The Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have learned details of the death of 64-year-old TV host Alexei Pimanov, a close friend of Sergei Shoigu and the president of the Krasnaya Zvezda media holding (which includes all Defense Ministry media outlets). The circumstances of his death have prompted whispers in Moscow living rooms that it may not have been accidental. He died according to the same "scenario" as another member of Shoigu's inner circle, General Yuri Sadovenko.

According to the official version reported in Russian media, Alexei Pimanov died on April 23 at home from sudden cardiac arrest. "His heart gave out," was how news agencies commented on his sudden death. However, as it turned out, Pimanov spent four hours dying without medical attention and died in the emergency room of the Bakulev Institute.

 

According to a source, Alexey Pimanov suddenly felt unwell during the day while at his cottage in the Rublyovka area. He began to struggle with shortness of breath and lost consciousness. His wife, Olga Pogodina, was with him in the house at the time. What happened next is unknown. However, it was only an hour later that a call was received for a private ambulance. It took over an hour for the ambulance to reach the mansion. Arriving doctors ordered urgent hospitalization. However, they decided to take him not to the nearest hospital, but to the Bakulev Institute. The journey there, given traffic, took over two hours. As a result, Pimanov was already dying when he arrived at the emergency room. He died immediately there. The cause of Pimanov's sudden heart palpitations could not be determined; the general diagnosis was acute heart failure.

 

He was completely healthy, except for a long-standing back injury. He was full of energy and very active.

 

According to sources, Alexey Pimanov was in constant contact with Shoigu in the days leading up to his death, meeting with him on numerous occasions. They had a long-standing business and friendly relationship. Thanks to Shoigu, Pimanov once became the head of the Zvezda television channel. Shoigu personally visited Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow to pay his last respects to Pimanov.

 

Our project's interlocutors immediately recalled another strange death, similar to Pimanov's. This was the death of Yuri Sadovenko, former Deputy Defense Minister and personal adjutant to Sergei Shoigu, which our project covered in detail.

 

Yuri Sadovenko was perfectly healthy, save for gastritis. But on November 12, 2025, he suddenly felt ill. Just like Pimanov, he began to experience shortness of breath and loss of consciousness.

 

The former deputy minister was rushed to the First City Hospital. Doctors announced that he had heart problems. Meanwhile, the general's condition worsened significantly with each passing day. Ultimately, it was announced that his heart was failing completely and an urgent transplant was required. The surgery took place on November 17, and the VIP patient was transferred to a surgical center.

 

It was announced that the new heart had taken root. But then doctors announced that the general's condition was deteriorating again. He spent about a month in a coma. He was resuscitated several times. And on December 25, the former deputy minister died.

 

The exact cause of the initial heart failure and subsequent death was never disclosed.

 

Earlier, our source said the following: "Everyone has the example of Shoigu before their eyes, whom Putin, of course, will never imprison. But he punishes him almost daily. He didn't win the war, and his entire entourage was sent to pretrial detention. "Imagine sitting next to each other at the Victory Parade or at the Russian Geographical Society, smiling, knowing that it was Putin who sent to pretrial detention absolutely all the people with whom you not only worked for many, many years, but also celebrated holidays, were family friends, and so on and so forth."