The controversial media mogul, famed for his notorious Bunga Bunga sex parties, had been suffering from leukaemia ‘for some time’ and had recently developed a lung infection.
Putin sacked Admiral Sergei Avakyants, 66, the commander of his Pacific Fleet, as the vast military drills he had apparently overseen were still underway.
General Rustam Muradov had led Russia’s Eastern Group of Forces (EGF) in Ukraine for almost a year but had presided over two disastrous assaults which saw thousands of his troops slaughtered
Vladimir Putin has set up identical offices in multiple locations across Russia to confuse potential assassins in yet another sign the despot is paranoid about his safety.
Major General Vladimir Makarov, 67, was in charge of ‘combatting extremism’ in Russia. Putin issued a decree to fire him last month. The reasons for his death remain unclear.