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SAD OLIGARCH

Cool Zone Media and H11

RICH RUSSIANS KEEP DYING IN MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

Since January 2022, dozens of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs and power brokers have died suddenly. One was poisoned with frog venom. Two killed their whole families. Several fell out of high windows. Most of the deaths are suspicious. Russia says they're coincidental suicides—that the deceased were simply depressed. We don't think so...

Sad Oligarch is an investigative podcast series that looks into the strange deaths of the Russian elite, unravelling a dark tale of Kremlin corruption and Putin's political dictatorship across the world. This is season two—Russian oligarchs are still dying and things have gotten even weirder...

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20 episodes
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S2 · E12
January 30 · 29 min
A Fired Reporter Falls Out a Window
Exiled Russian journalist Yevgeny Safranov is extremely stressed out. Inside his Paris apartment he paces up and down, furious that all his devices have been hacked. His phone, his government ID, his social media--everything. By who we don't know, as shortly after Safranov jumped out of his window onto the tarmac below. He died instantly. This is the official story, but there is of course something fishy going on... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S2 · E11
January 21 · 31 min
Secret Deaths at Russia’s Oil Corporation
Listeners of Season One will likely remember Lukoil, the Russian energy conglomerate with one foot in the regime and another in international commerce. There are half a dozen mysterious deaths linked to Lukoil, and now, another two... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S2 · E10
January 7 · 32 min
The Tycoon in a Gulag (Part Two)
To understand what was truly going on at the heart of the embezzlement ring Igor Kotelnikov was part of, we must understand the conditions of the jail he was held in… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S2 · E9
Dec 10, 2025 · 28 min
The Tycoon in a Gulag (Part One)
Multimillionaire businessman Igor Kotelnikov is used to the high life: fancy cars, big houses, fine dining. He’s lived a life of luxury, which is why it’s hit him so hard to be sent to a pre-trial detention centre in Moscow. These are some of the worst jails in the whole country. Will Kotelnikov survive? What do you think… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S2 · E8
Nov 26, 2025 · 30 min
Drowned in Success
Russian financier Georgy Chibisov is partying on a yacht on the Moscow River. At some point in the night he steps out for a breather. It’s the last one he’ll ever take. Georgy falls into the water and drowns. But did he really fall, or was he pushed? Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S2 · E7
Nov 19, 2025 · 32 min
Hanged with Hands Bound
Municipal lawmaker Vitaly Kapustin is found hanged in a tall tree using a cable attached to his car. The police rule it a suicide, that is until an eyewitness makes a statement saying Kapustin’s hands were tied behind his back… Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S2 · E6
Nov 12, 2025 · 40 min
An Uphill Battle to the Kremlin
We’re halfway through season 2, so this episode is an interlude of sorts. As you can probably imagine, the work that goes into this project is massive. We’re fighting an uphill battle against Kremlin state media. FSB interference, and a huge Russian wall of silence. We want to share with you some of the behind the scenes struggles of the Sad Oligarch extended universe... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S2 · E5
Nov 5, 2025 · 35 min
Hanged in a Secret Nuclear City
Senior accountant Evgeny Postrigan hangs himself in the garage of his home in the closed city of Zheleznogorsk. This is a place shrouded in secrecy, where weapons grade plutonium and military satellites are produced. On the surface, Postrigan was just depressed. But we dug deeper and discovered a huge web of corruption and state embezzlement... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S2 · E4
Oct 29, 2025 · 35 min
Kaliningrad’s Decapitated Entrepreneur
The dead body of Alexey Sinitsyn is laid out under a bridge in Russia’s European exclave, Kaliningrad. It is missing one very vital component—the head. This local CEO has somehow ended up decapitated. A nylon tow rope is laid out near the corpse. The head is further away. When the police arrive, their initial cause of death is “suicide”… How? Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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S2 · E3
Oct 22, 2025 · 34 min
The Rocket Scientist's Poison Mushroom
Russian rocket scientist Vitaly Melnikov has been picking wild mushrooms his whole life. Somehow though, at 77-years-old, he picks a bad one and eats it up. This kills him. His body shuts down and he's entered the eternal cosmos for real. Coincidentally, this happens just after the extremely important Kremlin Lunar 25 mission he worked on malfunctioned and crashed into the surface of the moon... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S2 · E2
Oct 15, 2025 · 37 min
The Kursk Raid Suicide
Russian oligarch Roman Starovoyt is having a very bad day. He’s the Minister of Transport, a prestigious position in Putin’s regime. Well, he was the Minister of Transport. Starovoyt has just been fired for allegedly stealing money from the state. After clearing out his office, he cleared out his head with a bullet. At a glance, it's an open-and-shut case. Under scrutiny, it's anything but... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S2 · E1
Oct 8, 2025 · 31 min
