Russian musician Vadim Stroykin dies after reportedly falling out of window

According to the news website Fontanka based in St. Petersburg in Russia, police searched the apartment of Vadim Stroykin as part of a criminal case over his alleged donations to the Ukrainian military.

The Moscow Times reported that “Stroykin previously hosted a bardic music show on the Yekaterinburg affiliate of the now-shuttered Ekho Moskvy radio station and founded a travel agency. He devoted the last 10 years of his life to private guitar lessons, including at the St. Petersburg apartment where he died.”

Vadim Stroykin had spoken out about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 on social media. The Times reported that “Stroykin, who grew up in the Urals and performed there, was not actively involved in politics and appears to have posed little threat to the Kremlin. He was known as a “bard” — a term that harks back to singer-songwriters whose allegorical songs ran in opposition to the values of the Soviet establishment while shying from explicit criticism.”

It was reported that Vadim Stroykin is believed to have stepped into his kitchen for a glass of water before being found dead after falling out of the window of his apartment. Vadim Stroykin was born in the Ural Mountains in Russia and became a radio host after studying at the British College of Journalism.

Vadim Stroykin moved to St. Petersburg where he opened a guitar school and had also launched a travel agency, as well as releasing albums and compositions of his own.