Back in early November we reported that in a shocking twist of events, Mikhail Lesin – a close ally of Putin and the man credited with “inspiring” the creation of Russia Today – was found dead on an upper floor in The Dupont Circle hotel in DC. Lesin was Russia’s Minister of Press, Television and Radio from 1999 to 2004 and also served as Putin’s media adviser. In 2013 he assumed a role as an executive at Gazprom-Media.
What was strange about Lesin’s death, is that nobody knew, or revealed, why Lesin was in Washington in the first place.