Boris Berezovsky

Russian oligarch, mathematician, and one of Vladimir Putin's most vocal critics, found dead in his locked bathroom on March 23, 2013, with a ligature around his neck. The coroner recorded an open verdict — explicitly stating he could not determine whether it was suicide or murder. A German pathologist specializing in hanging and asphyxiation testified at the inquest that the evidence was consistent with strangulation by a third party, not self-suspension.

Field	Details
Full Name	Boris Abramovich Berezovsky
Born	January 23, 1946
Died	March 23, 2013
Age at Death	67
Location of Death	Ascot, Berkshire, UK
Cause of Death	Consistent with hanging (ligature around neck)
Official Ruling	Open verdict (coroner could not determine suicide or murder)
Alleged Intelligence Connection	FSB / Russian state
Category	Banker / Financier / Dissident

Assessment: SUSPICIOUS

The coroner explicitly stated: "I am not saying Mr Berezovsky took his own life, I am not saying Mr Berezovsky was unlawfully killed." The open verdict reflected the impossibility of determining the manner of death from the available evidence. Crucially, Professor Bernd Brinkmann, a German forensic pathologist from the University of Munster and a leading expert on hanging and asphyxiation, testified at the inquest that the marks on Berezovsky's neck were not consistent with hanging by suspension but were consistent with strangulation by a third party — stating "the strangulation mark is completely different to the strangulation mark in hanging." BuzzFeed News reported that U.S. intelligence agencies suspected 14 deaths of Russians in Britain were linked to Russian assassins — Berezovsky's was among them. His close friend Alexander Litvinenko had been assassinated by FSB agents with polonium in 2006, and another associate, Nikolai Glushkov, was murdered by strangulation in London in 2018.

Circumstances of Death

On March 23, 2013, Berezovsky's bodyguard Avi Navama found him dead in a locked bathroom at his ex-wife Galina Besharova's home in Ascot, Berkshire, where he had been living. A ligature — reportedly a cashmere scarf — was around his neck, with the other end attached to a shower rail. The bathroom door was locked from the inside. There was no suicide note.

Specialists in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials were deployed to the home as a precaution, given the precedent of Litvinenko's polonium poisoning in 2006. They reportedly found "nothing of concern." Thames Valley Police launched an investigation.

A Home Office pathologist conducted the post-mortem examination and found the cause of death was "consistent with hanging," reporting no indication of a violent struggle and "no suggestion of a violent struggle involving a third party."

However, at the inquest in March 2014, Professor Bernd Brinkmann — an internationally recognized expert on hanging and asphyxiation cases from the University of Munster in Germany — provided dramatically different testimony. Brinkmann submitted a report suggesting that Berezovsky had been murdered by one or more assailants and then suspended by his scarf from the shower rail to simulate suicide. He testified that the marks on Berezovsky's neck were "completely different" from those caused by hanging through suspension, and were instead consistent with strangulation by a third party. The coroner, Peter Bedford, noted that Brinkmann was not independent (he had been hired by Berezovsky's family), had not personally examined the body, and dismissed parts of his scenario — particularly the suggestion that multiple assailants could have attacked Berezovsky "without any reaction" in an open area of the house, suspended the body, and left undetected — as "stretching credibility too far." Nevertheless, Bedford stated that after hearing testimony from such an eminent expert witness, he could not conclude that Berezovsky had taken his own life, and recorded an open verdict.

Background

Boris Berezovsky was born on January 23, 1946, in Moscow. He earned a doctorate in mathematics and worked as a systems analyst at the Russian Academy of Sciences before entering business during the perestroika era. During the chaotic 1990s privatization of Soviet state assets, Berezovsky amassed enormous wealth, becoming one of Russia's original oligarchs. He controlled significant interests in the Russian auto industry (AvtoVAZ/Lada), the national airline Aeroflot, and major media outlets including ORT (Channel One) television and the newspaper Kommersant.

Berezovsky wielded extraordinary political influence during the Yeltsin era. He reportedly played a key role in Boris Yeltsin's 1996 re-election campaign and, most consequentially, is widely credited with helping engineer Vladimir Putin's rise to the presidency in 1999-2000, identifying the little-known former KGB officer as a suitable successor to the ailing Yeltsin.

After Putin consolidated power and moved to reassert state control over media and strategic industries, Berezovsky fell out with the Kremlin. He fled to the United Kingdom in 2000, where he was granted political asylum. From London, he became one of Putin's most vocal and financially committed critics, funding Russian opposition movements, supporting exiled dissidents, and publicly calling for regime change in Russia. He reportedly funded Alexander Litvinenko's work as an MI6 consultant investigating Russian organized crime and FSB corruption.

