7 Facts About Russian Lawmaker Killed in Ukraine

Former Russian Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov was killed in the center of Kyiv, not far from Premier Palace Hotel, on the 23d March. He emigrated from Russia and received Ukrainian citizenship in late 2016. He testified in the high treason case against former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych at the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine.

Hromadske has gathered together several important facts about Denis Voronenkov.

1

Denis Voronenkov was elected to the Russian Duma as a deputy for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in 2011. Only 1 Russian MP in the Russian Duma, Ilya Ponomarev, voted against Crimea joining Russia. In interviews, Voronenkov said that he had not taken part in that vote and that somebody else had voted with his card.

2

In 2014, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a case against Voronenkov. He was accused of the seizure of a building in Moscow worth 5 million dollars.

Voronenkov was elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in 2011.

Photo: Оleksandr Synytsya/UNIAN

3

Denis Voronenkov was married to opera singer, a soloist at the Mariinsky Theater, Maria Maksakova. She is also a former MP of the Russian Duma, but for the United Russia Party. In February 2017, after emigration to Ukraine, Maksakova was expelled from the party for having "dual citizenship". As well as Russian, she also had German citizenship. Their son, Ivan, was born in April 2016.

4

In July 2016, Denis Voronenkov went to the FSB and to the Ministry of Communications of Russia with a request to ban the mobile game Pokemon Go in Russia, as he suspected that players of the game could unknowingly be taking part in acts of terrorism and espionage.

5

In 2015, Denis Voronenkov said that was being harassed because of his involvement in "Three Whales" shopping mall case, which involved the smuggling of furniture. According to Voronenkov, there had even been attempts on his life as a result of his involvement in this case.

However, the participants of "Three Whales" case argue that Voronenkov had nothing to do with the investigation and that allegations of his attempted murder were questionable.

The former deputy Denis Voronenkov (left) with his wife, the opera singer and fellow former deputy, Maria Maksakova during a screening of the film ‘Nemtsov’, by director Volodymyr Kara-Murza in Kyiv, 27th February 2017.

Photo: Оleksandr Synytsya/UNIAN

6

Former Russian deputy also mentioned his participation in the war in Afghanistan. However, he had not reached conscription age by the time the Soviet army withdrew in 1989.

7

Denis Voronenkov failed to be elected to the Russian Duma in September 2016. In October 2016, he fled with his family to Ukraine. 2 months later he received Ukrainian citizenship. Accelerated procedure was justified by the testimony given by former Russian deputy on written request for military assistance to "restore order" in Ukraine of Viktor Yanukovych to the president of Russia.

"Voronenkov was guarded by one of the intelligence agencies​ of Ukraine. It’s true that he testified in the high treason case against former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. His murder, although may it sound cynical, proves that we were on the right track, we struck into the heart of the Kremlin", said the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko, at a recent briefing.