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Two Russian Executives in Aerospace and Defense Suffer Tragic Incidents, Reports Say
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Two prominent Russian executives, Alexander Tyunin, CEO of UMATEX, and Andrei Krotkov, CEO of Zeppelin, have been involved in separate incidents that have raised concerns, according to a Hromadske report, citing Russian media outlets on September 20.
Tyunin, 50-year-old the CEO of UMATEX, was found dead near his car in the Kokoshkino area, with a hunting rifle and a suicide note allegedly citing depression.
He led a major producer of carbon fiber, which is used in Russia’s aerospace and energy sectors. UMATEX played a significant role in producing import substitution composite materials for the MC-21 aircraft.
In the summer of 2021, it was reported that the latest Russian aircraft was made up of 30% composites, which were manufactured, in particular, by UMATEX. According to media reports, Russian composites turned out to be inferior to foreign ones, which increased the weight of the aircraft by 6 tons and halved its flight range, Hromadske writes.
In another incident, Andrei Krotkov, CEO of Zeppelin, was rushed to the ICU after reportedly injuring himself during a firearm test at a Moscow-area sports club.
Krotkov, a former FSB officer, led a company that handles government contracts, including for the Russian Ministry of Defense. His company had been struggling with significant debt and financial issues, according to a recent corporate statement, according to Hromadske.
In July, Krotkov described the first half of the year as “extremely challenging” in Zeppelin’s internal publication, citing “unprecedented” debt accumulated by clients. He also mentioned that the company was involved in the National Space Center project for Roscosmos, Hromadske reports.
Previously, it was reported that Russia’s economy slowed sharply in the second quarter of 2025, entering what Sberbank CEO Herman Gref described as a period of “technical stagnation,” raising alarms about the country’s near-term growth prospects.
