katero
Jun 23, 2026

Putin's 'personal enemy' who revealed relationship with gymnast dies

A journalist described as Vladimir Putin's 'personal enemy' after exposing the president's secret affair with a gymnast has died after eating poisonous mushrooms.

Grigory Nekhoroshev died aged 69 in the Latvian capital Riga, where he had lived in exile as a 'political refugee' for 11 years, reported the Delfi news outlet.

Nekhoroshev was the editor-in-chief of Russian paper Moskovsky Korrespondent that in 2008 reported that Putin planned to divorce his then wife Lyudmila to wed Olympian Alina Kabaeva.

Nekhoroshev is known to have been 'quite nervous throughout those Riga years' about a possible attack by assassins working for Vladimir Putin. He described himself as Putin's 'personal enemy'.

'Nekhoroshev was the first to reveal the name of the [Russian leader's] common-law wife, rhythmic gymnastics champion Alina Kabaeva,' said Delfi, 'Putin clearly did not forgive him for that.' 

Friends say the journalist passed away at home in Riga after eating mushrooms he found in the yard of his home.

Though he was a mushroom aficionado, they turned out to be poisonous, reports say.

There has been so far no comment from the Latvian authorities on his death on Friday, but an autopsy is set to be carried out.

Grigory Nekhoroshev (pictured) died aged 69 in the Latvian capital Riga, where he had lived in exile as a 'political refugee' for 11 years

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