denounced the war in Ukraine, died in November 2024 after allegedly falling from his fifth-floor apartment. Shklyarov's death was reported as an "accident." Russia has also detained and imposed harsh prison sentences against citizens for publicly criticizing the war or donating small sums of money to Ukrainian charities — acts that are now considered treason under the Russian criminal code. Read also: 'Donbas is fiction' — Kateryna Zarembo's book dismantles Russian myths about Ukraine's east We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-War Russian Musician Falls to Death During Police Search
A Russian musician who opposed President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine reportedly plunged to his death during a police search. According to state news agency RIA Novosti, 58-year-old Vadim Stroykin died by suicide when police came to search his St. Petersburg home in connection with accusations of extremism. The city's investigative committee told RIA Novosti that Stroykin went into the kitchen during the police search. The musician was last seen alive on the 10th floor of his residential complex, and his body was later found under the windows, according to local newspaper Fontanka. He was accused of giving money to the Ukrainian army. Authorities are investigating his death. Stroykin was born in the Ural region. He graduated from the British School of Journalism in the 1990s and became the host of a Yekaterinburg radio show. He later moved to St. Petersburg, where he had been teaching guitar lessons for the past decade. In 2022, Stroykin spoke out against Putin's invasion of Ukraine on the Russian social media platform VKontakte. 'This idiot [Putin] declared war on his own people as well as a brother nation,' he wrote. 'I don't wish for his death; I want to see him tried and put in prison.' The musician appears to have fallen victim to the 'Sudden Russian Death Syndrome,' a term that gained popularity among commentators after multiple Putin critics mysteriously fell out of windows. Last November, Russian ballet star Vladimir Shklyarov reportedly fell from the fifth floor of a building. He also spoke out against the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
