Vladislav Avayev, VP Gazprombank, Found Dead Alongside Wife and Daughter on 18 April 2022
Vladislav Avayev, a former Kremlin official and vice president of Gazprombank, was found dead in his penthouse apartment in Moscow on on 18 April 2022. He was 51 years old.
The bodies of Vladislav Avayev, 51, his pregnant wife Yelena, 47 and their daughter Maria,13 were found dead with gunshot wounds. Daughter Anastasia, 26, discovered the bodies inside their luxury apartment, along with a total of 13 different weapons.
Who Was Vladislav Avayev, the Former Kremlin Official Found Dead in Moscow?
Vladislav Avayev served as a deputy presidential aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin from 2008 to 2012. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing a number of important issues, including economic policy, energy policy, and relations with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Avayev was also a First Vice President of Gazprombank, Russia’s third-largest bank. Gazprombank is a major player in the Russian energy sector, and it has close ties to the Kremlin.
Avayev’s work at the Kremlin and Gazprombank gave him access to sensitive information and made him a powerful figure in Russian politics and business.
Vladislav Avayev was CEO of RTK Company, a scientific research and development company, and founder of LLC Carbonics, a construction company.
Vladislav Avayev was a senior executive at Gazprombank, a Russian bank that plays a key role in Putin’s plan to impose payment for gas in rubles. This plan is a counterattack to Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
On March 31, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that all members of the European Union (EU) would need to have ruble accounts to buy Russian gas. If they did not, their contracts would be suspended. This announcement generated new concerns about the supply of Russian gas to Europe.
Under the details of the plan, foreign gas companies must apply to Gazprombank to open ruble accounts. They can then direct funds to pay for gas in their national currencies, as set out in current contracts. Gazprombank will then convert these amounts into rubles according to the exchange rate of the Moscow Stock Exchange.
This plan had been met with criticism from the EU, which has accused Russia of trying to “weaponize” its energy exports. The EU has also said that it will not be forced to pay for gas in rubles.
Vladislav Avayev’s Death: Was It Suicide, Murder, or Something Else?
Vladislav Avayev, 51, his ‘pregnant’ wife Yelena, 47, and younger daughter Maria, 13 were found dead in his elite $3.5 million apartment in Universitetsky Prospekta tree street southwest of Moscow by his 26-year-old daughter Anastasia.
Kristina, a neighbor of the family, said that she heard three gunshots and a woman screaming. Then, she heard two more gunshots, but no one else screaming. She looked out the window and thought it was fireworks, but her mother told her that it was definitely gunshots.
Theories Behind the Death of Vladislav Avayev
Investigators are investigating the 14th floor massacre, which was carried out with Avayev’s pistol, and are looking for any links to his work and personal life. They are keeping an open mind and considering all possibilities.
Yelena Had Affair With Driver And Was 5 Months Pregnant
The theory that Vladislav Avayev’s murder may have been motivated by jealousy is certainly plausible. If his wife, Yelena, was pregnant by their driver, it is possible that Avayev felt betrayed and threatened. He may have seen the driver as a threat to his family and his social status.
However, it is important to note that reports are ambiguous as to whether Yelena was actually pregnant. Some reports say that she was, while others say that she was not. It is also important to note that Avayev’s driver has not been publicly identified or charged with any crime.
Another theory is that Avayev was killed because he discovered that his wife was having an affair with the driver. This theory is also plausible, as it would explain why the driver resigned from his job. However, the reports are not clear as to whether she was pregnant.
Court Dispute Regarding Financial Matters
The fact that Vladislav and Yelena Avayeva were involved in a court dispute regarding financial matters is another potential motive for their murder.
A neighbor said that death may be linked to “sanctions”. He said sanctions and the economic recession could have affected his business. “He may have gone into debt and decided to shoot himself,”
Gazprombank Role in Kremlin’s Gas-For-Rubles Scheme.
Gazprombank is a key bank in Kremlin’s gas-for-rubles scheme.
Until March 2022, Igor Volobuev was the vice president of Gazprombank, and before that he headed the press service of Gazprom for many years
Volobuev does not believe in suicide theory of Vladislav Avaev as too many deaths of gas top managers have occurred in Russia.
Igor Volobuev worked at Gazprombank for more than six years, doing PR for industrial assets. And before that, he worked at Gazprom for 16 years, of which 9 years, in fact, he was the head of the press service.
According to him Vladislav Avaev reported to Deputy Chairman of the Board Vladimir Ryskin. Ryskin at Gazprombank is responsible for personnel and special services for the bank’s VIP clients. That is, Avaev should have had access (if he had it) to their accounts, to information about income.
Igor said that Russia’s war against Ukraine began a very long time ago, its been going on for about 20 years. He took part in these gas wars when he worked at Gazprom. The first gas war was in 2005–2006, the second in 2008–2009.
Ukraine as a reliable gas supplier has been discredited in the eyes of European consumers. Gazprom has done a lot for this. This allowed them to quite convincingly tell Europe that it is necessary to build bypass routes: Nord Stream, Turkish Stream, Nord Stream 2. To deprive Ukraine of the status of a transit state.
And Russian gas transit volumes have indeed fallen significantly. Last year, the volume of transit was only 41 billion cubic meters. For example, in 2011, the volume of transit through Ukraine was 104 billion. There were years when transit amounted to 140 billion cubic meters or more.
PR people who participated in this war then, was to show that the Ukrainian gas transportation system was in disrepair, the pipes were rotten, that reconstructing the system was too expensive and it would be easier to abandon it.
In many ways, you see, they succeeded. They reduced gas transit to this ridiculous 41 billion. The money that Ukraine receives for gas transit is now not critical at all – there is a maximum of $3 billion a year.
All this was led by Alexey Gromov, deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation. He was once Putin’s press secretary. He still stands in the same positions (adviser to the head of the OP, Mikhail Podolyak, previously stated that it is Gromov who is whipping up anti-Ukrainian hysteria from the Kremlin.
“Gromov is the main shadow cardinal who manages the information policy in the Russian Federation and the information policy of Gazprom in particular. In this regard, Gazprom was not a generator of ideas, it was an executor, and all tasks came from above. Igor received tasks from Gazprom press secretary Sergei Kupriyanov.”
What Avayev’s Death Means for Russia
The death of Vladislav Avayev, a former Kremlin official and vice president of Gazprombank, has raised many questions about the safety of the elite in Russia and the future of the Russian economy.
Avayev’s death was the latest in a string of suspicious deaths of Russian oligarchs and officials in recent months. In March, Vasily Melnikov, a billionaire businessman, and his family were found dead in their home. And in January, Sergey Protosenya, a former executive at Novatek gas company, was found dead with his wife and daughter in their villa in Spain.
The deaths of these high-profile individuals have raised concerns about the safety of the elite in Russia, and they have fueled speculation about infighting within the Kremlin. The Russian government has denied any involvement in the deaths, and it has accused the Western media of sensationalizing the stories. However, the deaths have cast a shadow over the Russian economy and have raised concerns about the country’s political stability.
