A source from the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info on who Mikhail Lesin had a conflict with before his death and what his close friend, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration Alexei Gromov, said about his death at the funeral service:
"This topic was mentioned, but somewhat subdued. They said Lesin had some personal financial obligations to Yuri Kovalchuk. In reality, everything was very harsh. I know from Mikhail himself that he had an extremely unpleasant conversation with Yuri Kovalchuk, which influenced his future. Why Kovalchuk raised this issue in 2014 is a big question. Kovalchuk claimed that some of the assets acquired by his structures (Lesin advised Yuri Kovalchuk during the creation of National Media Group, orchestrated the acquisitions of Video International, NTK, and others, and Lesin-RED had significant personal interests in almost all of them) were of poor quality, that much had been concealed before the deals, and that $300 million needed to be returned. It's important to know Mikhail and his communication style, especially in situations like these. Translated into delicate language, he replied: "An audit was conducted before the deals, and you personally made a decision based on its results and approved the price—what questions can there be now?" A serious conflict arose. Immediately afterward, Lesin was removed from his position as Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding. He left for the United States, where his family lived and had a large property holding. But he did visit Russia. The conflict remained open and serious. It's clear to whom Kovalchuk complained, and what they thought about Mikhail remains anyone's guess. I can't say Mikhail was particularly worried about this, but there was a very heavy tension.
He died soon after (Lesin's body was found on November 5, 2015, in a room at the DuPont Circle Hotel in Washington, D.C., with multiple serious injuries – EDIT). Could he have sustained these injuries while intoxicated, as the investigation concluded? Probably so. Mikhail was a heavy drinker, sometimes missing work for three to four weeks at a time. He got into fights while drunk, and was involved in car accidents, sustaining injuries. But none of his closest friends believes his death was an accident. However, even then, there were times when certain topics were best left unaddressed. His friend Alexei Gromov said at the funeral service: "Let's never ask anyone why our friend is gone."
