Vitaly Robertus, vice president of Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil, was found dead of an apparent suicide in early March, state media reported at the time, becoming the fourth company executive to die suddenly in the two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
“It is with deep regret that we inform you that at the age of 54, the vice-president of the company, Robertus Vitaly Vladimirovich, suddenly died,” said a March 13th press release from Lukoil, the second-largest oil company in Russia.
At the time, Robertus’ cause of death was not disclosed, but reports by multiple Russian Telegram channels—including some linked to the Kremlin—suggested that the oil executive had hung himself in his office. His death received considerable attention within Russia at the time but did not gain international attention until well after the incident.
According to local media outlets, Robertus, who had worked for Lukoil for 30 years, was “in a sober mind and in good health” on the day of his death, but began to complain of a headache and requested medication before heading into his office.
“He didn’t leave for several hours and didn’t answer his phone,” one outlet reported. “The employees decided to go into his office and found his body.”
Vitaly Robertus, the Deputy CEO of Russia’s largest oil company Lukoil has suddenly died.
He was 53 years old.
Any guesses regarding the cause of death? pic.twitter.com/2nWh1O3x9Q
— Roman Sheremeta 🇺🇦 (@rshereme) March 14, 2024
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In March 2022, just one month after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, Lukoil’s board called for an end to the conflict. The company, which produces roughly 2 percent of the world’s crude oil, was severely impacted by American sanctions imposed on Moscow as punishment for the war.
A company statement criticizing the invasion called for “the soonest termination of the armed conflict.”
“We express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy,” the statement continued. “We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy.”
In the two years since this statement was published, four high-profile Lukoil executives have died suddenly under unconventional circumstances, with Robertus being the most recent.
In May 2022, former Lukoil manager Alexander Subbotin, 43, died of a “drug-induced heart attack” at the home of a local religious shaman. Russian media suggested that he had gone to visit the man “in a state of severe alcoholic and drug intoxication” prior to his death, and he was rumored to have been dosed with toad venom in a “Jamaican voodoo ritual.”
In September 2022, Lukoil chairman Ravil Maganov, 67, was admitted to a Moscow hospital “after a serious illness,” and then fell out of the building’s sixth-floor window. The circumstances surrounding his fall have never been explained.
In October 2023, Lukoil board chairman Vladimir Nekrasov, 66, died of “acute heart failure” at his home.
Within the same timeframe, other prominent Russian government officials and businessmen have died suddenly after criticizing the war in Ukraine, including Putin-allied sausage tycoon Pavel Antov, who fell to his death from a window in India, and Russian Senator Vladimir Lebedev, who was linked to Lukoil and died of a still-unconfirmed “unexpected tragedy.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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