Retired Federal Security Service major general Igor Laptev has died by suicide at his home in Moscow, Russian daily newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reported.
The 83-year-old former intelligence officer was found on Thursday, August 20, inside his apartment on Verkhnyaya Krasnoselskaya Street, located in the capital's central Krasnoselsky District. Russian news outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets was first to report the retired general's death.
Career in security and government
Laptev spent decades serving in Soviet and Russian security and law enforcement structures. Early in his military service, he took part in combat operations in Afghanistan during the decade-long Soviet conflict in the country.
He later served in the Federal Security Service, Russia's primary domestic intelligence agency and main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. Following his tenure in counterintelligence, Laptev transferred to the federal tax police, a specialized agency created in the 1990s to combat economic crimes and tax evasion during Russia's post-Soviet economic transition.
In the late 1990s, Laptev rose to senior executive office within the federal government, serving as deputy minister of taxes and duties. The ministry was responsible for national revenue collection and tax policy before its functions were later absorbed into the Federal Tax Service.
Corporate role and state honors
After retiring from civil and military service, Laptev moved into executive leadership within the private sector. He was appointed chairman of the board of directors of the Informtechnika group of companies, a Russian industrial enterprise specializing in telecommunications systems, digital networking, and specialized communications hardware.
For his decades of military service and public administration, Laptev was awarded the Order of Honour. The state decoration is presented by presidential decree to Russian citizens for outstanding contributions to state service, economic development, and public administration.
Preceding deaths in Moscow
Laptev is not the first prominent public figure in Moscow to die by suicide this year. In March, Umar Dzhabrailov, a well-known businessman and former senator who represented the Chechen Republic in the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, also died by suicide.
