Top Russian oil executive mysteriously found dead after falling from window

Andrey Badalov, Vice President of Transneft, has died after allegedly falling from a window at his residence in a Moscow suburb in an apparent suicide case, state media reported on Friday (Jul 4). The company confirmed the death of the 62-year-old, but did not mention the circumstances. Law enforcement officials told the state-run TASS news agency that Badalov’s body was discovered at the bottom of a residential building on Rublyovskoye highway.

Badalov, who had been the vice president of the state-owned oil pipeline company since 2021, left a suicide note, police told TASS. He has been looking after Transneft’s digital transformation since his appointment.

The top executive’s death comes amid the latest string of high-profile cases of unexplained deaths in recent years. Many of those died after apparent falls from windows or lost their lives in accidents, according to authorities. Others have been murdered.

Russia’s energy sector has been hit with Western sanctions after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Transneft said that Badalov’s death came during a “difficult and stressful period” marked by Western sanctions.

In April 2022, former Kremlin official and Gazprombank vice-president Vladislav Avayev was found dead in his luxury Moscow home along with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. Reportedly, the 51-year-old had shot them before dying by suicide.

The next day, former Novatek deputy chairman Sergey Protosenya, 55, allegedly stabbed his wife and daughter to death in their Spanish mansion, then hanged himself in the garden.

Four months later, the chairman of Lukoil, Russia's second-largest oil company, Ravil Maganov, died after falling from a hospital window in Moscow. According to the company’s official statement, he was suffering from a “serious illness”.

A top Far East development official, Ivan Pechorin, also died after drowning near Vladivostok under mysterious circumstances. Later in December 2022, Russian politician Pavel Antov, who criticised Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, was found dead after apparently falling from a window in India’s Odisha.

In 2024, Russian military blogger Andrei Morozov allegedly died by suicide. In his final post, he stated that he planned to take his own life to protect fellow soldiers from consequences after he reported military losses in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Get help & support for suicide

If you or someone you know wants help for mental well-being, don't hesitate to talk to a professional. You can contact local authorities and also encourage the person to contact a suicide prevention hotline using the information in the above link. WION is not associated with any of these organisations and does not make any recommendations.