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Oct. 28, 2016 / 1:13 PM

Mysterious death of former Putin aide in Washington hotel ruled accidental

Mikhail Lesin (L), former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, shakes hands with his boss in 2002. Investigators ruled Lesin died in a Washington, D.C., hotel room due to an accident after days of excessive drinking. Photo courtesy of the Kremlin

Mikhail Lesin (L), former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, shakes hands with his boss in 2002. Investigators ruled Lesin died in a Washington, D.C., hotel room due to an accident after days of excessive drinking. Photo courtesy of the Kremlin

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Investigators ruled the death of a former aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin an accident after "days of excessive consumption of alcohol."

Mikhail Lesin, Putin's former press minister, died as a result of blunt force injuries to his head, neck, torso and upper and lower extremities "which were inducted by falls with acute ethanol intoxication," the U.S. attorney's office said Friday.

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Investigators said Lesin, 57, entered his hotel room at The Dupont Circle Hotel about 11 p.m. Nov. 4 after "days of excessive consumption of alcohol" and sustained "injuries that resulted in his death while alone in his hotel room." He was found dead the next day. It is not clear what caused the injuries.

In addition to serving as the head of media affairs from 2004 to 2009 for the Kremlin, Lesin was head of the giant Gazprom-Media Holding group. In 2014, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called for Lesin to be investigated for alleged money laundering.

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