In his final years, Berezovsky faced severe financial difficulties that supporters say were deliberately engineered by Kremlin-connected pressure. He lost a massive $6.5 billion civil lawsuit against fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich in the UK High Court in August 2012 — a devastating defeat that left him liable for tens of millions in legal costs. He went through what was described as one of Britain's largest divorce settlements. He was forced to sell off properties and art. Associates reported he was depressed, isolated, and in acute financial distress. Some friends, however, noted that despite his difficulties he was making plans for the future and had not expressed suicidal intentions.

Intelligence Connections

• His close friend and protege Alexander Litvinenko was confirmed assassinated by FSB agents using polonium-210 in London in November 2006 — a UK public inquiry concluded in 2016 that the operation was "probably approved" by Putin
• His associate Nikolai Glushkov was confirmed murdered by strangulation in his London home in March 2018, with his death staged to look like a suicide by hanging — a chilling parallel to Berezovsky's own death
• His longtime business partner Badri Patarkatsishvili died suddenly of an apparent heart attack in 2008 at age 52, under disputed circumstances
• BuzzFeed News reported in a major 2017 investigation ("From Russia with Blood") that U.S. intelligence agencies suspected Berezovsky's death was among 14 Russian-linked deaths in the UK that may have involved Russian assassins
• Berezovsky had been under both Russian and British intelligence scrutiny for years — he was a target of Russian intelligence and a source for British intelligence
• He reportedly funded Litvinenko's MI6 consulting work and hosted meetings with other Russian dissidents at his London properties
• Multiple other associates, contacts, and former business partners died under suspicious circumstances in the UK during this period

Why This Death Raises Questions

• The coroner could not determine whether it was suicide or murder — recording an open verdict
• Professor Bernd Brinkmann, an internationally recognized forensic expert, testified that the neck marks were consistent with third-party strangulation, not self-hanging
• Berezovsky was one of Putin's most prominent enemies, and multiple associates had already been killed by Russian state agents
• The locked bathroom door, while suggestive of suicide, could have been staged — the lock mechanism was not complex
• Despite financial troubles, some friends reported Berezovsky was making plans for the future
• His death came amid a documented pattern of Russian dissidents dying in the UK under suspicious circumstances
• His associate Nikolai Glushkov would later be murdered in London by strangulation staged as hanging — an almost identical modus operandi
• Thames Valley Police's investigation was relatively brief and did not resolve the central question
• No suicide note was found
• Berezovsky's daughter told the inquest that her father had expressed fears he had been poisoned in the period before his death

Key Quotes

"I am not saying Mr Berezovsky took his own life, I am not saying Mr Berezovsky was unlawfully killed. What I am saying is that the burden of proof sets such a high standard it is impossible for me to say." — Coroner Peter Bedford, March 2014

"The strangulation mark is completely different to the strangulation mark in hanging." — Professor Bernd Brinkmann, forensic pathologist, University of Munster, testifying at the inquest

"He appeared to be a shadow of his former self." — Associate, describing Berezovsky in his final months

See Also

• Alexander Litvinenko — Berezovsky's protege, assassinated by FSB with polonium in 2006
• Nikolai Glushkov — Berezovsky's close friend, murdered by strangulation in London 2018
• Alexander Perepilichnyy — Russian whistleblower who collapsed and died while jogging in Surrey, 2012
• Alexei Navalny — Opposition leader who died in Arctic prison, 2024

Other Shocking Stories

• Alexei Navalny: Survived FSB Novichok poisoning, tricked his assassin into confessing on camera, then died in an Arctic prison.
• Frank Olson: CIA scientist dosed with LSD, then fell from a hotel window. Exhumation revealed he was struck unconscious first.
• Roberto Calvi: Found hanging under London's Blackfriars Bridge with bricks in his pockets. Linked to the Vatican and P2 lodge.
• Alexander Tyulakov: Gazprom executive found hanged the morning Russia invaded Ukraine. One of eight Russian energy executives dead that year.

Sources

• Boris Berezovsky (businessman) — Wikipedia
• The Mysterious Death of Russian Oligarch Boris Berezovsky — Bloomberg
• Russian Oligarch Boris Berezovsky's Death 'Unexplained' — ABC News
• From Russia with Blood — BuzzFeed News
• Putin Foe Found Dead in UK Home — CNN
• Open verdict recorded at Boris Berezovsky inquest — ITV News
• Boris Berezovsky inquest returns open verdict — The Guardian
• Boris Berezovsky death remains unexplained — San Diego Union-Tribune / AP
• Police: Berezovsky's Death 'Consistent With Hanging' — NPR

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