Putin Taps ‘Man Without a Face’ for Kremlin ‘Emergencies’ Job After Predecessor’s Mystery Waterfall Death

Vladimir Putin has appointed his ex-bodyguard to become Russia’s new “Emergencies Minister” after the last person to hold the office fell 90 feet to his death down a waterfall. Major-General Alexander Kurenkov has been approved by Putin to take up the new position in the Kremlin following the dramatic demise of Yevgeny Zinichev in September 2020. Zinichev, who some saw as a possible successor to Putin, was killed attempting to “save a man” at the Kitabo-Oron waterfall in Siberia—though rumors of murder have circulated, according to reports. With Putin putting a high value on personal loyalty, Kurenkov will be the sixth bodyguard of the Russian president to be brought into high office in the Kremlin. Little is known about Kurenkov—nicknamed “the Man Without a Face”—though he is thought to have served in Russian intelligence like Putin himself. “Putin knows him well personally,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.