Putin's Critic And Popular Actor Devotchenko Found Dead In Moscow

Alexei Devotchenko, a well-known Russian actor and a bitter critic of Russian President Putin, has been found dead in suspicious circumstances at his residence in Moscow.

The Telegraph reported that a law enforcement source said it suspected the 49-year-old actor's death has a criminal character. Devotchenko was a popular actor in many television serials such as "Bandit Petersburg" and "The Street of Broken Lamps." He was also active with the highly regarded Moscow Art Theatre. But above all, Devotchenko was an outspoken critic of the rule of Vladimir Putin. This angle is likely to provoke more scrutiny on how and why he died.

Police Version

Some news reports also said, Devotchenko was actually found in a pool of blood outside his home and was discovered by one of his friends. A few other reports said that he was found dead inside the apartment. The police said they were studying the scene but refused to confirm whether the actor had been murdered or not.

A report in The Independent, quoted a police source, which said that the actor might have died after injuring himself when he was drunk. A source in the State Investigative Committee told Interfax that there were no marks of violence on Devotchenko's body. They also think that the actor might have died by striking his head in a drunken stupor. A pro-Kremlin website, LifeNews, claimed that the actor cut his hand and fell down then and hit his head and suffered huge blood loss. It pointed to some empty whisky bottles and a drug Phenazepam used for epilepsy treatment were discovered near his body.

Controversial

In 2011, the actor created a ruckus when he said he wanted to renounce two state acting awards "received from Putin's hands", saying that made him "ashamed". He had said in his blog, "I've had enough of all this tsar-state stuff with its lies, cover-ups, legalised theft, bribe-taking and its other triumphs." Last year, Devotchenko urged fellow actors and musicians to boycott Russia's "ultra-patriotic, chauvinistic, anti-Semitic, pro-Stalinist feature films and TV projects and documentaries."

Devotchenkp also urged other actors not to talk to the "lying state media" or attend Kremlin-linked banquets. He said the money earned from such appearances, "smells of dank prison cells, neglected hospitals and homeless shelters, of the acrid smoke of burnt-out architectural monuments and historical buildings and night clubs and homes for the elderly," he said.

The actor was fiercely critical of Russia for its intervention in Ukraine. In March this year, he along with many Russian cinema professionals shot off an open letter, condemning Russian military acts in Ukraine. Devotchenko was also active in many anti-Kremlin street protests as a member of the United Civil Front rights group.