Vadim Stroykin. Photo: VK
A Russian musician died after falling from the 10th floor window of his St. Petersburg apartment during a police search of his home, local news outlet Fontanka reported on Thursday.
Suspecting that Vadim Stroykin, 59, who ran his own guitar school in St. Petersburg, had donated money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), police officers searched his home on Wednesday, Fontanka wrote.
At some point during the search, Stroykin excused himself to get a glass of water from the kitchen, which was the last time he was last seen alive, Fontanka said. His body was found shortly afterwards lying on the ground below.
It is unclear whether Stroykin jumped or fell, but pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash described his death as a suicide, adding that his alleged donations to the AFU would have left him facing up to 20 years in prison if he was found guilty on terror charges. The Russian Investigative Committee has launched an inquiry into his death, state-affiliated news outlet RBC reported.
A native of the Russian Urals town of Snezhinsk, Stroykin worked as a radio presenter for the Yekaterinburg affiliate of independent radio station Ekho Moskvy, before relocating to St. Petersburg 10 years ago where he made a living teaching the guitar.
While often vague in his posts on social media, Stroykin was nevertheless critical of the war in Ukraine and the actions of the Russian government, having posted the word “bastards” on Russia’s most popular social media site VK on the day of opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s sudden death in prison.
