Russian media executive Andrei Shmarov, whose short stint as editor-in-chief of the business daily Vedomosti was marred by censorship scandals, has died at the age of 69, the newspaper said Wednesday, citing a family friend.
Vedomosti did not name the cause of Shmarov’s death, but anonymously run Telegram news channels with links to Russia’s law enforcement agencies claimed he had been hospitalized in Moscow after suffering a stroke and having his ribs fractured.
Shmarov died in intensive care on Tuesday evening, according to the Mash Telegram channel, which did not cite its sources.
Shmarov’s appointment in May 2020 as Vedomosti’s editor-in-chief prompted an exodus of senior editors and journalists from the once-respected business newspaper.
Former employees had claimed Shmarov’s appointment was political and accused him of blocking negative coverage of President Vladimir Putin and the state-controlled oil giant Rosneft.
A joint investigative report by Vedomosti, Forbes Russia, Meduza and The Bell alleged that Rosneft had assumed de-facto financial control of Vedomosti in 2020 and played a key role in Shmarov’s appointment.
Shmarov began his career as an economist at a research institute that was part of the Soviet economic planning agency Gosplan. He joined Vedomosti’s rival business newspaper Kommersant in 1992.
Later, along with former colleagues, he founded the Kremlin-linked business magazine Expert. Shmarov also served as CEO of the magazine Snob between 2007 and 2012.