Four senior Russians died over the Christmas period, adding to the list of powerful figures who have have passed since the conflict in Ukraine began.
Since the start in February of Russia's war on Ukraine, several high-profile Russian businessmen have reportedly died by suicide or in unexplained accidents.
Most recently, four Russian men have died within days of each other since Christmas Eve.
Alexander Buzakov
The director general of the Admiralty Shipyards for the United Shipbuilding Company, Alexander Buzakov, died on Christmas Eve, according to Russian state-run news agency Tass.
No cause of death has been reported but the news agency called the passing an "untimely" and tragic incident.
United Shipbuilding released a statement confirming his death.
It read: "The United Shipbuilding Corporation, the Admiralty Shipyards, and the entire national shipbuilding industry have suffered an irreparable loss, as Alexander Sergeevich Buzakov, Director General of the Admiralty Shipyards, passed away at the age of 66.
"He shouldered responsibility for the most complex orders and dealt well with each of them with dignity, thus earning a great reputation both in the industry and with the county's leadership."
Admiralty Shipyards is based in the western port of St. Petersburg and specializes in building non-nuclear submarines.
Pavel Antov
The 65-year-old sausage tycoon and businessman Pavel Antov died on Christmas Day in India, only two days after one of the people he was traveling with died.
Vladimir Budanov, who was traveling with Antov, died after suffering from an apparent stroke.
Superintendent Vivekananda Sharma of the Odisha state police said that Antov "was depressed after [Budanov's] death and he too died."
According to a TASS report, the Russian consul in Kolkat (formerly Calcutta) Alexei Idamkin said the police did not see a "criminal element" in these two events.
Alexei Maslov
General Alexei Maslov, 70, who was a former Russian army commander, also died on Christmas Day in Moscow, according to the New York Post report citing a Telegram message from the Uralvagonzavod military corporation, for which he was a special representative. The company specializes in producing battle tanks.
He reportedly died in a military hospital. Some reports have indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to visit the tank manufacturing plant in the city of Nizhny Tagil, located east of Moscow, but abruptly canceled. Newsweek could not verify this.
Reports have not yet explained how Maslov died.
Maslov was commander-in-chief of Russian ground forces from 2004 to 2008, the year he became Russia's chief military representative to NATO.
Vladimir Nesterov
The Russian news agency Tass said on Wednesday that Vladimir Evgenievich Nesterov, the former general director of the Khrunichev Center, a Moscow-based manufacturer of spacecraft and space-launch systems, died at age 73. However, the date and manner of his death were not disclosed.
Tass said that the press service of the Khrunichev Center announced his death.
"We confirm the information about the death of Vladimir Evgenievich," the press service said.
Newsweek has contacted Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
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