A prominent critic of Vladimir Putin was discovered dead under suspicious circumstances in Turkey, where he had been living in exile.
Abakar Abakarov, aged 49, was wanted by Russian authorities for allegedly fueling anti-Kremlin uprisings in Dagestan, a volatile region. The Russian regime, led by Putin, had previously accused Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies of provoking unrest in Russia in 2023. Abakarov, the operator of the anti-Kremlin Telegram channel Morning Dagestan, was connected to these allegations. Fleeing to Turkey, he reportedly lived incognito to evade Russian threats.
The body of the Putin critic was found at a rented residence in Istanbul by a cleaner. According to a Russian source affiliated with the country’s security service, he had suffered multiple stab wounds.
Abakarov had been missing for more than a week before his lifeless body was discovered. Although Turkish authorities initiated an inquiry, they have refrained from issuing any statements regarding the incident.
In October 2023, violent unrest erupted at Makhachkala airport in Dagestan, with an anti-Semitic mob vowing to target and harm Jewish individuals as a plane from Tel-Aviv landed.
Over 20 casualties, including nine police officers, were reported during the clashes. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) was pursuing Abakarov for his alleged involvement in the turmoil and his anti-Putin activism.
Reacting to the events in Makhachkala, Putin declared that the disturbances were instigated, in part, via social media platforms, with support from Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies. Abakarov was known to be aligned with ex-Russian MP Ilya Ponomarev, now a Ukrainian citizen, who also faced accusations from Moscow in connection with the unrest.
Coincidentally, in the same timeframe, French authorities apprehended a suspected assassination team allegedly targeting Vladimir Osechkin, a 44-year-old exiled human rights advocate who had exposed abuses