Death by defenestration: only in Russia?

Thanks for the question. Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. 

The word comes from the Neo-Latin de- (down from) and fenestra (window or opening).[ According to Tim Zadorozhnyy, writing in the Kyiv Independent, defenestration is Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's favourite method of getting rid of his opponents.

The latest example cited by Mr Zadorozhnyy is the unexplained death, just today, of a top Russian oil executive. Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft, Russia's largest state-controlled pipeline transport company, died after falling from the window of his apartment in Moscow. TASS, the Russian state news agency, citing law enforcement sources, claimed the preliminary cause of death was suicide. 

Unlike in the US of A, where such things never happen, this is common in Russia. While Russian authorities often label these falls as suicides or accidents, others suggest something more deliberate may be at play. Ivan Stupak, a Ukrainian military analyst and former security service officer, told the newspaper it's likely that Russia's own security services are behind many such deaths. 

"They can pressure a person in one way or another," Mr Stupak said. "It's a well-known tactic — either you kill yourself, and your family is left in peace with what they have, or they start arrests, imprisonments, and leave everyone destitute." 

Since early 2022, dozens of Russian businessmen, state officials, and industry leaders have died under questionable circumstances. While many of these cases have officially been labeled as suicides, others involve alleged murder-suicides, mysterious accidents, or unexplained falls. Here are other examples.

In April 2022, Vladislav Avayev, vice president of Gazprombank, one of Russia's largest banks, was found dead in Moscow alongside his wife and daughter. Preliminary findings claimed Mr Avaev shot them before turning the gun on himself.

Just days later, former Novatek gas producer executive Sergei Protosenya, his wife, and daughter were discovered dead at a villa in Spain. Spanish media reported that Mr Protosenya allegedly killed his family and then hanged himself, but the case has not been closed.

Mr Stupak suggested that not all of the deaths are politically motivated. Some may stem from internal business rivalries. "Apart from business disputes, it could also be a case of unpaid debts, borrowed money, or even embezzlement," he said. The most striking pattern is the recurrence of deaths caused by "falling out of a window." Since the "suicides" mentioned above, at least seven similar incidents have been reported. 

In September 2022, Ravil Maganov, chairman of Russia's second-largest oil firm Lukoil, died after falling from a hospital window in Moscow. While Lukoil's official obituary cited a "serious illness," state media later reported he had allegedly committed suicide.

That same year, United Russia lawmaker Pavel Antonov was found dead at a hotel in India, lying in a pool of blood beneath his window. Indian police said Mr Antonov fell from the third floor, and local media reported that he had been "depressed" over the recent death of a friend, who had died in the same hotel days earlier. 

Most recently, on 6 February 2025, Russian singer-songwriter Vadim Stroykin died during a raid by Russian security forces. OVD-Info, a human rights group, reported that Mr Stroykin fell out of a 10th-floor window of his St. Petersburg apartment while officers were conducting a search linked to his alleged donation to Ukraine's Armed Forces. Russian media called the death a suicide. 

Then there's the example of Valery Prigozhin, who went from being Putin's chef to "rebel-in-chief". "Look at what happened with [him]," said Mr Stupak. "He could've been poisoned somewhere in Africa, and they could have easily blamed it on spoiled bananas. But they chose a demonstrative, public execution."

Mr Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner Group, died along with other Wagner leaders in a suspicious plane crash inside Russia in 2023. The crash came two months after Prigozhin led a brief rebellion against the Kremlin. 

"So, this could be a warning to others," Mr Stupak added, "showing what happens if you don't pay your debts, refuse to hand over business shares, or go against Putin.... This shows just how ruthless the regime can be," he added. "Either you mysteriously die, or you end up behind bars.... Those who refuse to cooperate," he said, "end up either in prison or out the window."

Why this is relevant to Americans. By extension, the term "defenestration" is used to describe any forcible or summary removal of an adversary. Can you think of any American politician who, if she couldn't best an opponent by legitimate means would resort to having them killed? Can ya? Huh?

Step foward Hellery Clinton, presidential wannabe and poster-child for overweening ambition. So many people believed that she would stop at nothing to eliminate her rivals that "The Clinton Body Count" gets its own entry in Wikipedia.

The libtards of Wiki call it a conspiracy theory, of course, centred on the belief Mr and Mrs Slick Willy secretly had their political opponents murdered. 50 or more people who crossed the Clintons -- the Wiki lists their names -- died in tragic accidents or by suicide. Like that of Jeffrey Epstein.

Such allegations have been circulated since at least 1994, when a film called The Clinton Chronicles  accused Bill Clinton of multiple crimes, including murder. Additional promulgators of the theory include Christopher Ruddy, Marjorie Taylor Greene and the current POTUS. 

According to the Congressional Record (1994), Linda Thompson, the compiler of the original list, "admitted she had 'no direct evidence' of Clinton killing anyone. Indeed, she claimed the deaths were probably caused by 'people trying to control the president' but refused to say who they were. M Thompson died in St. Petersburg FL on 10 May 2009, after overdosing on medication posted to her by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Further reading: "The murder of Sergei Magnitsky explains why Putin invaded Ukraine and why he MUST be stopped!" WWW 7/2/24 and "RIP Alexei Navalny, died today from APD" WWW 16/2/24,