A number of prominent members of the Russian elite have died while seeking alternative methods to cure their ailments as the country sees a surge in interest in spirituality and mysticism during President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
In the 17 months since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there have been multiple deaths among Russia's wealthiest. In at least two prominent cases, members of the elite have died from xenon inhalation therapy.
Xenon is a non-toxic gas notable for its sedative and analgesic properties, and has been used by those with anxiety disorders and depression. It hasn't been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but is popular in Russia.
On July 22, Russian technology entrepreneur Anton Cherepennikov, 40, was found dead at his office in Moscow after allegedly overdosing on "medical gas". He was head of the country's largest IT company, ICS Holding, and had links to Russia's security services.
The preliminary cause of Cherepennikov's death was cardiac arrest, according to Russian media outlets. However, a law-enforcement source told Russian channel RTVI that he overdosed on medical gas, which he took "for medicinal purposes." The cause of Cherepennikov's death is still under investigation, and Newsweek was unable to verify the source's claims.
A year earlier, in July 2022, Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta reported that Dmitry Konoplev, one of Putin's top weapons designers, died while undergoing xenon inhalation therapy.
"Dmitry Konoplev died during an oxygen mask procedure – he breathed xenon to cure a headache and an anxiety disorder. Doctors still cannot establish the cause of death," Russian Telegram channel Mash reported at the time.
Russian weekly tabloid newspaper Express Gazeta cited former editor-in-chief of Tatler Russia, Arian Romanovsky, as saying that domestic stars and businessmen have become infatuated with this "unusual technique that relieves stress and anxiety." It said that one session of xenon inhalation therapy can cost up to 60,000 rubles ($663).
A handful of other top industry tycoons have died under unusual circumstances. The death toll includes the billionaire former top manager of Russian oil producer Lukoil, Alexander Subbotin. He was found dead in May 2022 in a shaman's home in Mytishchi, a city 12 miles northeast of Moscow.
Subbotin died of heart failure, reportedly after seeking alternative treatment. He allegedly went to a shaman's home in a state of severe alcoholic and drug intoxication a day before his death, a source told Russia's state-run news agency Tass.
Subbotin's body was found in a basement room used for Jamaican voodoo rituals, Tass reported. Some local news outlets said Subbotin went to the shaman for a hangover cure involving toad poison, although these claims have not been substantiated.
Another Russian businessman, Dmitry Zhulin, founder of the online shop SberMarket, was hospitalized after self-medicating with an immune stimulating agent based on human placenta, Russian Telegram channels 112 and Baza reported.
The daily Russian newspaper Kommersant said there has been a surge in demand for topics linked to mysticism in the media this year. The popularity of such content has been growing since 2022, when Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Such projects are more popular precisely at a time when citizens are looking for ways to escape from reality," a Kommersant source said.
The Russian president himself is reported to have an interest in the pseudosciences and the occult. Investigative journalists reported in April 2022 that Putin is accompanied on trips by multiple doctors. He is interested in alternative medicine, including bathing in the extracts of deer antlers.
Newsweek contacted Russia's foreign ministry via email for comment.
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