It's alleged that Igor Mangushev was shot at close range in the back of the head at a checkpoint in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region by a small calibre pistol. His wife believes he was executed, possibly in some power struggle between Russian factions. Last summer he was seen on stage brandishing a skull he said was from a Ukrainian soldier. Source: Radio Free Europe Russian Army officer Igor Mangushev, who gained prominence last year for speaking on stage holding what he said was the skull of a Ukrainian soldier while calling for the death of "as many Ukrainian soldiers as necessary," has died in a hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to his head. Mangushev's associate, Akim Apachev, said on February 8 that the anti-Ukraine propagandist had been in a coma since being shot on February 4 at a checkpoint near the town of Kadiyivka in a part of Ukraine's Luhansk region, which is controlled by Russia-backed separatists. It remains unclear who shot Mangushev and why.