MYSTERY surrounds the death of Dan Rapoport, a nightclub tycoon and critic of Vladimir Putin who died in the United States.
Dan Rapoport, 52, reportedly left a suicide note and money attached to his dog which he released into a park in Washington D.C.
Former Russian Tatler editor Yuniya Pugacheva’s Telegram channel was the first to report Rapoport’s death on Tuesday. Pugacheva stated that the finance executive had “committed suicide in Washington DC” before sharing information about his dog and the suicide note.
Who Was Dan Rapoport?
Rapoport was born in Latvia, which was then a part of the Soviet Union, and later immigrated to the United States in 1980 with his family after being granted political asylum.His identity as “David Jewberg,” a “Pentagon analyst” and authority on relations between Ukraine and Russia who was regularly cited by the media in both countries, was revealed in 2018 by the investigative website Bellingcat.
Typical “Jewberg” tweets attacked Putin, criticized the war he started in Ukraine in 2014, and urged the US to pursue heavier sanctions against him. In reality, it was discovered that “Jewberg” was fictional, with Rapoport managing the account with help from a group of friends.
In 2017, Sergei Tkachenko, Rapoport’s business partner and co-owner of his Moscow nightclub, also died mysteriously although it was believed that he had committed himself.
In 2016, Rapoport moved to Ukraine from Washington, D.C., after selling his house there in an effort to replicate his early post-communist-revolution financial success there. Interestingly, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner shifted to the house later.
The financier was once the co-owner of cult Moscow nightclub Soho Rooms and a well-known figure during Russia’s turbulent 1990s.
He also had been involved in highlighting the alleged corruption of Vladimir Putin and had ties to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Rapoport had moved to Ukraine then married a virologist from Kyiv, who gave birth to a girl, and was seen as strongly pro-Ukrainian.
What Was Dan Rapoport Cause Of Death?
An initial report by Los Angeles-based Russian showbiz journalist Yunia Pugacheva claimed he had committed suicide after releasing his dog into a park with money and a suicide note.
His widow Alena Rapoport, however, was quoted by the Russian news agency RBC as confirming his death but denying suicide.
“To our great regret, the husband and father of our daughter is no longer with us,” she was quoted as saying.
Although she did not give details about the cause of Rapoport’s death or exact location, she did claim that an investigation was in progress. “We were due to meet, he had appointments and plans,” she said.
She did not specify the cause or place of death but said an investigation was underway, though that has not been confirmed.
“We were due to meet, he had appointments and plans,” she said, denying suicide.
“Dan evacuated us from Kyiv and returned there to help my country. Next we were supposed to meet in the USA.”
She also disputed an earlier account from the Russian journalist saying the couple had split and Rappaport had been in London “in the company of young girls”.
“There were no notes, no suicide, no trip to London, no split,” Alena said.
Russian showbiz Telegram channel Tatler’s Heroine also disputed suicide as a likely cause of death.
Rapoport was reported to have left Russia due to his support for Navalny, Putin’s leading critic who is now serving a long term jail sentence and is described in the West as a political prisoner.
He had sold his Washington D.C home and gone to live in Ukraine in 2016 in a bid to repeat his financial success in Moscow soon after the collapse of communism.
The house which then became the home of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Independent investigative reporting website Bellingcat revealed Rapoport was behind a fictitious Pentagon lieutenant colonel called David Jewberg, who was actively promoted by the Russian opposition.
Jewberg appeared to be a staunch and knowledgeable critic of the Putin regime, and its use of online trolls, and the silencing of critics.
Read also – Obituary: Who Was Fresh Ego Kid Aka Marvin Morgan? Cause Of Death, Age, Wife and Net Worth Revealed