Tragic Death of Russian Bank VP: Kristina Baikova Plunges from Moscow Apartment, Adding to a Disturbing Trend
Mysterious and fatal falls continue to haunt Russia as reports emerge of the 28-year-old Vice President of Loko-Bank, Kristina Baikova, plunging to her death from her 11th-floor Moscow apartment window on June 23. Pronounced dead at the scene, Baikova’s tragic incident adds to a series of suspicious fatal falls in the country, according to the Baza Telegram channel.
Accompanying Baikova during the incident was a 34-year-old male friend named Andrei, as reported by Baza. Andrei stated that Baikova had invited him to her Khodynsky Boulevard apartment for drinks, and while she briefly stepped onto her balcony, she tragically fell to the ground below.
This unsettling occurrence follows a pattern of Russian executives meeting a similar fate by falling from building windows. The Daily Mail reported on the case of Dan Rapoport, a well-known critic of President Vladimir Putin who was exiled from Russia. Rapoport was found dead after falling from his luxury apartment building in Washington, D.C., last August, with some speculating it as a suicide—claims that his wife vehemently disputed. In another instance, Ravil Maganov, the chair of Russian oil giant Lukoil, fell from a sixth-floor hospital window in Moscow and tragically passed away. Prior to his death, Lukoil had openly criticized Putin’s policies and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as reported by Euro Weekly News.
Moreover, in December, Grigory Kochenov, the creative director of an IT company, fell from his apartment balcony, resulting in his death while Russian authorities searched his residence. The same month witnessed a series of tragic incidents: a Russian sausage tycoon fell to his death from a hotel window in India, merely two days after his Russian companion met a similar fate in the same hotel, and a Russian real estate tycoon experienced a fatal fall down a flight of stairs while on the French Riviera. Just earlier this month, federal judge Artyom Bartenev fell 12 stories from his apartment building and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Atlantic reported that in 2022 alone, around two dozen Russian officials and oligarchs died under mysterious circumstances, dubbing the phenomenon “Sudden Russian Death Syndrome.” The investigation into Kristina Baikova’s death is currently underway, adding to the disturbing pattern of unexplained fatal falls in Russia.
