Vladimir Nesterov, a 74-year-old Russian official known for his work on the Angara rocket, has died under mysterious circumstances, making him the fourth top Russian official to experience such a fate in the past week, according to the Daily Mail.
Nesterov was referred to as “rocket man” by Vladimir Putin and formerly served as the general director of the Khrunichev Center, a state-run space research and production center established to aid Putin in achieving Russia’s first successful manned mission to the moon.
The death of Russian businessman Nesterov on December 28th has sparked speculation and intrigue.
Prior to his passing, Nesterov was reportedly facing allegations of fraud and embezzlement.
Russian authorities accused him of stealing over $68 million, leading to his house arrest in 2014 as the investigation into his alleged illegal activities continued.
The cause of Nesterov’s death has not yet been disclosed.
RadarOnline.com recently reported on the suspicious deaths of four top Russian officials, including Igor Nesterov, Pavel Antov, Alexander Buzakov, and Alexei Maslov.
Nesterov’s passing occurred within a week of the other three officials’ deaths.
Antov, known as Russia’s highest-earning elected politician due to his successful sausage business, died on December 24 after falling from a hotel window in India while on vacation.
On the same day, Buzakov, the director general of Admiralty Shipyard and responsible for building submarines for Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, was found dead under unknown circumstances.
Maslov, 69, also died suddenly and unexpectedly in a Moscow military hospital on December 25.
The causes of death for all four officials remain unknown.