Russian President Vladimir Putin has a connection with 38 prominent Russians whose deaths since 2014 are unsolved or remain suspicious, according to a list collected by USA Today and British journalist Sarah Hurst.
An exclusive report Tuesday by USA Today, said the deaths include 10 prominent critics of the Russian president, seven diplomats, six associates of Kremlin power brokers who fell out of favor, and 13 political or military leaders connected with the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The newspaper said two of the dead were possibly connected to a dossier that alleged connections between President Trump's campaign staff and Kremlin officials, which was eventually produced by a former British spy and shared with the FBI.
"We've seen political opposition leaders and activists, whistle-blowers, anti-corruption campaigners and independent journalists lose their lives in one way or another," Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian political activist, told USA Today.
"Sometimes these are suspicious suicides and plane crashes, really rare and horrible diseases. In many others they are straight murders," Kara-Murza added. He worked for Boris Nemstov, a Putin opponent who was shot to death in Moscow in 2012, per USA Today.
Putin, who began his career as a KGB intelligence officer in 1975, joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration in 1998, History.com noted. He became prime minister in 1999 before becoming president. Putin was appointed Russian prime minister again in 2008, and re-elected as president in 2012.
President Donald Trump called Putin a "strong leader" during last year's presidential campaign but the relationship appeared to take a hit over Syria last month, CNN reported. Opponents to the Syrian government were allegedly attacked by chemicals, which was followed by a U.S. airstrike into the country in response.
Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad continues to be a Putin ally, reported CNN.
Separate investigations by the FBI and Congress are looking into contacts between Kremlin officials and Trump's campaign advisers, as part of a larger investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, USA Today wrote.
Kara-Murza, who claimed he had survived two poisoning attempts, told Congress that it should block investment from some rich Russians who have been alleged to have stolen from the country's wealth.
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