According to a Russian media report on Saturday, Andrey Botikov, one of the scientists who helped develop the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, was strangled to death with a belt at his apartment here, and police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder. Botikov, 47, a senior researcher at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Ecology and Mathematics, was discovered dead in his apartment on Thursday, according to the Investigative Committee of the..
Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the virologist the Order of Merit for Fatherland in 2021 for his work on the COVID vaccine. According to reports, Botikov was one of 18 scientists who created the Sputnik V vaccine in 2020.
His death is being investigated as a murder, according to the Russian Investigative Committee in a Telegram statement.
Investigators believe a 29-year-old man strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument and then fled. According to the report, law enforcement agencies stated that the murder was a domestic crime committed as a result of a conflict.
According to the statement, the suspect was apprehended shortly after Botikov’s body was discovered.
