Former director of Soviet-era newspaper found dead in Moscow

Vyacheslav Leontyev, a former director of the Soviet-era newspaper Pravda’s publishing house, has died in Moscow in what authorities believe was a suicide, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS. His death adds to a growing list of apparent suicides and deaths among Russian officials and public figures in recent years.

Leontyev, 87, was found dead outside his apartment building on Molodogvardeyskaya Street, TASS reported on Monday, citing emergency services. Authorities said he appeared to have fallen from the sixth floor, and there were no signs of foul play.

A source told TASS that he may have taken his own life following a “nervous breakdown.”

Leontyev joined Pravda Publishing House in 1971 as deputy head of production and became director in 1984, leading the organization until it was later restructured as the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Press.

Pravda, which means “Truth” in Russian, was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and one of the country’s most influential outlets during the Soviet era.

After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the publication lost much of its political influence but continues to exist in a limited form.

Leontyev’s death follows a pattern of recent cases involving high-ranking Russian officials and executives found dead under circumstances officially described as suicides.

In July, former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead from a gunshot wound in his car just hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, and another transport official, Andrey Korneichuk, died the same day at his workplace.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, multiple Russian officials and business leaders have died in what authorities often describe as suicides, though several of the cases have raised questions about possible foul play.