A high-ranking Russian police officer who had been tasked with combating terrorism was found dead after falling out of a window soon after he had resigned, it has been reported, in the latest death of a top Russian official that occurred in mysterious circumstances. Colonel Sergei Shalaginov was found dead on Tuesday outside a building in the city of Yekaterinburg, the region's administrative center, located around 800 miles east of Moscow, local news outlet E1 reported. He was the former deputy head of the Center for Combating Extremism at Sverdlovsk region’s Internal Affairs Ministry.
Newsweek reached out to Sverdlovsk’s investigative committee for comment. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many high-ranking Russian officials and businessmen have died by falling out of windows in incidents that are largely unexplained. There is no known link between the latest incident and the war, but Russian media outlets have offered varying accounts of the circumstances of Shalaginov’s death, which was reported by Ukrainian outlets for whom the demise of Russian officials is of considerable interest.
There have been different accounts on Russian outlets and social media about the circumstances of the death. The pro-Russian website URA.ru said Shalaginov had died by suicide after being dismissed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs following disagreements with its leadership. However, Ukrainian outlet UA.News reported that the article claiming this was removed from URA.ru's website.
The Sverdlovsk department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the death of Shalaginov, but denied he had any conflict within the organization. Sverdlovsk Police department spokesperson Valery Gorelykh said that Shalaginov had been offered a promotion, which he refused, and he also denied rumors that the death was related to his professional activities, describing the death as “an irreparable loss,” News Rambler.ru reported. The local outlet “KP-Yekaterinburg” reported that Shalaginov had recently retired and held leadership positions in law enforcement agencies.
An unnamed source told E1 that Shalaginov had recently retired after serving in leadership positions and was respected, adding he was “a very good and competent man, he always fought for his subordinates.” Images posted on media outlets showed what appears to be a blurred-out body lying on the sidewalk next to a residential building on Shchorsa Street in the city. The Eastern European outlet Visegrad said Shalaginov had fallen from the ninth floor. The incident comes as a Russian general linked to an attack on a children’s hospital in Ukraine during Moscow's full-scale invasion was shot in the head in what has been reported as an assassination attempt.
Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich was shot on Thursday morning in the village of Probuzhdenie near Engels, Saratov region. Russian online newspaper Mash said that a shooter rode up to a private home on a motorcycle and fired one bullet into Varpakhovich’s torso and face. He is in critical condition, according to the outlet.
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