Anton Nossik, a Russian Internet entrepreneur who is often referred to as the godfather of the Russian Internet, died on Saturday night.
Nossik, 51, suffered a heart attack during the night of July 9, the Ekho Moskvy radio station reported. Several of Nossik’s acquaintances confirmed the reports on social media on Sunday. News of his death was met with shock.
“It’s impossible to believe,” opposition politician Ilya Yashin wrote on Twitter. “Rest in peace, my friend.”
Nossik was charged with inciting hatred for an online post “warmly welcoming” Russian air strikes in Syria in April last year.
Prosecutors had asked for a two-year prison sentence for Nossik’s post on his blog, titled “Erase Syria From the Face of the Earth,” but Nossik was eventually handed a fine.
In the post, released the day after Russia started military operations in the country, Nossik compared Syria to Nazi Germany.
[“Source-themoscowtimes”]
