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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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The former head of a Soviet-era publishing house has been found dead after falling several stories from his apartment block window, according to reports, in the latest unexplained death of a prominent Russian figure since 2022.
Russian state news media reported the death of Vyacheslav Leontyev, 87, who headed the Pravda publishing house, which produced the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).
Why It Matters
White Russian state media said Leontyev threw himself from his fifth-floor apartment in Moscow, western media outlets such as the The Times noted that he was the latest prominent Russian figure to die in unexplained circumstances since the full-scale war in Ukraine started, often involving falls from windows.
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What To Know
Moskovsky Komsomolets was among Russian state-controlled media outlets that reported the death of Leontyev, whose body was found on Saturday morning outside his apartment block in western Moscow, where he lived on the sixth floor.
The tabloid said that the death was a suspected suicide and followed difficulties such as his wife being recently hospitalized after a fall. On the day of his death, he had suffered heart problems but refused an ambulance, the paper said, without providing evidence.
Andrey Malgin, an exiled opposition journalist who knew Leontyev, said in a social-media post that the ex-publisher knew a lot about the [Communist] party’s money.”
Pravda, which means Truth, was founded in 1912 and was the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Leontyev had headed the Pravda publishing house from 1984 and remained in his post after it was renamed Pressa in 1991.
Unexplained Deaths Of Prominent Russians
While there is no confirmation of the cause of Leontyev’s death, The Moscow Times noted he was the latest top Russian businessman or official to die in mysterious circumstances since February 2022, the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Many deaths involve defenestration—falling from windows or balconies. Some were officially ruled accidents or suicides, but their circumstances have fueled speculation that some may have been killed for their political views, corruption ties or knowledge.
In July, Roman Starovoyt, a transport minister, was found dead in a reported suicide soon after the Kremlin had announced his dismissal. It followed reports that he faced a corruption probe over the theft.
The same month, Andrei Badalov, vice president of state oil pipeline company Transneft was reported to have fallen from a window at his home in the elite Moscow suburb of Rublyovka, with police sources saying he likely committed suicide.
In February, Artur Priakhin, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the republic of Karelia was found dead outside his office, with reports saying he had left a note which asked that no one be blamed for his death.
What People Are Saying
Russian state-controlled media outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote: “Vyacheslav Leontiev, a well-known Soviet publisher and former director of the Pravda publishing house, died on Saturday morning in western Moscow, presumably from suicide.”
What Happens Next
Police are investigating Leontyev’s death but it is unclear whether there will be any further public details to be released.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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