Russian ambassador and diplomat deaths have risen sharply over the last few months, a fact that has been largely overlooked or ignored. In most cases, news organizations have reported these deaths as separate and unrelated incidents. But there’s reason to wonder if Russia isn’t cleaning house following the revelations of the Trump dossier in which investigators determined Donald Trump was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia.

Statistically, it’s virtually impossible that this many top present or former Russian ambassadors, diplomats, or other officials would suddenly be killed or mysteriously die in such a short period of time. And given the fact that it’s well-known that the Kremlin under Vladimir Putin has been more than willing in the past to eliminate his enemies, it’s difficult not to be suspicious about these deaths.

Trump at convention. [Image by John Moore/Getty Images]

Trump Dossier Timeline

When considering the following Russian ambassador deaths, as well as those of other Russian officials, it’s important to also keep in mind the roughly parallel timeline related to the Russian Donald Trump dossier scandal. According to Business Insider, on September 23 intelligence agencies in the United States began an investigation into links between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.

By October 30, 2016, Senator Harry Reid was demanding the FBI look into “explosive information” regarding Trump/Russia links. The following day – October 31 – Mother Jones published a report indicating that a former British agent named Christopher Steele had produced evidence through his own “network” of contacts that Russia had highly compromising information about Donald Trump with which they could easily blackmail him.

Sen Harry Reid speaks to press. [Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]

The actual Trump dossier regarding these allegations reached Senator John McCain after the election on November 18, with McCain delivering a copy he had obtained to FBI Director James Comey. But by this point, it’s possible that Russian agents were already in motion and attempting to plug any leaks.

Timeline of the Russian Deaths

On November 8, 2016 – Election Day in the United States – the media for obvious reasons focused very little attention on the suspicious death of Sergei Krivov at the Russian consulate in New York City. Krivov was consular duty commander at the consulate, which meant he was in charge of security and intelligence matters at this Russian facility.

Even though initial reports indicated that the man had fallen from the roof of the building, Russian officials within the consulate changed this, suggesting he had suffered a heart attack instead. The evident damage to the body – particularly the head – make this latter story somewhat questionable. Yet despite this, as well as the fact that the medical examiner had not yet completed an autopsy, the police quickly closed the case.

Shooting of Russian Ambassador in Turkey. [Image by Erhan Ortac/Getty Images]

On December 19, the world was shocked when the Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was gunned down by a police officer in Ankara Turkey. As reported by Al Jazeera, while seemingly an act of terrorism related to Russian involvement in Syria, the incident has yet to be fully clarified.

Moreover, this death in Ankara overshadowed that of another Russian official in Moscow on the same day. Petr Polshikov, who was an adviser to the Russian Foreign Ministry regarding Latin America, was found dead in his apartment from a gunshot wound to the head.

Russian spy Oleg Erovinkin linked to Donald Trump’s ‘dirty dossier’ found dead in Moscowhttps://t.co/8vsx6qkNzh — Impeach Trump (@RubyCodpiece) February 19, 2017

On December 26, ex-KGB General Oleg Erovinkin, one of the suspected sources used by Christopher Steele for his Trump dossier, was found dead in his car under circumstances that suggested foul play. Later, this death was ascribed to “natural causes.” Of course, it’s natural enough to die when someone shoots you.

January 9, 2017, saw another death at a Russian consulate. This time it was Andrei Malinin at the Russian consulate in Athens. Ironically, one of the reasons the Athenian police chose not to seriously consider the possibility of murder was that there was no sign of a break-in from outside the consulate. In other words, it never occurred to them that someone inside the consulate killed him.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin. [Image by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]

On January 26, the long-serving Russian ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, was found dead in New Delhi. Supposedly, this was either the result of a heart attack or a short illness. This point was never entirely clarified. However, heart attacks among Russian ambassadors are apparently becoming an epidemic since on February 20 the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, also died of what was described as a heart attack.

That last death of a Russian ambassador was a little over a week ago, so it shouldn’t be surprising if some other high-ranking Russian official meets with an unfortunate accident, heart attack, or mysterious gunshot wound to the head it some point in the next few days. But the truly incredible part of this story is it is apparently being entirely ignored by Republicans in the House and the Senate, not to mention the news media. After all, it’s not that difficult to connect the dots so they point to the Trump dossier scandal.

[Featured Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]