Alexei Devotchenko, an actor and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Wednesday evening, a report said.
The circumstances of his death remain unclear but investigators said that his apartment did not show any signs of a violent death. They added that an autopsy was being carried out, reported The Guardian.
Reacting to Devotchenko's untimely death, actor Stanislav Sadalsky said that according to his information, the anti-Putin activist had been murdered.
The deceased actor had taken part in several anti-Kremlin protests in the past decade and also defended gay people who face intense discrimination in Russian society. He was an avid critic of Moscow's support for separatists in Eastern Ukraine and publically lauded Kiev's efforts to forge closer ties with the European Union.
A report suggested that the actor was found in a pool of his own blood after injuring himself while drunk. Another account published in a Russian tabloid said that Devotchenko had punched a glass cabinet in an inebriated state and had wounded himself badly.
The 49-year-old actor rose to fame as a stage and screen actor working in his native Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow several years ago.
