MOSCOW, Russia – The deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper favored by Russian President Vladimir Putin has been found dead in her Moscow home, adding to a series of mysterious deaths in Russia. Anna Tsareva, 35, was discovered at her residence nearly a year after the death of her boss Vladimir Sungorkin, 68.
Tsareva worked as the deputy editor-in-chief at Komsomolskaya Pravda, the newspaper known for its pro-Putin stance. Police have opened an investigation into her death, while initial reports suggest there was no indication of a break-in to her apartment. Although Tsareva had developed an unspecified acute respiratory viral infection and suffered from a high fever for several days, it is now suspected that she died of acute heart failure.
Tsareva was responsible for managing the content on Komsomolskaya Pravda’s website, including stories about Putin’s war against Ukraine. The newspaper boasts the largest readership in Russia, with 83.9 million readers in October 2023, and Tsareva had held her position as deputy editor-in-chief for six years.
Her boss, Vladimir Sungorkin, the editor-in-chief and director general of Komsomolskaya Pravda, died of a heart attack in September 2022 during a business trip after showing signs of suffocation. His death, along with dozens of other untimely or mysterious deaths since the start of Putin’s war, has been considered suspicious.
Sungorkin had been sanctioned by the West over the war, and he was branded by the European Commission as “one of the main actors in foreign information manipulation and interference activities or propagandists who often speaks out on Ukraine, creating misinformation and manipulating facts.” The newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda has been described by Putin as his favorite newspaper, and the editor was held responsible for supporting actions and policies undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine.
Tsareva previously worked as deputy editor at Echo Moscow radio station and had a stint at the state news agency TASS. Her sudden and mysterious death has added to the list of shocking losses in Russia, raising concerns and suspicion surrounding these incidents.