Mikhail Lesin

Mikhail Yuryevich Lesin (Russian: Михаил Юрьевич Лесин; 11 July 1958 – 5 November 2015) was a Russian political figure, media executive and advisor to president Vladimir Putin. In 2006, he was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", one of Russia's highest state decorations for civilians. Lesin was nicknamed the Bulldozer (Russian: Бульдозер) because of his ability to get virtually all Russian media outlets under the Kremlin's control, and for being combative in person. Lesin died in a Washington, D.C., hotel room under unusual circumstances. His family initially said the cause of death was a heart attack, but after a year-long investigation Washington's chief medical examiner and federal authorities released a joint statement saying Lesin died of blunt-force trauma to his head, induced by falls amid acute ethanol intoxication. A leaked report by Christopher Steele for the FBI said Lesin was bludgeoned to death by men working for an oligarch close to Putin.