The Siberian Heart Attack
Deep in the Siberian peninsula, a corrupt politician falls out of the window of his home and hits the ground hard. Eyewitnesses describe the scene, explaining how he plummeted to the concrete and died. By the time the news hits the government controlled media though, something has changed. The fall is now reported as a heart attack and the coroner declares no foul play before the body is even cold. Something doesn't add up... Jake Hanrahan's projects: www.hanrahan.tv See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
Oct 1, 2025 · 2 min
Introducing: SAD OLIGARCH Season 2
Since January 2022, dozens of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs and power brokers have died suddenly. One was poisoned with frog venom. Two killed their whole families. Several fell out of high windows. Most of the deaths are suspicious. Russia says they're coincidental suicides—that the deceased were simply depressed. We don't think so... Sad Oligarch is an investigative podcast series that looks into the strange deaths of the Russian elite, unravelling a dark tale of Kremlin corruption and Putin's political dictatorship across the world. This is season two—Russian oligarchs are still dying and things have gotten even weirder... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
May 27, 2025 · 28 min
Introducing: Away Days Podcast - No Rules on the Riviera
Hi, Sad Oligarch fans! We want to share a new show, Away Days: Reporting from the Underbelly. Away Days Podcast is an episodic documentary series focused on unreported stories from the fringes of society. We’re compassionately documenting the underground without watering it down or editorially obscuring it. This is independent journalism with no filter. Real, raw, and ugly. Journalist Jake Hanrahan, the host and creator of Away Days has spent the last 10 years embedded in places he’s not meant to be. With unique access and a straightforward style of on-the-ground reporting, the listener will be taken deep into the places they didn’t know existed. Episode 2: No Rules on the Riviera We travel to the south of France to see if a new clandestine No Rules fight club is the real deal. The underground fighters who’ve supposedly set this one up claim it’s in the most luxurious city in France—Cannes. Either we’ve been trolled or the No Rules scene really is spreading everywhere… Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv Listen here and subscribe to Away Days on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
May 27, 2025 · 27 min
Introducing: Away Days Podcast - A Cold Day for Violence
Hi, Sad Oligarch fans! We want to share a new show, Away Days: Reporting from the Underbelly. Away Days Podcast is an episodic documentary series focused on unreported stories from the fringes of society. We’re compassionately documenting the underground without watering it down or editorially obscuring it. This is independent journalism with no filter. Real, raw, and ugly. Journalist Jake Hanrahan, the host and creator of Away Days has spent the last 10 years embedded in places he’s not meant to be. With unique access and a straightforward style of on-the-ground reporting, the listener will be taken deep into the places they didn’t know existed. Episode 1: A Cold Day for Violence Welcome to the world of ‘No Rules’, a new underground fighting subculture where anything goes. Biting, head stamping, eye gouging, hair pulling, elbows, headbutts—it’s all allowed. These fights are fought on concrete, with no gloves, and no rounds. It’s non-stop organized ultraviolence, and we’ve been allowed to see it first hand… Watch Away Days documentaries at youtube.com/@awaydaystv Listen here and subscribe to Away Days on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S1 · E13
Sep 13, 2023 · 33 min
Part Two: A War Criminal Oligarch Is Shot Out of the Sky
In the finale of Sad Oligarch we look into the final weeks of Prigozhin's life and explain how his violent death casts the mysterious deaths we've looked into in a new light. We also take a more direct approach in explaining what we think is going on... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S1 · E12
Sep 6, 2023 · 26 min
Part One: A War Criminal Oligarch Is Shot Out of the Sky
In what will be a two-part final episode of Sad Oligarch, we take a deep dive into the violent life and violent death of Yevgeny Prigozhin—an oligarch, a war criminal, and the head of Kremlin backed private military contractor firm "PMC Wagner". This was a man with many enemies, but who shot him out of the sky? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S1 · E11
Aug 30, 2023 · 35 min
Rich Russians Keep Dying
In the penultimate episode of the series, Jake and Sergiy discuss the many mysterious Russian billionaire and millionaire deaths that have occurred since Sad Oligarch launched just three months ago. Several dark patterns emerge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S1 · E10
Aug 23, 2023 · 20 min
DC Freemasons & Russian Psyops
In the conclusion to the Dan Rapoport subplot, we discover how a Russian gossip blogger managed to break the story of his death and why a DC Freemason lodge is affiliated with his alter-ego. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript
S1 · E9
Aug 16, 2023 · 25 min
The Death of a Fake Pentagon Analyst
In part two of our look into the bizarre circumstances surrounding the death of Latvian born Russian-American businessman Dan Rapoport, we expose his alter-ego. The fake Pentagon analyst Rapoport pretended to be caused so much trouble the Kremlin itself reported on it. Is this linked to Rapoprt’s death? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Transcript

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