Mikhail Lesin | |
|---|---|
Михаил Лесин | |
 Lesin (left) with Vladimir Putin, 2002 | |
| Minister of Press and Mass Media | |
| In office 6 July 1999 – 9 March 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Vladimir Putin Mikhail Kasyanov |
| Preceded by | Ivan Laptev (as head of the Committee for Mass Media) |
| Succeeded by | Mikhail Seslavinsky (as head of the Federal Agency for Mass Media) |
| Head of the Presidential Office for Public Relations | |
| In office 14 September 1996 – 10 March 1997 | |
| President | Boris Yeltsin |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Mikhail Margelov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 July 1958 Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 5 November 2015 (aged 57) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Resting place | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Mikhail Yuryevich Lesin (Russian: Михаил Юрьевич Лесин; 11 July 1958 – 5 November 2015) was a Russian political figure, media executive and advisor to president Vladimir Putin.[1] In 2006, he was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", one of Russia's highest state decorations for civilians. Lesin was nicknamed the Bulldozer (Russian: Бульдозер) because of his ability to get virtually all Russian media outlets under the Kremlin's control, and for being combative in person.[2][3]
Lesin died in a Washington, D.C., hotel room under unusual circumstances. His family initially said the cause of death was a heart attack, but after a year-long investigation Washington's chief medical examiner and federal authorities released a joint statement saying Lesin died of blunt-force trauma to his head, induced by falls amid acute ethanol intoxication.[4][5] A leaked report by Christopher Steele for the FBI said Lesin was bludgeoned to death by men working for an oligarch close to Putin.
- ^ "Mikhail Yuriyevich Lesin". Lenta.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ Pete Williams (28 October 2016). "Death of 'The Bulldozer', Former Putin Aide, in U.S. Declared Accidental". NBC News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Mikhail Khodorkovsky (14 March 2016). "The Bulldozer". khodorkovsky.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ Fandos, Nicholas; Myers, Steven Lee (10 March 2016). "Mystery Deepens Over the Death of a Former Putin Ally". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ Robbie Gramer (28 October 2016). "Prosecutor: Putin's Former Press Secretary Died in D.C. Hotel Because He Was Drunk". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016 – via Yahoo! News.