A Russian general who cracked down on anti-war protesters, journalists and opposition activists has reportedly committed suicide a month after Vladimir Putin fired him from his position, according to local police. 72-year-old Major General Vladimir Makarov played a crucial role in organising the “hunt” for individuals the Kremlin viewed as a threat in his role as deputy chief of the Russian police’s anti-extremism unit. Makarov allegedly shot himself in the head at his home using a gas-operated hunting rifle, according to unnamed sources linked to Russia security forces and quoted by the Baza Telegram channel.
He was reportedly forced to retire as deputy head of the Main Directorate for Combating Extremism, a department established in 2008 that persecutes protesters and monitors opposition sentiment on social media.
Makarov’s wife found his body with gunshot wounds to the head on Monday morning outside their suburban home in Golikovo, northwest of Moscow, according to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, whose editor is close to Putin.
The daily newspaper reported: “The nature of the injuries suggested that he committed suicide. It is known that firearms were kept in the house.”
His alleged suicide follows a slew of similar deaths viewed to be suicides among senior Russian security figures.
Lev Sotskov, a former major general from the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and Yevgeny Lobachev, a retired major general from the Federal Security Service (FSB), were reportedly found dead in separate incidents last summer in what were believed to be suicides.
Relatives said Makarov became sad a month ago after quitting his work and “could not find a use for himself in civilian life,” according to the independent Telegram channel VChK-OGPU.
Makarov is said to have worked at financial institutions in Moscow, including the Academy of Economic Security before moving on to the Department for Combating Organized Crime at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also known as ‘Centre E’.
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