Advertise on podcast: SAD OLIGARCH

Exiled Russian journalist Yevgeny Safranov is extremely stressed out. Inside his Paris apartment he paces up and down, furious that all his devices have been hacked. His phone, his government ID, his social media--everything. By who we don't know, as shortly after Safranov jumped out of his window onto the tarmac below. He died instantly. This is the official story, but there is of course something fishy going on... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listeners of Season One will likely remember Lukoil, the Russian energy conglomerate with one foot in the regime and another in international commerce. There are half a dozen mysterious deaths linked to Lukoil, and now, another two... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To understand what was truly going on at the heart of the embezzlement ring Igor Kotelnikov was part of, we must understand the conditions of the jail he was held in… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Multimillionaire businessman Igor Kotelnikov is used to the high life: fancy cars, big houses, fine dining. He’s lived a life of luxury, which is why it’s hit him so hard to be sent to a pre-trial detention centre in Moscow. These are some of the worst jails in the whole country. Will Kotelnikov survive? What do you think… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russian financier Georgy Chibisov is partying on a yacht on the Moscow River. At some point in the night he steps out for a breather. It’s the last one he’ll ever take. Georgy falls into the water and drowns. But did he really fall, or was he pushed? Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Municipal lawmaker Vitaly Kapustin is found hanged in a tall tree using a cable attached to his car. The police rule it a suicide, that is until an eyewitness makes a statement saying Kapustin’s hands were tied behind his back… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re halfway through season 2, so this episode is an interlude of sorts. As you can probably imagine, the work that goes into this project is massive. We’re fighting an uphill battle against Kremlin state media. FSB interference, and a huge Russian wall of silence. We want to share with you some of the behind the scenes struggles of the Sad Oligarch extended universe... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senior accountant Evgeny Postrigan hangs himself in the garage of his home in the closed city of Zheleznogorsk. This is a place shrouded in secrecy, where weapons grade plutonium and military satellites are produced. On the surface, Postrigan was just depressed. But we dug deeper and discovered a huge web of corruption and state embezzlement... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dead body of Alexey Sinitsyn is laid out under a bridge in Russia’s European exclave, Kaliningrad. It is missing one very vital component—the head. This local CEO has somehow ended up decapitated. A nylon tow rope is laid out near the corpse. The head is further away. When the police arrive, their initial cause of death is “suicide”… How?  Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russian rocket scientist Vitaly Melnikov has been picking wild mushrooms his whole life. Somehow though, at 77-years-old, he picks a bad one and eats it up. This kills him. His body shuts down and he's entered the eternal cosmos for real. Coincidentally, this happens just after the extremely important Kremlin Lunar 25 mission he worked on malfunctioned and crashed into the surface of the moon... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russian oligarch Roman Starovoyt is having a very bad day. He’s the Minister of Transport, a prestigious position in Putin’s regime. Well, he was the Minister of Transport. Starovoyt has just been fired for allegedly stealing money from the state. After clearing out his office, he cleared out his head with a bullet. At a glance, it's an open-and-shut case. Under scrutiny, it's anything but... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deep in the Siberian peninsula, a corrupt politician falls out of the window of his home and hits the ground hard. Eyewitnesses describe the scene, explaining how he plummeted to the concrete and died. By the time the news hits the government controlled media though, something has changed. The fall is now reported as a heart attack and the coroner declares no foul play before the body is even cold. Something doesn't add up... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since January 2022, dozens of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs and power brokers have died suddenly. One was poisoned with frog venom. Two killed their whole families. Several fell out of high windows. Most of the deaths are suspicious. Russia says they're coincidental suicides—that the deceased were simply depressed. We don't think so... Sad Oligarch is an investigative podcast series that looks into the strange deaths of the Russian elite, unravelling a dark tale of Kremlin corruption and Putin's political dictatorship across the world. This is season two—Russian oligarchs are still dying and things have gotten even weirder... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One day after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a Russian Gazprom executive hanged himself in the garage of his villa in the affluent village of Leninskoye. As police started to investigate the scene, security from Gazprom arrived and pushed them out. This was the second Gazprom executive suicide in as many months in the same village. Was work at Gazprom really that stressful, or did someone punish these wealthy higher-ups? You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On March 23rd 2022, affluent Russian businessman Vasily Melnikov was found dead alongside his family in their upscale Moscow apartment. They’d all been stabbed to death: Vasily, his wife, and their two sons aged 4 and 10 years old. The killings were brutal and tragic. In the crime scene photos one of the murder weapons can be seen. It's a Russian Special Forces combat knife...  In this episode we investigate the Melnikov family annihilation. Did Vasily kill his whole family as the Russian police claim, or is something else going on? You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.