Boris Berezovsky Found Dead, Russian Oligarch Criticized Putin

Russian magnate Boris Berezovsky has died at the age of 67, and the circumstances surrounding his passing are not yet known.

Boris Berezovsky was “found dead,” according to multiple international news reports, but the critic of Putin’s cause of death or even the general details have yet to be released.

Described as being “in exile” in Britain at the time of his death, Berezovsky was found deceased in his home in Ascot, Berkshire. The BBC explains that the Russian tycoon once occupied a lofty space in Russian politics, maintaining a close relationship with Boris Yeltsin and wielding significant political influence.

The site reports:

“Boris Berezovsky was one of the most powerful men in Russia back in the 1990s… He rose from being a mathematician, a computer programmer and a used car salesman, to being such an influential figure in Boris Yeltsin’s Russia.”

But there was a downside to the wealth and power, and Berezovsky was the target of several assassination attempts in the past.

Other outlets say that Berezovsky, depressed over a recent multi-billion pound court battle and loss, took his own life. Russian lawyer, Alexander Dobrovinsky told a Russian news outlet:

“I received a call from London saying that Berezovsky had committed suicide… Recently Berezovsky had been in a horrible state, very depressed. He had nothing but debts, he was practically ruined, he was selling his paintings.”

Recent reports indicate that Boris Berezovsky had, just prior to his death, sought permission from the President to return to Russia. News of the Russian tycoon’s death was confirmed on Facebook by his son-in-law, Yegor Shuppe.