Former Moscow Aviation Institute head Gerashchenko dies in fall

Adviser to the rector of the Moscow Aviation Institute, Anatoly Gerashchenko, died after falling down a flight of stairs at the institute on Wednesday, according to Russian reports.

Gerashchenko served as the rector of the institute from 2007-2015 and worked at the institute for 45 years. The former rector wrote over 100 scientific papers and articles and owned one patent. He has also received the medal of the Order of Honour, the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class, and the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd class.

The Moscow Aviation Institute opened a commission to investigate his death.

The Moskovskij Komsomolets newspaper reported that Gerashchenko was visiting a new building being constructed at the institute when he lost his balance and fell down the stairs.

Latest in a series of mysterious deaths in Russia

The incident comes after a series of deaths of high profile Russian nationals reported as accidents since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

A panoramic view of the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral and Zaryadye Park in Moscow, Russia, May 12, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA)

Last week, Russian energy executive Ivan Pechorin reportedly fell off a boat and died while sailing off the coast of Russky Island in the Sea of Japan.

On September 1, Ravil Maganov, 67, vice president of the Russian oil company Lukoil, died in a suspected fall from the window of a Moscow hospital – the same hospital where Vladimir Putin paid his final respects to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on August 30.