Former Rosimushchestvo official Boris Avakyan found dead
Former deputy head of the St. Petersburg branch of Rosreestr, Boris Avakyan, who fled from court yesterday and sought refuge in the Armenian consulate in St. Petersburg, was found dead in the diplomatic mission’s restroom.
According to media sources, Avakyan committed suicide. Baza claimed the ex-official cut his veins, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Mash noted that Avakyan last made contact at 02:30 Moscow time when he discussed his defense strategy with his lawyer. The lawyer told the outlet that his client’s voice did not sound depressed.
After the call, Avakyan locked himself in the consulate’s restroom and refused to come out despite requests from consulate staff. When he stopped responding, the door had to be forced open, 47news reported. According to the outlet, Russian investigators and police have not yet entered the Armenian consulate — permission from the consul is required.
In connection with the incident, the diplomatic mission suspended work until September 25.
A day earlier, on September 23, during a break in a hearing at the Kronstadt District Court of St. Petersburg, Avakyan asked his guards for a smoke break and escaped, hiding in the Armenian consulate on Vasilievsky Island.
Avakyan was detained in September in a case involving the non-payment of more than 4.2 billion rubles in customs duties (Part 4, Article 194 of the Russian Criminal Code). The case, initiated back in 2016, concerned the import of household goods into Russia in 2014–2015 under the guise of cheaper construction materials.
In 2016, the former official was placed under house arrest as a preventive measure. He violated restrictions and fled to Armenia, from where he complained to Russian investigators about unjustified prosecution. In 2018, Avakyan applied to renounce Russian citizenship.
After that, he held several posts in the then-unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh. His last position there was deputy head of the State Emergency Service of the Karabakh Interior Ministry until April 2021. Later that year, he was detained again in Russia.
In August 2025, Avakyan sought to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to take part in the war against Ukraine, which led to his case being closed. On September 23, however, a motion was filed in court to reopen the case following the termination of that contract.
Boris Avakyan was previously head of a customs brokerage company at the St. Petersburg Commercial Port. Since 2010, he served as deputy head of Rosimushchestvo’s regional office in Leningrad Oblast. In 2014, he became deputy state inspector of St. Petersburg for land use and protection, and later deputy head of the state land supervision department.
Similar news
