Monday, June 22, 2026 - A Russian journalist said to be an enemy of Vladimir Putin has been found dead after suffering "mushroom poisoning" in Latvia where he was living in exile after exposing his leader's secret relationship almost 20 years ago.
Grigory
Nekhoroshev, 69, was editor at a newspaper which reported the Russian leader's
plan to divorce his wife Lyudmila Putina and marry Olympic athlete Alina
Kabaeva instead in 2008.
Mr
Nekhoroshev died in Riga, the capital city of Latvia, where he had lived in
exile as a political refugee for 11 years.
According to
reports, the pensioner died at his home there after eating mushrooms which he
found in the yard of the property.
It is
believed Mr Nekhoroshev frequently foraged mushrooms but those he collected
turned out to be poisonous.
Those close
to him described him as being "quite nervous’" while in Riga about a
possible attack by assassins working for Putin.
Igors
Vatoļins, another Russian journalist who saw Mr Nekhoroshev shortly before
he died, said: "Nekhoroshev was the first to reveal the name of Putin’s
common-law wife, rhythmic gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva.
"Putin
clearly did not forgive him for that."
The
newspaper, Moskovsky Korrespondent, ended up closing and secret services
interrogated Mr Nekhoroshev and issued threats before he fled.
Putin
reportedly never forgave Mr Nekhoroshev. Picture: Alamy
Putin never
publicly acknowledged his relationship with Kabaeva, now 43.
In 2023, A
Russian rocket scientists also died after mysteriously being poisoned with what
the country's media stated was from eating edible mushrooms.
Professor Vitaly Melnikov, 77, had headed the Department of
Rocket and Space Systems at RSC Energia before becoming suddenly seriously ill
days before he died.
A Moscow newspaper claimed that inedible mushrooms were the
reason for his sudden downturn in health.
Russian doctors were
unable to save Melkinov from the "severe poisoning" that he suffered
- as he battled against his fate for more than two weeks after he fell ill.
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