By Sohini Sengupta

Copyright inquisitr

Agatha Christie would have left for Vladimir Putin‘s Moscow if she had been alive. Once home to double-headed eagles and double vodka shots, Russia has now collapsed into a theater of “suicides” so bizarre that Hercule Poirot would raise an eyebrow!

Two members of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle appear in the most recent act, as one was found dead at a five-star hotel in Moscow, while the other was found hanging from a tree with his hands tied together. The crime scenes are chaotic, but the dead don’t speak. Also, rumors coming from Russia’s wealthy elite imply that there is something much more disturbing going on than suicide.

Vitaly Kapustin, a 43-year-old United Russia MP and millionaire construction boss, was found hanging 20 feet above the ground from a tall tree. What makes us feel particularly uneasy? He had his hands tied. The absurdity of the “suicide” theory was pointed out right away by witnesses who saw the body from the roadway. A witness told The Sun UK, “A person wouldn’t just climb up there easily; the trees are very tall.” So, Kapustin’s last climb likely wasn’t by choice.

Kapustin was an influential person. He had enemies and money and was highly influential within Russia’s ruling party circles. However, his sudden death (including his cuffed wrists) seems to have been the work of someone else’s hands and not the result of desperation. Alexander Fedotov, 49, a former transport chief from St Petersburg, was discovered outside the Skypoint Luxe hotel at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport while Kapustin’s body bobbed in the wind. He never made it out alive, though reports say he had checked into a “high-floor” room while on a business trip.

Police launched a criminal investigation but found no suicide note. Fedotov was believed to be under the FSB’s watch. He used to have ties to Vladimir Putin’s transport minister, Roman Starovoit, who passed the day he was dismissed in July. His and Kapustin’s deaths are proof of the theory that these are more secret cleanses than “suicides.” Boris Avakyan, a millionaire and former customs chief who got married to former Mrs. World Yulia Ionina, was found with slit wrists in the Armenian consulate in St. Petersburg just a few days ago. He had gotten away from a courtroom during a trial. His lawyers say that suicide is unthinkable.

Before him, Alexander Tyunin, the head of a chemical plant with links to the military, was shot and killed. And that’s only the shortlist. Russia’s business and political elite have been dropping like flies (or, possibly, like pawns yanked from a chessboard) ever since the war in Ukraine began. The convenient pattern is that many of these men worked in major sectors under pressure during the war, such as finance, energy, transportation, or construction. Official explanations are rarely enough. “Both deceased were members of the same team,” reported VChK-OGPU. They have lost another ally in their circle.

Are these deaths meant to silence opposition, tie up loose ends, or cover up corruption scandals before they become public knowledge? The timing is tricky to ignore, but no one can say. Every suspicious death sends a message that no one is above blame, not even Vladimir Putin’s supporters. The deaths are warnings if they actually represent murders masquerading as suicides.

Anyone who might misbehave, question authority, or even accidentally enter the wrong file name is being warned. Russia’s elite used to be afraid of asset freezes, exile, or sacking. They now fear consulate restrooms, suspiciously tall trees, and hotel balconies.

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